My Submission to Random House

I know this probably doesn't mean anything to any of you but I have just received an email from Random House, well via my agent and Random House and going to be giving me a decision very soon.
Iam absolutley bricking it, I suddenly have this strong urge to start sending her other samples of different works etc and to redo and redo the work I have already sent her but I know it wouldn't do any good, I could redraft it and redraft until I sprained my hand.

Here's hoping for you, Ty T.

Best wishes to you and here's hoping that you hear some good news soon.

I understand that you want to 'do something' but the best suggestion is to sit on your hands and wait. It's in your agent's hands now.

Revisions will come later, under the auspices of your editor.

Do something: Work on your next book.

Fingers crossed for you. Good luck!

Good for you. The very fact they are seriously considering your work tells you something, doesn't it? You're on your way.

Mari

Move on to the next one and keep on writing!
I hope to hear soon the good news.

Best Wishes,

Pencilone

The best thing to do is usually to forget all about it and concentrate everything you have on a new project. The one now out is beyond your control, and rewriting work you've already sent is nearly always a bad idea.

Find a new novel project and bury yourself in it. Waiting and worrying gets you nowhere.

Well done, and luck to you, Ty T.

However, frustrating the case may be, you are in an enviable situation, a situation, I reckon, the lot of writers (including myself) would give up children and fingers to be in.

I salute you... with a cup of hot, steaming, black as a moonless night, coffee.

Remember the struggle, and stay the fight.

"Live to write. Write to Live."

Kevin
www.kevacho.com

Good for you, Ty. Here's hoping you get a great big YES.

Like the others said, work on something new while you wait. I can sympathize, though. I bite my nails waiting for a new DVD from Amazon, let alone a yea or nay from a publisher.

I have made the biggest mistake of my life

I have just realized I have made the biggest mistake of my life. The thing is it was me who sent the submission to Random House, I sent it straight to them and then I got an agent. I have just realized today that I sent the wrong thing to Random House, I sent an earlier draft and it had numerous spelling mistakes and grammar errors in it. They have now responded and said that my work wasn't up to scratch enough for them to accept it and I now know why, good god I can't believe I have been so stupid. I have now told my agent to apologize profusley on my behalf for being such an idiot. On the upside though they did say my work was very prolific and that they did like it but now Iam totally hacked off for want of a better word, I don't know what Iam going to do to sort this catastrophe, I can only hope they accept my apology and I'm also hoping that since they took a very long time to review it, most likely cause I didn't have an agent when I first sent it that they won't be too peeved off, Iam trying to thing of something to say or do to make up for this gigantic mistake so if anybody has any ideas please feel free to tell me.
On the good side of things though, my agent has now succesfully submitted to Simon And Schuster and to Bloomsbury so Iam hoping all is not lost but good god. Are they going to hold this against me for the rest of my life and refuse to accept anymore work by me or accept the fully editted version of my work.

I suppose everyone makes mistakes in life and I have just made mine

Re: I have made the biggest mistake of my life

Unless you badgered them for a response, and made an ass out of yourself, they are not going to hold it against you. Writers learn, writers grow.

Years ago I sent a ms to DAW, it was awful. But the editor said send us your next project, and so each novel has gone to them--the last through my agent. They rejected it saying it didn't fit within their list at this time but they told my agent to send on the next project. LOL

DelRey--I was a member of their online workshop for a time and I put a few chapters of my book Medicine Man through it. When my agent contacted them about MM the editor (who had worked with writers in the workshop) was sure they had seen it already and said no.

My agent kept after them and they are now reading the full manuscript.

My thoughts--leave it alone. You don't write or send apologies with every rejection you get--that would make you look like a very unprofessional person. We all know just because one work was rejected that the next might be accepted.

My agent is also revisiting some of the houses who rejected the ms, the editors have changed. So around we go again.

Shawn

Re: I have made the biggest mistake of my life

Why would you send an un-proofed ms to Random House directly without an agent? I'm kind of wondering... and why didn't your agent corrected that in the first place (I assume they also sent out your ms -- proofed and ready to go?)

Also, how do you know they rejected it because of spelling errors, etc.? Did they tell you? Or would it be something else? If I were you, I'd have the agent ask them what exactly is wrong with the ms.

Yes but the thing is they rejected it because it had numerous spelling mistakes and grammer mistakes in it, I also wrote in in the present tense which makes it sound awful but this was because it was an earlier version that I had written ages ago before I had really understood anything about writing. However I have worked on it and changed it to the past tense and corrected all the mistakes, this was the draft I though I had sent to them or at least I meant to, I sent them a first draft instead of the final draft.

Wow!

8o

Cheer up--this blunder is so enormous that it will be an example of carelessness (to use the mildest possible term) for ages.

Surely that's a form of immortality.....

On the good side

One thing to come out of this is I've realized just how much having an agent helps you, they had the ms for a good number of months and to be honest I don't think they were really that bothered about it but after my agent contacted them to say that I was now represented by them within five days I received a reply. I get the feeling that I would have been waiting a good while longer if I hadn't signed with him

Re: On the good side

Did you send the thing on disk? I can't imagine sending out a first draft (printed) instead of a final draft. I always give the thing a proof before it goes.

Also, use draft numbers in your slug line, this helps you know what draft the thing is.

And did they say it had too many spelling errors and so on--or is this your assumption since they rejected it?

Shawn

No

No they asked me to submit it via email which is where the confusion came in, you see I had saved numerous copies on various places one complete, one complete but not checked, one not complete etc.

My agent forwarded the email that he got from them and it said that they liked that I was very prolific but my writing style wasn't up to a high enough standard.
The one I sent them was writing in the present tense, so it was like, "Where are you going?" King Chepheus shouts, "No where," the boy says back to him.

Re: No

Somehow I don't think present tense is the reason. It's unusual, but that alone shouldn't get your rejected (because we all know how easy it is to fix that!)

Re: No

Ty T, are you one of these people who don't mind saying who your agent is? If so, who is it? And if not, then I understand.

Good luck with your submissions.

They did also say

They did also say in the email that as well as that they already had quite alot of fantasy novels waiting on their list but that they wished him well in placing my work somewhere else.

Anyway

Anyway my agent was talking to them again and explained the mix up and has offered them some of my other work. I haven't heard anything more yet though, I reckon I'll here on Monday (It's Sunday the now) and on the plus side Bloomsbory and Simon and Schuster are currently reading my work, the one I sent Random House only editted, spellchecked and finished basically.

Re: Anyway

TyT,

I suppose thing done cannot be easily undone.

Take your time with the next submissions! Don't hurry up. Triple check everything is correct.

... And I know it is easier said than done .

Best of luck in the future. You are in the game now!

I will

Yeah I will

I think my agent is slightly peeved at me

Re: I will

Don’t worry about it, Ty T, they probably would’ve passed anyway. I do the same thing: I think I’m done and send out stuff that’s full of errors and stupidities. And six months later I’ve totally changed it, so I give it a new title and send it out again to the same people, with a much better reception. No one has ever noticed, or at least they haven’t mentioned it.