Submissions Anxiety

JenNipps · Apr 21, 2006

When you send queries, proposals, etc., out, do you get anxious? Do you get butterflies in your stomach?

Better yet, do you have to suppress the urge to go back and get the envelope out of the mailbox/back from the post office worker?

stormie · Apr 21, 2006

Hi Jen!

Yes, at first every query, every ms., was sent with trepidation. One time I stood at the "out of town" mail slot at the post office for a full minute, envelope in hand. What was even harder was clicking the "send" button on an email query or ms. Now, six years later, it's easier and not as gut-wrenching.

JenNipps · Apr 22, 2006

With the Rejection Pledge, I'm finding it does get easier. But when I send something I consider "big," I still get the urge to retreive it.

Julie Worth · Apr 22, 2006

Tie a string to the envelope so you can pull it out. Ah...no, come to think of it, that might be a felony.

stormie · Apr 22, 2006

Julie Worth said:
Tie a string to the envelope so you can pull it out. Ah...no, come to think of it, that might be a felony.

rich · Apr 22, 2006

Tie weights to the freakin' query, manuscript. Make sure it's duly mailed. Cry if you must when you get a rejection, but don't hesitate to cast that freakin' bread upon the waters.

davidhburton · Apr 22, 2006

My anxiety doesn't come from the sending...it's when I'm waiting for the reply. When I see a new email in my inbox and that it's a reply to my query, I get the sweats...can't move the mouse properly when it's sitting in a puddle of water!

Jamesaritchie · Apr 23, 2006

sweats

davidhburton said:
My anxiety doesn't come from the sending...it's when I'm waiting for the reply. When I see a new email in my inbox and that it's a reply to my query, I get the sweats...can't move the mouse properly when it's sitting in a puddle of water!

The only time I ever got the sweats was after the query letter was returned and I had to open it. Submitting has always been easy for me, and the waiting never bothered me a bit, but once the query is returned you have to look inside to see whether it's good news or bad. That was always the sweaty brow, shaky hands moment for me.

JenNipps · Apr 24, 2006

Julie Worth said:
Tie a string to the envelope so you can pull it out. Ah...no, come to think of it, that might be a felony.

Don't think I haven't thought of it.

rich said:
Tie weights to the freakin' query, manuscript. Make sure it's duly mailed. Cry if you must when you get a rejection, but don't hesitate to cast that freakin' bread upon the waters.

They go out. Though I haven't met my goal for the past two weeks due to family stuff. I'm thinking I'll catch up on it this week.

davidhburton said:
My anxiety doesn't come from the sending...it's when I'm waiting for the reply. When I see a new email in my inbox and that it's a reply to my query, I get the sweats...can't move the mouse properly when it's sitting in a puddle of water!

That's when you need to get a rollerball mouse with the ball on top that you just move with your thumb.

Oddly enough, the waiting doesn't bother me. Partly because I do always have several things going at once so I can't/won't dwell on the wait. That's what works for me, anyway.

blacbird · Apr 25, 2006

It makes me phyically ill. Literally. I get headaches. But I think I may have solved the problem: I now have Submitter's Block. The inevitable futility of it all has convinced me that nothing I ever write will ever be accepted anywhere, so what's the point?

Yeah, I know, that's circular reasoning. A lot of reasoning always works out that way. In any event, I still write, God knows why, but haven't submitted much anywhere over the past year, and don't envision a change in that anytime soon. I guess that happens when you work in the Unmarketable genre.

caw.

rich · Apr 25, 2006

Editors are your best critics.

blacbird · Apr 25, 2006

rich said:
Editors are your best critics.

My stuff must be perfect, then, because they never have anything to say about it.

caw.

stormie · Apr 26, 2006

blacbird said:
My stuff must be perfect, then, because they never have anything to say about it.

caw.

Ah, so perfect they have to send a form letter. They're left speechless. (At least that's what I like to think....)

Lee_OC · May 12, 2006

I've only submitted shorter works such as short fiction and articles. In the beginning, I used to get nervous. Now I'm more impatient than nervous. I just want them to make a decision...if I'm rejected, I'll just look for another publication/market. I've developed really thick skin.

Anya Smith · May 12, 2006

Hi Jen,

The truth is, I haven't even progressed that far after my last rejection. I keep polishing the manuscript, the synopsis, and I have yet to write a query letter.

I guess I'm scared, and I keep saying I'll do it tomorrow. It makes me miserable and I feel inadequate.

stormie · May 12, 2006

Anya Smith said:
The truth is, I haven't even progressed that far after my last rejection. I keep polishing the manuscript, the synopsis, and I have yet to write a query letter.

Problem is, you can spend too much time polishing to the point where the ms. doesn't have the energy, the sparkle, it had at one time. (It's the opposite of polishing a stone 'til it gleams.) You have to say, "Enough." Take a deep, deep breath, and kiss it good-bye. Send it out there. If a query has you stumped, just write three succint sentences about your novel--like what you see on a book flap or back-of-book, and the rest is very easy.

Everyone's scared in the beginning, and there's still some bit of that even when you've landed the agent or the publishing contract, but it really does get easier!

Lee_OC · May 12, 2006

stormie said:
Everyone's scared in the beginning, and there's still some bit of that even when you've landed the agent or the publishing contract, but it really does get easier!

I remember my first rejection letter...one of those form slips. It really shook my confidence for a little while. I got over it. I think you just have to dive right in and get used to the submission process.

JenNipps · May 13, 2006

Lee_OC said:
I've only submitted shorter works such as short fiction and articles. In the beginning, I used to get nervous. Now I'm more impatient than nervous. I just want them to make a decision...if I'm rejected, I'll just look for another publication/market. I've developed really thick skin.

Heh. I can completely relate to the impatient part. That's completely me.

Any tips on developing a thick skin? I'm still a bit burned after that last one.

JenNipps · May 13, 2006

Anya Smith said:
Hi Jen,

The truth is, I haven't even progressed that far after my last rejection. I keep polishing the manuscript, the synopsis, and I have yet to write a query letter.

I guess I'm scared, and I keep saying I'll do it tomorrow. It makes me miserable and I feel inadequate.

From personal experience....

Try not to let yourself feel miserable or inadequate over it. It only leads to more feelings of the same. If you feel like you're not ready to submit a full partial, start with somewhere that takes either only a query or a query and a few pages of the story itself.

One agent I'm seriously considering submitting to (actually, the one I was going to have an appointment with at the conference last weekend) only accepts a query and the first five pages of the manuscript. That's it.

If you can do something like that, while it won't completely alleviate those feelings, it will (hopefully) give you a feeling of accomplishment that you did get something submitted. Each little success begets a larger success.

Lee_OC · May 13, 2006

JenNipps said:
Heh. I can completely relate to the impatient part. That's completely me.

Any tips on developing a thick skin? I'm still a bit burned after that last one.

I don't know if I have any useful tips.

I think it helps to keep busy and stay productive. By the time that rejection letter (or email) rolls in, I've already thought about the next gameplan or the next project.

Now when they don't respond at all, that's when I get really anxious. I hate that feeling of limbo.

Anya Smith · May 14, 2006

Thanks, Jenn, stormie, Lee OC, for the encouragements.

Jenn, I'm also working on thickening my skin. Why can't we just turn off our emotions when we take the mail out?

Bamponang · May 15, 2006

stormie said:
Now, six years later, it's easier and not as gut-wrenching.

Lucky you! More than a decade after I began my writing career, I still have a serious case of submission anxiety. I have a high number of articles and personal essays that i completed and that I should be sending out, but i'm too scared because what if they are not right for the market or need more work?

My resolution this year is to look through all the stories languishing in my hard drive and submit those that look good enough. Even rejection will be a step up.

JenNipps · May 15, 2006

Lee_OC said:
Now when they don't respond at all, that's when I get really anxious. I hate that feeling of limbo.

Now that is something I can completely relate to. I have a short story in that place right now. Even after sending a follow-up two weeks ago.

Variant Frequencies · May 15, 2006

I sweat every part of the submission process, not just the "is it good enough" stuff. Did I follow the guidelines to the letter? Did I get the right submission in the right envelope? Is there a stupid typo in the query letter, even though I've reread it a dozen times? It's actually a relief when it's gone and out of my hands.

Lee_OC · May 15, 2006

Bamponang said:
Lucky you! More than a decade after I began my writing career, I still have a serious case of submission anxiety. I have a high number of articles and personal essays that i completed and that I should be sending out, but i'm too scared because what if they are not right for the market or need more work?

My resolution this year is to look through all the stories languishing in my hard drive and submit those that look good enough. Even rejection will be a step up.

You might as well start submitting today. Why wait?

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