Over the course of the last five years my novel has been requested and rejected by approximately 65 agents (admittedly, requests for the full have slacked off in the last couple of years). Recently the same much rewritten novel has been requested by three different small publishers at a Twitter contest. I'm wondering, if one--or all--of them make me an offer, would that mean publishers like my novel more than agents? Would it mean I've finally rewritten it right? Would it mean a major publisher might be interested? If I continue to query agents, should I mention the three requests, or an offer if I get one? Or should I go with a bird in the hand and let the book be published by a small press, knowing very few people will probably see it. By the way, all of these small presses are legitimate, give (small) advances, publish in hardcover and ebook form, etc.
Rejection with a Twist
- Thread starter popmuze
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I wouldn't contact agents because you have requests from a publisher. You're not out of the woods yet. Publishers might show more of an interest, it all depends. If you get an offer, you could go to agents for it, but in most cases they won't be interested in a small press, even with small advances.
Your answer seems to be, if I get an offer from a small publisher, take it, rather than continuing to pursue agents (after 65 rejections).
NO.
I didn't say that. All I was saying was don't contact agents if you have requests. And if you get an offer, you might have a hard time still finding an agent. I didn't say take the small publisher deal and not continue the agent route. Usually you do the agents first and if that doesn't work out, you submit to publishers. But you should be submitting to large publishers first (the ones that take subs directly.) Always start from the top and work your way down to the small publishers. There are indeed big publishers out there that you can submit to directly. You just have to do your research first.
You shouldn't be approaching small publishers first though.
Unfortunately, it was the small publishers that approached me. I'm so tired after 65 rejections by agents (of the full, not the query, maybe another hundred rejected the query or query and ten pages) that I figure this is a book no agent would touch. However, if I go to a regular publisher unsolicited it could take six months before they even respond, if they ever do.
Honestly if I were you, I'd keep pushing for better. That's great these small publishers are interested. But wouldn't you want to find out if a better publisher might like it instead? or too? Just because they might like it, or they might offer even, doesn't mean you should take the deal. If it works for you, then yeah. Have you tried bigger publishers before? I know the waiting period can be long. Like unbearably long. But wouldn't you always be wondering, could I have done better? See this is why some of these contests are not a good idea. Some of these small publishers that hang on that Twitter stuff, want to reel you in. Come to find out it's a bad deal. I mean, you haven't even gotten a contract yet.
I would submit the book to the best places first and see how that goes. Don't take any deal that comes along just because you suffered through 65 rejections. The book that's coming out for me took 7 years of rejections to hundreds and hundreds of agents. Then I started submitting to publishers and I was so damn close so many times. And R&R here and an R&R there. I have a few offers too and turned them down because of poor contracts. But I kept pushing and kept researching my brains out. When I saw that my publisher was taking submissions directly for the first time, I jumped on it. And it only took them a month and a half. She requested the full and 5 days later, bam! A letter offering publication with the release date and everything.
SO it happens, believe me. You just gotta keep plugging along until your satisfied. It's good your getting interest, but it's worth it to look for better opportunities first.
I would submit the book to the best places first and see how that goes. Don't take any deal that comes along just because you suffered through 65 rejections. The book that's coming out for me took 7 years of rejections to hundreds and hundreds of agents. Then I started submitting to publishers and I was so damn close so many times. And R&R here and an R&R there. I have a few offers too and turned them down because of poor contracts. But I kept pushing and kept researching my brains out. When I saw that my publisher was taking submissions directly for the first time, I jumped on it. And it only took them a month and a half. She requested the full and 5 days later, bam! A letter offering publication with the release date and everything.
SO it happens, believe me. You just gotta keep plugging along until your satisfied. It's good your getting interest, but it's worth it to look for better opportunities first.