Stinky books.

Updrifting · Mar 4, 2014

I had a devastating rejection a few hours ago... okay, to be clear, the rejection was very nice. I am devastated.

But anyway... one trick I use in this situation is to make a comparison between editors/agents and a perfume seeker, if for no other reason than I can believe the problem is not my sh***y writing but some other problem that does not reflect on me. Here's the thought:

I'm always on the hunt for a great perfume - I want badly to find and fall in love with just the right one, and I very rarely do. And here's the thing: I don't have the capacity to appreciate all that many perfumes at once, as in, after I've scented five or six, I gotta take a break, 'cause I can't smell the subtleties or even really enjoy what I'm sniffing at. I become inured, my sense of smell desensitized if I stay with it.

So to cut to the chase, I wonder if this happens to editors and agents. I mean, if I'm the 3,000th thing they've read that day, don't their poor eyes glaze over at the thought of slogging through yet another NA paranormal romance? MAYBE I'M BEING REJECTED BECAUSE OF THIS!!!!

I very much want to believe this rationalization, since this is how I refuel my unsuccessful writing addiction. Anyone have any other 'It's not me!" analogies I/you/we might use in these times of need? Send 'em my way. Hurry.

katci13 · Mar 4, 2014

I've gotten rejections really early in the morning. I'd like to think it's a "I'm not awake yet!" kind of thing. Or they're in a bad mood that day. Or I'm querying a paranormal and they don't want to look at paranormal queries that day. Or (my favorite) they told their assistant to blow off all queries that day that aren't contemporary/MG/whatever else I don't write.

Hmm...I can't say it ever made me feel better, but it's always a nice thought. Sometimes if they're taking longer than usual, I like to pretend I'm in the "maybe" pile and they really want to say yes, but for some painful reason they just can't.

Updrifting · Mar 4, 2014

I like it. You must be right.

Phaeal · Mar 6, 2014

I still find what seems on the surface to be a lame "excuse" to be the most useful one, both for the rejector and the rejectee: Whatever the agent rejects (for whatever supplementary reasons) wasn't for him or her. The only way to find the agent your book IS for is to keep subbing.

Took me 281 tries to find the agent my book was for. Let the rationalizations fall away. Spend the energy on your list of new agents to query and on your next book.

BTW: There's probably something to your theory, so yeah, if you want to fall upon it on the rougher days, go ahead. Just don't wallow there too long. My own wallow-nest is more questionable: "Well, if they're too [descriptor varies per mood & daily profanity level] to recognize my inutterable godliness, then [verb varies as above] them!"

Wilde_at_heart · Mar 6, 2014

Just curious - since you're fairly new - have you posted snippets, particularly opening scenes for critique anywhere?

They can be helpful if you see everyone jump on the same problem, though less so if everyone points out something different.

However, I do find it's a good reminder of how divergent individual tastes are. Absolutely, something resonates just right with one person and someone else hates it. Although it's hard as a writer in the midst of querying, it's always good to remind oneself that agents are individuals too, with their own tastes.

I see it more akin to speed-dating than perfume though.

Putputt · Mar 6, 2014

I once came across an agent lamenting on her blog how she passed on a great MG query about a little spider because she had just signed on an author a few weeks back on a spider story. It's just one of the many, many reasons why an agent might pass on your work, so it's no use taking it personally.

dantefrizzoli · Mar 6, 2014

Yikes, that is pretty depressing to hear even from my perspective. I have heard that it is challenging enough to get deals but going through hundreds of people? Do they even provide good feedback or let you know why (besides the genre or topic of your work)?

Thanks.

Updrifting · Mar 11, 2014

Hi Wilde - I haven't posted anything for critique on AW yet, partly because I thought I had to have fifty posts before I could, and partly because I have thrown a fair amount of that spaghetti at similar walls, namely writers' groups, beta readers, conference critiques (so not fun), and, of course, my mother. Am I able to seek reviews on AW given my extreme youth (btw, I'm 47 yrs. old and must say it's way fun to say that...)?

Calla Lily · Mar 11, 2014

Pfft. Young'un. I'll be 53 next month. :tongue

Yes, you need 50 posts that engage with the community before you can start your own thread in SYW.

To see if SYW is a place you'd like to post your own work, we encourage everyone to check it out (password: vista). Read some crits. Post crits of your own. SYW is a give-and-take place. If you decide to post your own work, the peeps are more likey to crit someone who's already a part of the gang. (There have been several post-and-dashers, which is why participation is strongly encouraged.

Stinky books.

Updrifting

Writer without permission.

katci13

creative genie

Updrifting

Writer without permission.

Phaeal

Whatever I did, I didn't do it.

Wilde_at_heart

υπείκωphobe

Putputt

permanently suctioned to Buz's leg

dantefrizzoli

Updrifting

Writer without permission.

Calla Lily

On hiatus

Stinky books.

Writer without permission.

creative genie

Writer without permission.

Whatever I did, I didn't do it.

&#965;&#960;&#949;&#943;&#954;&#969;phobe

permanently suctioned to Buz's leg

Writer without permission.

On hiatus

υπείκωphobe