The Next Circle of Hell, Vol. 2

Earthling

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Second rejection on this MS today.

I'm trying hard not to cry. It's not the rejection itself, I'm just so worn down by the whole process. I believe I'm a good writer. I believe my books will sell to readers. I don't know what else I can do. And I had such high hopes for this MS.
 

Jeneral

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Well, crap, Earthling, I'm sorry. Sending wine and brownies your way.
 

spikeman4444

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Second rejection on this MS today.

I'm trying hard not to cry. It's not the rejection itself, I'm just so worn down by the whole process. I believe I'm a good writer. I believe my books will sell to readers. I don't know what else I can do. And I had such high hopes for this MS.

I'd say take the weekend off from checking emails and doing anything writing related. Recharge and unwind a little. We've all been there. ALL OF US. Even the Stephen Kings of the world.
 

Moonchild

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So sorry, Earthling. :(

We get it.

A year and a half after having signed, I no longer know if I even retain hope anymore. It's a brutal process we're stuck in.

Have some wine. And chocolate. At the same time, if need be. Desperate times and all that...
 

MartinaMay

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I'm sorry, Earthling. *passes more cookies & beverage of choice*. Is the MS still with other editors?

Krash: Refresh me. How long since you send the R&R? My experience so far is 5 months, <2 hours, & 2.5 months before we heard. In other words, there's no way to predict when they'll read.

Nothing new w/my book on sub except R&R editor told agent she hopes to read soon. My agent enjoyed my latest WIP & sent it back with suggestions, which I've incorporated. One CP has given the stamp of approval, and I'm waiting to hear from the other. Then, it's back to my agent and ?maybe on sub. I'm not sure when she hopes to send it out.

I tried Scrivener, but found myself more confused than excited. But I write most of my WIPs on paper, then put them into the Word doc., so I think it's too 'fancy' for me.

Congrats on the short story acceptance, CMI! You thought you could slip that into your general paragraph, huh?!

Congrats on finishing book 2, Pete. I hope your agent loves it!
 

pinkbowvintage

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cmi - Big congrats on the short story acceptance!!! Those feel great, don't they?

Earthling - I'm so, so sorry. I feel you. The process is soul-sucking and scary and depressing all at once. One minute we're SO SURE it'll sell, the next minute it feels like the project is doomed. I really hope you don't throw in the towel on this MS yet. You believe it in and your agent believes in it. Hang in there.

Martina - I feel the same way about Scrivener. It's just too much of a burden for me to learn this whole new confusing program, so I end up just torturing myself with Word. At least I'm good at Word. But maybe one day I'll take a weekend and force myself to learn the program.
 

Earthling

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Thank you everyone. :Hug2:The MS is still with a few editors but I'm not hopeful for it. My agent has gently suggested we move on to the next manuscript, which will be my third. But she also said she's nowhere near the point where she'd give up, so at least I don't have to worry about being dropped... for now.

I've never really got the Cult of Scrivener, as I call it - having seen writers turn evangelical. It didn't do anything for me. Maybe I'm immune to the crack cocaine they obviously lace into it to get everyone hooked? :D
 

Jeneral

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I really wanted to like Scrivener. And I really do like some of the things it does. But I tried it for this WIP and ended up going back to Word. I didn't like how I had to separate things into sections and chapters right off; I don't necessarily know where the chapter breaks are going to go when I start. I'm more the Jack-Kerouac-with-the-endless-roll-of-paper type, who inserts chapter breaks later. So I bailed on it for now. I do like how you can put all your research materials into the actual project though, so you don't have to switch to the internet and get distracted. I also like the name generator, which for me is worth the price of the software! The next time I start a new project I may give it another shot and just do my first draft as one "scene" and split it out later.

I'd had a nice long post written a few days ago and when I hit submit found that my internet had been disconnected. That was the beginning of a long three days of no internet, as I had tried to upgrade my speed and then canceled the upgrade, which led to a tech removing old wires to replace with new, and then never bothering to put them back. Yes, it took three days and twelve phone calls for them to finally send a guy out to get that fixed. I'd taken Friday off for a writing marathon, and instead spent it arguing with the internet company and helping a friend clean out her ex-husband's house after his sudden death. Both things were emotionally draining for different reasons. We finished up the house (mostly) yesterday, and I slept 11 hours last night. Today it's crazy muggy in Florida, so I'm staying inside, parking my butt on the couch, and getting some writing done.

No news on the MS on sub. I had a bit of a meltdown recently that I think I talked about on the post that never went up. Now that I know I won't be a quick sale, I've become kind of zen and settled in for the long wait, and now I've seen several people in different places say something like "well, it's been six/seven months, agent and I are shelving the MS" which made me freak out all over again. I'm at 3 months, which is about half of that time, and we're waiting on tons of responses in the first round! So I emailed my agent to ask about timelines - I was suddenly paranoid I'd get this email at the six month mark from her that said "LOL Never mind." She reassured me that there's plenty of time still, and her timelines lately have been from a few days to ten months easily. Basically "Sit down and shut up, Jen. Plenty of time. Keep waiting. Keep writing." Okay. I can do that. Back to the zen.
 

krashnburn

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Krash: Refresh me. How long since you send the R&R? My experience so far is 5 months, <2 hours, & 2.5 months before we heard. In other words, there's no way to predict when they'll read.

Nothing new w/my book on sub except R&R editor told agent she hopes to read soon. My agent enjoyed my latest WIP & sent it back with suggestions, which I've incorporated. One CP has given the stamp of approval, and I'm waiting to hear from the other. Then, it's back to my agent and ?maybe on sub. I'm not sure when she hopes to send it out.

This R&R is a little different because it came from up the chain and they only asked for the first couple of chapters. Editor has read it, given me the thumbs-up, and sent it back up. That's what I'm waiting on.

Good luck with both MSs, MM!

General hugs for Rs and all the waiting. Both can really screw with our heads. But we're here for a reason. Just keep swimming.
 
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Niiicola

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It's not the rejection itself, I'm just so worn down by the whole process. I believe I'm a good writer. I believe my books will sell to readers. I don't know what else I can do. And I had such high hopes for this MS.
Right there with you. I have nothing but imaginary hugs and genuine sympathy.
 
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polishmuse

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I had a bit of a meltdown recently that I think I talked about on the post that never went up. Now that I know I won't be a quick sale, I've become kind of zen and settled in for the long wait, and now I've seen several people in different places say something like "well, it's been six/seven months, agent and I are shelving the MS" which made me freak out all over again...

Made myself crazy by rereading the MS that's on sub when I haven't looked at it in months. :scared: WHY? Why did I do this just to make myself crazy?
 

cmi0616

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Earthling: Sorry for the R. As your agent pointed out, it's way too early to lose hope after just 2 passes, so try and keep hope alive. I know this process is frustrating and in general the worst. Hugs and wine for you.

Moonchild: I'm also coming up on a year and a half, so I understand what you mean. Try and keep your chin up though--it's a long process, and that's sometimes a reason for optimism. I'd also try to get writing done as you can--the publishing side of things unilaterally sucks, but I'm always reminded of why I persist when I'm actually writing.

MartinaMay: Thanks! Glad to hear things are progressing with your latest MS.

PBV: Thanks! Yes, but it's funny the way it works. About a week before the acceptance came, I made the decision to stop sending that story out (it received about 25 rejections).

Jeneral: As I've mentioned above, my first MS has been on sub for over a year now, and it just went out for another round. Everyone's sub process is different and dependent on editor's turnaround time, agent's pace, etc. Submissions are long and anxious-making, but hopefully your book will sell soon. Good luck!

polish: ohhhhh boy, can I relate to that. Every typo is a heart attack.

No news from me really. Waiting for my agent's response-to-my-response-to-his-edit letter before it's back to work on MS2. I have a short story that's keeping me busy in the meantime.

Good luck to all!
 

pinkbowvintage

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cmi - Sounds like my first short story rejection! I believe I racked up around 25-50 before the North American Review wanted it. I thought it was a prank email.
 

krashnburn

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We are a quiet bunch...but I suppose around the 4th it would be quiet.
 

polishmuse

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Yeah, no news here. Still waiting for an email back from my agent (in response to a question) from last week. I think agent may be on vacation or at ALA, so I'm willing myself not to collapse into a pile of nerves until after the 4th.
 

spikeman4444

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I had a nice short email boost from my agent. I checked in with her as we have been on sub right around 2 months now. 2 Rejections initially but nothing in the last 6 weeks. I asked her if we should be discouraged by the lack of interest and she basically said NO WAY and to keep my chin up and that we'd find a home. It was a super nice pick-me-up which is needed as I try to regain my confidence and courage moving into the final stretch of my WIP.

Chins up everyone!
 

Fuchsia Groan

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ALA ended Tuesday. But who knows what's happening elsewhere... I often wonder why there are SO many holiday weekends. :) (Usually I have to work through them; next week we're getting Tuesday off, which simply means we do all our Tuesday work on Monday. :) )

And I'm waiting, too. EEEEP and good luck to everyone!
 

pinkbowvintage

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I'm getting antsy, as well. It's been 7 weeks since I've heard anything from my agent re: MS 2.0. Part of me is hoping this is secretly good news, but the more realistic part of me thinks people are on vacation/busy/not reading.
 

Putputt

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The last couple of weeks were holiday season here in Jakarta, so I've taken some time off writing to get obsessed with Overwatch and drink too much wine with friends. It's been a wonderful break. I actually forgot that I'm on sub. Of course, now that it's back to regular life, I'm starting to get antsy again...why do we do this to ourselves??
 

Elsie.K

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Made myself crazy by rereading the MS that's on sub when I haven't looked at it in months. :scared: WHY? Why did I do this just to make myself crazy?

Polish, I sympathetically chuckled when I read this the other day, doing the wise "Ah, I know better than that." Then tonight I opened a MS that's in final rounds of a competition. Spent all weekend telling a buddy I wasn't going to do it. BUT I DID IT!!! And now I'm sobbing. It's so....clunky. And I found a typo in the FIRST FIFTEEN PAGES. What the???? I don't know if I've just ben working on adult for too long, but now when I read my YA its like....."seriously? You WANT to claim you wrote this?" (And yeah, the other YA is on sub. At the moment, I AM being smart enough to go nowhere NEAR that.)

I'm totally going to blame lack of alcohol for my mood. I'm positive it'd read better with a Green Ginger Wine in hand. Uh, on second thoughts, that's probably how I wrote it, and may explain some of the issues :-(

Anyway, have a nice Fourth, all those on that side of the world!
 

polishmuse

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Polish, I sympathetically chuckled when I read this the other day, doing the wise "Ah, I know better than that." Then tonight I opened a MS that's in final rounds of a competition. ...

I'm totally going to blame lack of alcohol for my mood. I'm positive it'd read better with a Green Ginger Wine in hand. Uh, on second thoughts, that's probably how I wrote it, and may explain some of the issues :-(
Elsie, I laughed out loud. :tongue We really look for new reasons to be out of our minds. Hoping I hear something back after the holiday from agent, but not getting those hopes TOO high.

Have a great holiday tomorrow, those in the USA!