The Daily Rejection, Vol. 2

Status
Not open for further replies.

RLGreenleaf

Ummm, just one more chapter...
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 29, 2016
Messages
181
Reaction score
9
lianna williamson: sorry to hear about your R.

But on the bright side: 1) you had an agent show interest and 2) you received a long, personalized R on your novel.

Those are very positive signs, proving that you are making progress and headed in the right direction.

Now you just need to take a deep breath and take the next step...

Best of luck!
 

Belle_91

With her nose stuck in a book
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 24, 2009
Messages
2,677
Reaction score
682
Location
Tennessee
Lianna: Sorry about your R. I completely agree with RLGreenleaf. Keep going!

Greenleaf: Good luck with the editing. I like the idea about emailing back and asking for more specific information. You might want to see if you can shave off some "That" (I use that word too much in my manuscripts and its usually not needed). That (ha) might cut down on the word count.

So, I know I am putting the cart before the horse, but there is this agent I am interested in querying. She said she is "especially interested in 20th century." Yay! I have a MS set in the 1920s. However, I also have another completed MS that is set in the 1830s. IF--IF--this agent were to offer me representation, would she still represent the 1830s book? I've always been kind of confused about how that works. What if you land an agent, you tell them about your other projects, and they don't like them?
 

Carleree

Queen of Catastrophes
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 9, 2010
Messages
2,786
Reaction score
341
Location
Canada--not the part covered in ice.
I am way out of date and too lazy to scroll back through hundreds of pages to catch up. So let me just say I miss you. I've been gone too long. I'm sorry. That's second. Apologies are necessary. Third, hugs to all who have been rejected lately. I'm about to join you in that game soon. And for all requests and offers, *snoopy dances* You. Rock. And last, I happened to notice JJs picture as I was hunting for the last page and let me just say YOUR HAIR IS AWESOME, LADY. I wanted pink streaks in my hair, but my hairdresser only does what she wants. Which is why I have sexy stewardess hair. xxoo
 

s_nov

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 23, 2017
Messages
224
Reaction score
20
This week was a rough one. Three rejections from agents and then a form rejection on a partial. Time to revise the query and take another stab at it.
 

RLGreenleaf

Ummm, just one more chapter...
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 29, 2016
Messages
181
Reaction score
9
Carleree:

Welcome back from wherever it is you were. :)

When I first saw the phrase by your name, I thought it said "Queen of Apostrophes". :)

I guess Apostrophes MIGHT cause Catastrophes, though I have found that exclamation points are the most dangerous, because they look like little swords!

s_nov:

Good luck on your query revision. They can be tough to write, and even if they are put together extremely well, they might just not be eggzackly what the agent is looking for. :(

I hope your next one works! :)
 

Jeneral

Cat wrangler
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
1,512
Reaction score
274
Location
Florida
What if you land an agent, you tell them about your other projects, and they don't like them?

When I had my phone calls, I specifically asked about this. I have a contemporary fantasy that I intend to get to at some point, and some of the agents had said "No SFF." One told me that she's fine with it, especially from existing clients, but put that on her bio so she doesn't have "an inbox full of aliens." Another said that if it's not a genre she thinks she can sell, she'd hook me up with someone else in-house that would help sell it.

So if/when you get to the call situation, specifically ask and see what they say. But the general consensus I've seen is that, even if what you have isn't on their wishlist, they'll still take it on. Now, that said, I pitched my future projects to my agent after we signed, and she was definitely more excited about some than others. If we got to a point where I want to sell a book she doesn't like, I would personally probably self-pub or something, to get it out there.
 

JJ Litke

People are not wearing enough hats
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 8, 2013
Messages
7,997
Reaction score
4,475
Location
Austin
Website
www.jjlitke.com
Carleree! *tacklehug*

Thanks about the hair. :) Manic Panic for the win! It's a nice, safe dye, since it washes out in a few weeks at most. Even the stains from where I drip it on my bathroom counter (as I often do) fade out pretty quickly.

Belle, Jeneral's advice sounds about right. Not that I know from personal experience since I still don't have an agent. My switch to short stories has led to me becoming a short story author--not where I meant for that to really go, but it's something. :) Maybe I just need to write as many novels as I did short stories.
 

Carleree

Queen of Catastrophes
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 9, 2010
Messages
2,786
Reaction score
341
Location
Canada--not the part covered in ice.
Carleree:

Welcome back from wherever it is you were. :)

When I first saw the phrase by your name, I thought it said "Queen of Apostrophes". :)

I guess Apostrophes MIGHT cause Catastrophes, though I have found that exclamation points are the most dangerous, because they look like little swords!

s_nov:

Good luck on your query revision. They can be tough to write, and even if they are put together extremely well, they might just not be eggzackly what the agent is looking for. :(

I hope your next one works! :)

This made me smile today :) I might have to change to Queen of Apostrophes. I get kind of ragey when I see them used incorrectly ;)

- - - Updated - - -

Carleree! *tacklehug*

Thanks about the hair. :) Manic Panic for the win! It's a nice, safe dye, since it washes out in a few weeks at most. Even the stains from where I drip it on my bathroom counter (as I often do) fade out pretty quickly.

Belle, Jeneral's advice sounds about right. Not that I know from personal experience since I still don't have an agent. My switch to short stories has led to me becoming a short story author--not where I meant for that to really go, but it's something. :) Maybe I just need to write as many novels as I did short stories.

((hugs you back)) My hairdresser offered wash-out pink streaks, but I don't trust her enough to try :)
 

NotForUsThanks

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 21, 2017
Messages
94
Reaction score
17
Location
England
Well I'm in a flunk. I stopped sending out queries for a couple of months to wait and see if I got long listed for a crime competition, thinking that if I did, it would be something good to put on my query letter. Anyway, I didn't get long listed and I was really bummed because I'd put everything on hold for so long having stupidly got my hopes up :(

But anyway whilst waiting for that bad news to drop in, I had an unexpected email from a person I had applied to for a mentorship who is high up in a digital publishing imprint. She said how much she liked my book and my writing and asked to see more material :hooray: As you can imagine, this got me all excited.

But she's since sent me a couple of holding emails (so nice of her, not used to that) and with each one my hope that she is going to pick me for the mentorship diminishes. She's clearly had A LOT of applications. Her last email to me said that she will be in touch in the next few weeks. After her first email, I had put on hold querying agents once more, because being mentored by her would obvs increase my chances of finding representation (or might even end in me being offered a contract by the publishing imprint she works for), but now I'm looking at it being summer before I know where I stand.

All this waiting is such a killer, isn't it? I keep finding myself in this place where all or nothing could happen, and so far it has ended up with the nothing happening. It's like a sort of schroeders cat thing. Until I hear back with an actual yay or nay, two futures (one where my book gets published, one where it doesn't) exist at the same time. Being in such a place of suspense is both wonderful and unbearable and I find myself struggling to kill time and be creative.

Why do we do this?
 

MJG_Write

WriteTeachSleep
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 10, 2010
Messages
346
Reaction score
262
Website
linktr.ee
Keep plugging away, NotForUsThanks! I've had the same issues with trying to be creative and imaginative while I'm querying. I've heard from multiple writers that the best thing to do is to move onto the next project while you're querying, but that can be extremely difficult! The worst is when I finally have a fit of inspiration, and I'm super excited to write it down, and then I get the ding on my computer, and there's a shiny, new form rejection calling my name.


Anyway, as far as my own journey, I've been getting WAY more interest for this book than all my other projects combined. Started querying in March, and today I got my 6th full request. Super excited about that. But just a few minutes ago, I got a personalized r on a query and the first fifty pages. This agent said something that has been repeated by other personalized r's, "Couldn't connect to narrative voice." That's frustrating. My character is kinda rough around the edges, so he isn't for everyone. But since that's my third rejection saying the same thing, I am starting to get concerned. The issue for me now is, do I tone his voice down? Do I even want to tone it down? I kind of love it the way it is. If these fulls come back saying the same thing, I'm not quite sure what I'll do.
 
Last edited:

MJG_Write

WriteTeachSleep
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 10, 2010
Messages
346
Reaction score
262
Website
linktr.ee
This must be some type of record! Sent a query this morning. Got a full request in the afternoon. Got a rejection in the evening.
 

RLGreenleaf

Ummm, just one more chapter...
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 29, 2016
Messages
181
Reaction score
9
I gots yet another question and was wondering what insight some of you might have on this.

I am querying a short story collection -- rather like Hans Christian Andersen tales -- and I am including two sample stories with each query.

Most of the stories are approximately 2K words, but the best one is about 5K words, almost 6K.

I am including this longer story in the query because, as I said, I feel that it's the best one.

I am just wondering, though, if perhaps I should include three shorter stories instead, to make the reading easier for the person whom I am querying. I know that their time is precious.

So my question is this: should I continue to include the longer story in there, even though it takes about 20 minutes to read? Or should I instead send three shorter stories?

Any comments or insight into this question would be very much appreciated.

Thank you.
 

JJ Litke

People are not wearing enough hats
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 8, 2013
Messages
7,997
Reaction score
4,475
Location
Austin
Website
www.jjlitke.com
I think anthologies are a tough sell. Are these stories you had published previously? If not, I'd try sending them individually to short story markets. Submission Grinder is a good place to search for markets.

If you're determined to find an agent/publisher for the whole set, though, follow their guidelines about how much to send. They usually specify a certain number of pages.
 

RLGreenleaf

Ummm, just one more chapter...
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 29, 2016
Messages
181
Reaction score
9
JJLitke:

Thank you for your input.

A few of the short stories have been published previously.

I have been wanting to publish them all as a set, since they are all inter-related (though they all stand independently on their own) and form one longer, consistent story.

Some of them are short (1K words) and a few are longer (4K-6K words).

Perhaps I should try what you suggest, and try to publish them individually.

Thanks for the link. I have book-marked it and will definitely look through it.

I always appreciate your input. :)
 

Liz_V

Not my first rodeo.
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 30, 2012
Messages
933
Reaction score
129
I finally did it -- I spelled an editor's name wrong in a cover letter. I always, always copy-and-paste names, but I was con-lagged and brain-fried and this time, I didn't. And this is *why* I always copy-and-paste. Here's hoping she's the forgiving sort.

And then I realized I'd sent the story in the wrong file format, too. *headdesk* Which gave me a chance to send another email with the name spelled correctly, but jeez. And then I backed carefully away from the keyboard for the rest of the day.


And now commenceth the epic catch-up post.

Belle_91 - Glad to hear the date went well. Hope it's a trend that continues!

RLGreenleaf - That is a heckuva last line! Maybe you can tuck it away for later use.

"Content editing"? WTF? Reminds me of the time a critiquer told me to "rewrite this twice". Um, rewrite it how? Mirror writing? In crayon, perhaps? Type it out twice more with entirely fresh pixels, because these pixels are stale? Feedback that vague doesn't really count as feedback at all, IMO.

R cookies for Cobalt Jade, lianna, s_nov, Harlequin, utesfanami, and anyone else who needs 'em. And special leftover holiday R cookies for NotForUsThanks.

Belle_91 - "Especially interested" in one thing doesn't mean uninterested in any others. I'd go ahead and query that agent unless she says she hates everything else you do. You can always bring up the 1830s book if things go well; I've always figured other projects are part of The Call, when you + agent are trying to figure out if you're as good a fit for each other as you both hope. IOW, what Jeneral said.

Hiya, Carleree!

NotForUsThanks - Bummer on the competition. As for the rest, I'm not a fan of putting things on hold in case something else comes through. All too often, it leads to a lot of time that could have been put to better use. If you're really set on this mentorship, maybe set yourself a deadline and if you don't have a solid yes by then, get back to querying?

utesfanami - Cheers on all the activity! Even if some of it's Rs. As for the voice thing, if you love it the way it is, that pretty much answers the question. You just need to find someone who connects to that sort of thing. (And who knows -- "couldn't connect" is so vague, maybe what you'd need to do is ramp it up, not tone it down! No sense trying to revise without a lot more detail on what might not be working.)

RLGreenleaf - I'd say, include the strongest stories that you can, within the guidelines' limits. And yeah, do look into sending them to short story markets. The odds are probably better for that than for an anthology these days, and there's always the option of publishing a collection later if they do well individually.

Everybody - :hi:
 

RLGreenleaf

Ummm, just one more chapter...
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 29, 2016
Messages
181
Reaction score
9
Liz_V:

Oh, definitely cut-and-paste, cut-and-paste, cut-and-paste!

That is what I always do, since I do happen write a good number of business letters for my job.

Also, if I am not sure whether the person at the other end is male or female, I use only their name in the greeting.

So far, I have not accidentally misspelled someone's name, but...

now that I have said that... :(

Just in case, perhaps I should put a cushion on my desk, so that when I do make that mistake, and when I do bang my head on my desk, like you did...it won't hurt as much. :)

BTW, thank you for your responses.
 

Liz_V

Not my first rodeo.
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 30, 2012
Messages
933
Reaction score
129
RLGreenleaf - Yep, all of that. (Including jinxing myself by saying I never do it, sadly. :) )
 

Hathor

Goddess of Rationalization
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 9, 2008
Messages
5,497
Reaction score
321
Location
In de Nile
Carleree, if you're going to change your nickname you need to stop having catastrophes. Think you can do that?

I've been gone from here as well because my search for another agent hasn't been going anywhere. This is far and away the worst reaction I've had to a queried book. And yet I thought it would be an easier sell that my poor MS which was abandoned by my ex-agent.

Don't sweat a typo. For my first book I sent a number of queries out referring to its "foreward." For my second, I sent requested pages to an agent while addressing her with another agent's name.

I'm currently trying to psych myself up for some more agent research. This isn't my favorite thing to do. But I suppose I should figure out of there are any possibilities out there I haven't already approached.

Anyone else going to participate in #pg70pit next week?

In case some of you are unaware of this resource, you can find a list of upcoming contests and pitch events at https://subitclub.com/
 

Hathor

Goddess of Rationalization
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 9, 2008
Messages
5,497
Reaction score
321
Location
In de Nile
I can NOT avoid catastrophes. They find me. I am their mother ship.

That's what I figured ;)

I already did a PitMad for this MS. Going to try pg70pit just because it takes a different approach. (Although I might change my mind if the agents are announced and there isn't anyone who might be interested in my work.) I may do SFFpit later in the month. I'll have to check if I've already tried it for this work, though. After a while, all these twitch thingies blur together.
 

megan_d

Falling in the milk
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Messages
801
Reaction score
123
Location
Perth, Western Australia
How do people keep track of all the twitter contests? The only time I manage to enter is if I happen to get on twitter while one is currently running.
 

MJG_Write

WriteTeachSleep
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 10, 2010
Messages
346
Reaction score
262
Website
linktr.ee
How do people keep track of all the twitter contests? The only time I manage to enter is if I happen to get on twitter while one is currently running.
I follow Free Writing Events on Twitter. @writevent

That helps me keep track.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.