The Next Circle of Hell, Vol. 2

Jeneral, that's baws (as we say in Scotland). You are definitely doing something right if you are getting those kind of responses at that high level. Which makes it doubly frustrating they like it but won't buy it. *finger crossed* for the next editors.

pinkbowvintage said:

sales can take anywhere from a few days to a few years. Most people hear back around the 6-8 month point if they haven't already.

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Excellent point, Pinkbow. I have a friend who sold her series 15 months after they subbed the editor.

Jeneral's right. It's easy to get caught up in everyone else's deals/fancy announcements, and get frustrated. And impatient. I know we all want this to happen for us yesterday.

Essay news is good news, Polish! Congrats.

Jeneral: my recent R&R was worded in a similar manner. Have you considered speaking with the editor about his/her ideas for your MS? Sometimes, you can compromise with your vision for MS and theirs or brainstorm an idea that both of you are happy with. And it gives you a chance to establish contact with this editor/sell yourself. Because, if they remember you in a positive light, they'll be more eager to see your next project.

I think R&Rs are encouraging. It means they enjoyed your MS enough to take time to offer the R&R. If they didn't like it enough to look again/work with you on the book, they'd send the standard R.

(((oreos))) then (((hugs))) then more (((oreos)))

I agree with Martina--it is encouraging. But I understand the frustration as I had one like that but the R&R was not the direction I wanted to take the book in.
Hey, the option is out there. If it percolates for a while and you start to think, "Well, maybe..." then you try it. But no pressure.


I finally got a response. But it prompted another e-mail from me. And so the waiting clock is reset.

Oh, I agree, y'all, an R&R is definitely encouraging! I had a couple of those while I was querying, and I'm never afraid to do them. For now, my agent wants to wait and see if we get a better response from the editors still reading, and if we decide to circle back to the R&R we will. I'm a little hesitant though, simply because based on her critique that she did send along, I think the parts she will recommend changing are parts that I feel very strongly about keeping. It's a conventional story told in a more unconventional way, and my worry is she wants me to lose those elements. I'm really hoping for an editor who wants to take a chance on it. So I'm sitting tight for now.

Sorry for the R, Jeneral.
I got one today, too, the very first on this new mss. Bummed. There are still six or seven submission out, so I'll keep my chin up.

I'm reading to make cocktails for Jeneral and CCC. With free hugs.

As somebody who's been on the R&R merry-go-round for a looooooong time, I sometimes wonder if it's worth it. Yes, it's great to have interest, but I also can't help but wonder how much time I've wasted that could have been spent writing something new that might have gone to "YES!" straight away. On the other hand, I still adore this little book of mine and I don't think I could give up on it if I thought there was the tiniest chance. Interested to hear what others think.

Hello Peeps!
I haven't been around much lately (editing editing) but just wanted to pop in today to share my good news! As some of you know I'm based in Oz and my book sold at auction here last year (pub date next March). It's since sold in a couple of other territories and yesterday the announcement of the US sale appeared in Pub Marketplace....so I guess it's official and I can now talk about it!! Really happy to tell you that Pen*uin will publish my book next year in the US and Canada! Still can't quite believe it's happening, and have to admit to being very thoroughly distracted from the process of writing book 2 at the moment! Hang in there to everyone still waiting....it will be worth it in the end!

*does a dance for Maggie's good news*

MaggieMc - That is fantastic news! Well done I can imagine it distracting you from writing book 2 what with all the editing and emails flying about. Very impressive to have those overseas sales already.

Thanks a million polishmuse and Cameron : ) I have to say that the last year still feels completely surreal, and the US deal sort of the cherry on top. I started reading absolute write probably five or six years ago. I had a different log in once that I lost. But I started reading here before I ever put my head down and started trying to write seriously. I remember reading about people getting agents and, eventually, book deals, and being completely inspired. I can't quite believe that all that has happened for me : )

Will be keeping my fingers and toes crossed for everyone still in the waiting room.... Not posting very often at the moment as flat out between day job, kids and writing, but I do check in all the time.

Congrats, Maggie!!!!! Awesome news! Def ready for more awesome news.

Congrats, Maggie!

Congratulations, Maggie!!!

Niiicola, yes! And yes! At a certain point when I embarked on revisions, I was super pissed because I wanted to just write something new. But I went for it anyway because I felt like even though the MS was problematic, I'd run into new, unforeseeable problems with anything new, too. And then I got too far into my revision to stop.

And yes, even now, I've picked myself up off the floor since my agent's letter. Thanks so much for the hugs and wine offers, everyone. They helped. And I had a call with my agent to discuss the edits. We threw out half of her other reader's comments. I'm left with a few challenges that can be pretty easily remedied, as long as I can rethink a couple of plot turns for one character. And I think it will make the story much stronger. All may not be lost. Yet!

I'm going to send my MS to the sensitivity reader this week. And I'm going to ask her to be ruthless.

Good luck, everyone! Let's get some more good news around here.

OH MY GOD MAGGIE!!! THAT IS SO AMAZING! Congratulations! I love good news on here! Please have a glass of champagne (or three) for me and celebrate!

Quickbread - First off, I'm so glad you're not ditching the MS. It is YOUR book, after all, and sometimes you have to ignore comments in order to get it to where you want it to be.

I had two fantastic sensitivity readers (one friend, one I found online) read my second MS and it was invaluable. If I had more money I would have hired more, to be honest! Best of luck

As for me, I got a nice rejection on a new short story recently. It was a "not for us, but we liked your writing, please send us more" kind of R. So it was good I'm also hunting for more freelance work/full-time work now that school's over. That's been pretty stressful. I'm hoping MS 2.0 brings me good tidings this year...

Congratulations, Maggie! That's excellent news. It must've been torture keeping it secret.

Sorry about the R, Pinkbow. Good luck finding freelance work!

My R&R is back with my agent, who has approved the changes, and it'll soon be in the editor's inbox. Now, we wait. Again.

*fingers-crossed* Martina!

Hi everyone I'm a long-time lurker on this thread and thought I'd finally come out and say hi. I've been on sub for seven months and am pretty sure my agent isn't going to sell my book. We've agreed that we're going to stop subbing. It's disappointing and not the way I'd hoped it would go but I'm almost finished writing another ms. I'm nervous about submitting it to her though. She's excited about the premise but hasn't asked for sample pages. How do you guys go about submitting new mss to your agent? Do they read sample pages or the finished ms?

It's nice to come out of hiding I'm feeling like hanging around writers who know what this is process like is exactly what I need.

Welcome, UV. Pull up a chair and we'll pass around the cookies and drink of your choice. I'm sorry to hear your agent is going to stop subbing your MS. Lately, 7 months doesn't seem like a long time to be on sub, but I know each agent handles this differently.

I usually send an idea/pitch to my agent before I start writing, so she can make suggestions/give insight into the premise. Then I write, edit, send it through a round of CPs, then send the finished product to her. She's told me she's happy to look at drafts, but I'm not comfortable sharing my work with her until I feel it's the best I can make it.

Hey UV! My agent doesn't want to see anything until the finished product either. She says that she starts to lose objectivity if she sees too many early drafts (which I get. I think I would be the same way). I write, polish, send out to betas, and polish further before sending it along.
I was terrified when I sent her my last polished MS that it was "perfect or drawer" with nothing in between, but I actually got back a sizable edit letter and have been able to polish it after, much to the benefit of the MS. So even if agent-darling likes but doesn't love new project, hopefully she'll give you some direction!

Yep, what the others have said. I pitched ideas to her, she picked one, I outlined it and sent it to her for the okay, now I'm working on it. She doesn't want to see it at this point till it's relatively polished.

Good luck with your R&R, Martina!

Welcome, UltraViolette!

Thanks for the welcome, as well as sharing how you go about sending your agents new work!

UV

Welcome, UV! Seven months really isn't that long on average, but I assume your agent has a method to her madness. GOOD LUCK!! And yes, finish your next MS!

I like to send my agent excerpts so she gets an idea of what I'm doing next, and so I don't waste my time on a project she isn't excited about. After my first book, I pitched her the idea for the second, then sent her the first 50 or so pages. She loved it and encouraged me to finish. So I did! And now we're on sub.

For my third book, I sent her the first 10 pages as a teaser, and she wants to see it when it's finished. We've also discussed it at length on the phone. But I do like to give her an idea of what I'm writing.

Diana, keep your head up through the heartbreak. You can do this. I'm sorry that happened, but you've got this. We believe in you!