Today I recieved my first rejection letter from an agent and as unhappy as I am to see it, I knew I would not be accepted on the first-or possibly the first 100-agents. I guess I will be getting many more and will need to keep trying for a good agent. I hope to be enlisted with either Penguin or Viking or Random House..any bigger named book company. My dream-to be on the Oprah Book Club...oh well....dare to dream!
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Thoglog, it's a tough business and you've got to hang in there. Believe me, I just scored an agent for the second book, and it was a thrill after dozens and dozens of rejections. Chin up and forge on. You'll win by numbers eventually.
Tri
Tri
It's not personal
We publish an on-line magazine, many of us are editors or writers and have seen this from both sides of the fence. One of our writers, Andrew Oldham, has been rejected and accepted many times and always says the same thing: "A day isn't complete without at least one rejection" - to him, it's healthy to be rejected and isn't anything to get upset about.
From our point of view, we don't reject because we dislike the work, we reject because the work doesn't fit in with what we do. I'd like to bemoan the fact that many writers don't take the time out to read what publishers print e.g. we get hundreds of poetry submissions a week BUT we don't print poetry.
One London editor we knew was annoyed that writers didn't even have the common courtesy to find out his name when submitting and sent a letter to him starting 'Dear Sir/Madam' or 'To Whom It May Concern:'. We thought this was a bit anal until he pointed out that a writer who doesn't enquire about who to send to is a worry, he and many others from London publishing houses thought (like a good editor should) that this showed:
(a) that the writer isn't committed to the industry,
(b) they are not inquisitive or driven, and;
(c) have no eye for detail.
All fair and his viewpoint. We do/don't share this, we believe that you should research your market, your contacts and phone them up, sure you'll get their PA but they can tell you more than any submission book and even let you know if they're reading (most manuscripts are rejected flat out because they are not reading).
However, I go with Andrew's view that a rejection isn't personal, we reject because the writer doesn't fit in with that issue, it doesn't mean that we never want to hear off you again.
A word of warning, if you do get accepted, remain calm, remain cool, remain business like and don't bug the editor day and night (I know many who will just send back the manuscript if you do this, why? Because you are about to embark on a long-term relationship and would you want to have someone bug you 24/7?).
Good luck, it's a hard business but trust us, it is rewarding.
Editorial Team
Incorporating Writing
www.incwriters.com
We publish an on-line magazine, many of us are editors or writers and have seen this from both sides of the fence. One of our writers, Andrew Oldham, has been rejected and accepted many times and always says the same thing: "A day isn't complete without at least one rejection" - to him, it's healthy to be rejected and isn't anything to get upset about.
From our point of view, we don't reject because we dislike the work, we reject because the work doesn't fit in with what we do. I'd like to bemoan the fact that many writers don't take the time out to read what publishers print e.g. we get hundreds of poetry submissions a week BUT we don't print poetry.
One London editor we knew was annoyed that writers didn't even have the common courtesy to find out his name when submitting and sent a letter to him starting 'Dear Sir/Madam' or 'To Whom It May Concern:'. We thought this was a bit anal until he pointed out that a writer who doesn't enquire about who to send to is a worry, he and many others from London publishing houses thought (like a good editor should) that this showed:
(a) that the writer isn't committed to the industry,
(b) they are not inquisitive or driven, and;
(c) have no eye for detail.
All fair and his viewpoint. We do/don't share this, we believe that you should research your market, your contacts and phone them up, sure you'll get their PA but they can tell you more than any submission book and even let you know if they're reading (most manuscripts are rejected flat out because they are not reading).
However, I go with Andrew's view that a rejection isn't personal, we reject because the writer doesn't fit in with that issue, it doesn't mean that we never want to hear off you again.
A word of warning, if you do get accepted, remain calm, remain cool, remain business like and don't bug the editor day and night (I know many who will just send back the manuscript if you do this, why? Because you are about to embark on a long-term relationship and would you want to have someone bug you 24/7?).
Good luck, it's a hard business but trust us, it is rewarding.
Editorial Team
Incorporating Writing
www.incwriters.com
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