How many?

Jack_Roberts · Aug 5, 2007

How many rejections before you realize you've wasted your time? How many is too many?

It took one author 15 queries and only eight rejections. She came up with the story, wrote it, queried it and got a publishing deal within six months!

It took me two years to write it and one year with edits and many, many queries and I'm still looking.

Why bother?

Begbie · Aug 5, 2007

35 rejections before I signed with my agent. After a year with the agent, we've received 10 rejections from publishers. The agent stopped submitting my first novel and is now reading my second. Why bother? Because we really want this, or we wouldn't have put the time in in the first place. Sure, I'm discouraged, but I'm going to keep at it. I hope you land an agent soon! Good luck, Jack.

FloVoyager · Aug 5, 2007

Why bother? Because the alternative is unacceptable.

Sounds like you're having one of those moments. I've had many. Trust me, they all passed. If you love to write, then write for yourself and enjoy it. Worry about the business side of it later.

Comparing your timeline to that of other authors is, in my opinion, futile. There are simply too many variables to get useful data out of that.

To answer your question, how many? When there are no more respectable agents to query, I think you're done. Then you move on to respectable publishers. And by the time you're through with all of those you can reasonably query, you'll have your next project ready to start the rounds. Or maybe you'll get picked up along the way. (You won't if you stop now, so don't.)

Enjoy life first, write, submit, and see what happens. But don't forget to enjoy life first. That way, you win no matter what.

triceretops · Aug 5, 2007

145 rejections (1 1/2 years) before I landed in my agent's lap. Still have yet to sell to a major. I'm a small presser right now. Happily published but wanting bigger fish.

Tri

maddythemad · Aug 6, 2007

9 rejections before signing with agent, and so far 7 editor rejections.

But I never did sell my first book or get an agent. Sometimes it's not an issue of "giving up," but "moving on."

Good luck, Scott.

Irysangel · Aug 6, 2007

40+ rejections to get an agent (and took almost a year and a half).

6 rejections from publishers and 15 months before I got a sale. I've written 5 more books since getting my agent because I was convinced the book on submission wouldn't sell.

You keep writing, keep submitting, keep going, because it's not an option to quit. If it is, you're in the wrong business.

Jamesaritchie · Aug 6, 2007

Jack_Roberts said:
How many rejections before you realize you've wasted your time? How many is too many?

It took one author 15 queries and only eight rejections. She came up with the story, wrote it, queried it and got a publishing deal within six months!

It took me two years to write it and one year with edits and many, many queries and I'm still looking.

Why bother?

How many rejections? That's up to you.

But William Saroyan received an estimated 4,000 rejections before selling his first piece of fiction, and Erskine Caldwell wasn't far behind.

I sold three short stories and a novel before I received a rejection of any kind, but this is rare. How many rejections would I have tolerated? Darned if I know. Certainly not as many as Saroyan or Caldwell.

I think, however, it's more about how long you've been at it, and how hard you've tried, rather than how many rejections you've received.

If this is the first novel you've finished, well, you didn't expect a first effort to be easy to sell, did you? When you've written two or three or four more, and they don't sell, then you have reason to complain.

And the question, of course, is how many times has this novel been rejected, and how many times has a query for this novel been rejected. Not the same thing at all. Having a query rejected does not mean the novel was rejected, it means the query wasn't good enough to grab an agent's interest.

Jack_Roberts · Aug 6, 2007

Thanks guys!

FloVoyager is correct. I was having one of those moments. It gets hard, huh?

I took a good long walk last night and came to the conclusion as to why I’m doing this. This is my first novel. A concept with characters so strongly imprinted in my mind I could not leave them if I tried. Maybe if I hadn’t shown it to several betas and gotten positive reactions, plus most of all, maybe if it hadn’t been read to a class of 12yr olds, I would be in a different place. But those kids love it. They wanted it.

I’ve always done this for them. There is a passion inside that just screams at me to get this book out there to kids everywhere. I want them to enjoy it like those kids in Jeff Russon’s class enjoyed it. Maybe they can gain confidence from Ann and Roland, maybe just entertainment. I don’t know. All I know is that if I don’t get this book out there to them, I’ll never be truly fulfilled.

I’ll just keep working harder than before. It’s wonderful to hear from you guys that there is still hope. I’ll plow through.

Sorry I’ve been so manic lately. It’s hard to go and go and go and still nothing. What did I expect? I’ll just keep pushing.

Thanks guys!

Rolling Thunder · Aug 6, 2007

Jamesaritchie said:
And the question, of course, is how many times has this novel been rejected, and how many times has a query for this novel been rejected. Not the same thing at all. Having a query rejected does not mean the novel was rejected, it means the query wasn't good enough to grab an agent's interest.

Which also brings about the reasoning that when the first novel is completed, start another. Maybe that first query will be rejected time and time again or you won't find the right agent to take the novel or the timing for that genre/story just isn't right.

In the event you finally get an agent to take on one of your works, the words: "What else have you got for me to look at?" will eventually be uttered. Then you might be able to find a home for it.

Saundra Julian · Aug 6, 2007

How many? As many as it takes, Scott! Hang in there... :Hug2:

joyce · Aug 6, 2007

I feel your pain. I feel like giving up then that little writer thing in me starts to surface and I try submitting again. Just remember there are a bunch of people out here feeling the same as you. Good luck and just keep writing.

Jack_Roberts · Aug 6, 2007

Thanks so much! I'll just keep at it. A moment's crazyness, thats all. Thanks for the kind words.

WordGypsy · Aug 6, 2007

This reminds me of that scene in The Mexican where the hitman asks Julia Robert's character when it's time to quit, when is enough enough and you end it.
The answer is always never.
Keep writing, keep submitting!

Shady Lane · Aug 11, 2007

I give up on a ms after about 30 rejections.

But then there's always another.

larocca · Aug 11, 2007

Add me to the chorus. I didn't actually count rejections, but it's a three-digit number. I did learn from this thread that four-digit numbers happen too. Wow.

In my case, the rejection letters were all correct. I had to start listening, learning and improving before I deserved to be in print. And yeah yeah yeah, some say I still don't, but I don't listen to them.

Jack_Roberts · Aug 12, 2007

larocca said:
Add me to the chorus. I didn't actually count rejections, but it's a three-digit number. I did learn from this thread that four-digit numbers happen too. Wow.

In my case, the rejection letters were all correct. I had to start listening, learning and improving before I deserved to be in print. And yeah yeah yeah, some say I still don't, but I don't listen to them.

Amen. They WERE correct. And now I've revised, and I will agian.

One day... one day.

David McAfee · Aug 13, 2007

You know...I lost count of how many rejections I got before I found an agent.

That's one number that has never really meant much to me for some reason.

Maybe I'm just screwy.

HopelessDreamer · Aug 13, 2007

I've gotten 12 rejections so far. That's not too many; I haven't lost much hope. Now, if a year from now I'm looking at over 200 rejections, it may just be time to give up. Hopefully it doesn't come to that.

DeadlyAccurate · Aug 13, 2007

70 on the novel that landed me an agent. I don't remember how many on the previous novels, though I know the total is in the three digits. The second one I wrote, I didn't query many people on. I knew it wasn't as good as it could've been, and I didn't think it was fixable. I still don't think it is.

How many?

Jack_Roberts

Scribe of my muse, Annabelle

Begbie

Quite a character

FloVoyager

Will write for chocolate

triceretops

maddythemad

Irysangel

She of Many Names

Jamesaritchie

Jack_Roberts

Scribe of my muse, Annabelle

Rolling Thunder

Saundra Julian

A work in progress

joyce

I'm really shy...

Jack_Roberts

Scribe of my muse, Annabelle

WordGypsy

Shady Lane

my name is hannah

larocca

Business Editing Services

Jack_Roberts

Scribe of my muse, Annabelle

David McAfee

God of Squirrels

HopelessDreamer

DeadlyAccurate

Absolutely Fazed