Don’t get Ahead of Yourself - Part One
While I’m looking at publishers, getting together needed attachments for submissions, and looking over my manuscript again and again, of course possible rejection is on my mind.
There’s a certain excitement - at least for me, the paperwork and organization addict - when putting all these things together, but there’s a niggling every now and then in wondering if it’s all for naught.
Of course, as life always seems to go, I received this email notification from one of the writing groups I’m in:
“Confessions of a Small Publisher
At our monthly meeting of writers recently we invited a small publisher to tell us about the book publishing realities. Here are some useful comments:
They get an average of 35 book submissions every week. Agented and otherwise. That’s at least 1500 per year and they publish only 5-7 every year. That’s about 99.5% rejection rate…
We asked about criteria for rejection. They take first 30 pages of your manuscript and give it to at least 5 independent “readers” who then suggest to the publishers which manuscripts to read in full. You have to submit those 30 pages as a Word attachment in e-mail with a book synopsis and brief bio. Do not expect an answer for about 90 days…” - Courtesy of Szuprowicz
And that is a small publisher.
I’m not horribly worried about rejection in general. What I’m afraid of is a rejection letter like the one Law Mummy talks about in this post about a rejection letter she received. I know, like her, I could take it, but I wouldn’t like that period of upset, which would likely emerge every time I looked at the letter.
Alas, you can only deal with such things when they come. I’m not letting fears stop me, by any means.
But there are so many things said about rejection…
February 26th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
What’s kinda really disappointed is getting a rejection letter that starts “Dear Author…” ie, a form rejection with no personal comments whatsoever. Then you don’t even know WTF you’re doing wrong. Just that you did SOMETHING wrong, or they were in a bad mood that day, or…it could be absolutely anything.
February 26th, 2007 at 7:27 pm
Yeah, that’s true. I was just reading that Stephen King’s first personal note was scribbled on the bottom of a form rejection and said, “Don’t staple manuscripts.” Lovely, no?
February 26th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
Aw, I know. Rejection really does hurt. But for me (who has known plenty of rejections, even though I ultimately did get published), each time an editor or agent really took the trouble to write a personal note the way that agent did for lawmummy, I realized finally that it was information I needed to have to make the book better. It’s just amazing how many drafts books really need to go through before they get done. I’m with Kate; what’s worse is getting a form letter and then you have no idea if they almost bought the book but changed their minds at the last minute, or if they knew they hated it from the start.
Anyway, keep your hopes up–but if it comes back, see if any of the comments sound like they could be true, and if not, just send it out to somebody else! There are lots of different opinions out there–and even published authors still get rejections! Best of luck. I’m rooting for you!
February 26th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
Thank you for your kind words and luck!
I think it’s good for people to keep in mind that published authors have been rejected along with “the rest of us”.