The Next Circle of Hell, Vol. 2

I've been lurking on this thread since my MS went on sub early this year. Now that it's been on sub for several months, I've reached a truly dejected state, enough to actually post something. My agent is very positive and she has sent me several complimentary rejections from the editors she's subbed to, but nobody is biting yet. I had no idea the sub process would take so long or be so hard to deal with. Getting an agent was a process I was more in control of: I could decide which agents to query and when to nudge them, but now I have to trust my agent that she's choosing the right imprints and right times to nudge, and the wait is killing me! It's hard not to pester her constantly, but I've been very restrained so far.

I'm glad to have this thread and people to talk to who know what I'm going through!

Do donuts go with Speznas? Please correct me, but isn't a spezna chocolate and black pepper vodka? Because that might go good with donuts....

I have my crit circle IRL tonight...I might be bringing speznas and donuts...

I also have a call with my agent today to talk about subbing and what I should be doing with myself in the meantime. I get super nervous on the phone, so fingers crossed I don't totally scare her off with my awkwardness! Lol...

Good luck with the phone call, Lena! I've been on sub for a few weeks and the wait is agonizing. Going to disconnect and write longhand today

This was my first week on sub. Hoping I can get absorbed in a new writing project and put it out of my head, like I did while querying. That TOTALLY worked. I was completely calm and collected at all times

Hey Herstory, it sounds like we went on sub at the same time if "early this year" is code for "mid-January." ;-) I've received three passes and crickets on the others. The three passes came within the last month. That's right, for the first 4 months, I got nothing. Crickets formed a nice little camp in my backyard. And front yard. And driveway. And . . . I digress. Anyway, two of the passes sort-of mentioned an issue, so I revised and forwarded a new version to my agent a couple weeks ago. She loved the revisions and sent to a few more editors. She also sent the new version to the ones from January we had never heard from. I foolishly thought that with a re-send and a shiny new version, I'd hear news, even bad. Instead, the crickets are re-congregating. Anyway, it's so hard to keep motivated, but I've essentially resigned myself to that this one won't sell (stupid with only three passes, I know), and that I should work on my WIP, which I am doing. Yes, on some days I'm more motivated than others, but I'm near the end of my first draft of the WIP, started another MS (only 7,000 words, but I was inspired), and am excited about continuing that one. If I had any advice, it'd be to try and get yourself excited about another project. Also, it's summer (assuming you're in the U.S.), so enjoy the weather and get involved in something to take your mind off sub!

Pass me a donut & a big mug (cup?) of Speznas. On sub 5 weeks now, with the 1 flattering pass so far. I shouldn't feel whiny, because I've just started compared to others, but I do.

In other news, my ya sci-fi thriller is a finalist in the YARWA's Rosemary Contest, which will be judged by 2 editors/1 agent, so I guess I've had a good week.

Still want that donut, though.

I was going to have doughnut today but the café I come to seems to have stopped doing the raspberry ones I like. Boo!

I can totally understand people who feel that being on sub is a more frustrating experience than querying agents. It feels like there's a lot more you can personally change. Hoping for some good news for everybody soon!

Martina, congrats! That's fantastic!

I don't mean to be all You young whippersnappers... but I've been on submission for fifteen months. So. Hang in there, kiddos.

I recently finished a first draft of the new thing and most days I'm feeling pretty excited about that, so yay for immersing oneself in the work!

Thank you for your well wishes! I was so psyched to place.

I've got a question for the group.

Once you go on sub, how does your agent handle subsequent books? I'm in the interesting position of signing with my agent for the MS I wrote 2 years ago, but I've completed two more since. The second MS is the finalist above, and I've recently finished rewriting the third based on my agent's suggestions during our offer phone conversation.

I asked her a wk or so ago when she'd like to read the second or the new one, but she didn't comment. I think she's solely focused on selling my first MS (which is a great plan, of course). And I know she's really busy right now.

But, as someone who could potentially write 2-3 books a year if I put my mind to it, I wonder if they'll start stacking up like cord wood on my hard drive.

I guess I should slow down and read for a few months.

Owlie, I'm sorry to hear about the crickets, even after your revisions. That must be really discouraging. Silence is in some ways worse than bad news. The not knowing is just icky. If my agent doesn't give me an update after a month, I start bugging her because I need to hear something (I hope that doesn't make me a high-maintenance client!). And you're right---the best thing to do is focus on a new MS.

MartinaMay, I wonder why your agent can't pitch two books at once? My first MS is still on sub but my agent is working on my second MS and will be pitching it to editors soon. Maybe some agents don't like to pitch more than one of a client's books at once, but I'm glad mine is willing to. I'm interested to know what others' experience has been with this.

Martina, congrats! My agent also told me to keep writing but has been uninterested in seeing more. Granted, I just went on sub. I would guess that once her first couple rounds are done, if no one she thought would be interested has taken the bait, she'd begin looking at another book. But she has told me everything depends on this first book. No pressure or anything

krashnburn said:

I don't think I could handle your sitch, Tree. Props for your patience!

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I got a fair bit of news back from agents (during my hunting days) where they hung onto it and thought about it and then in the end passed. maybe that's what's happening here.

Herstory said:

Maybe some agents don't like to pitch more than one of a client's books at once, but I'm glad mine is willing to. I'm interested to know what others' experience has been with this.

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My agent has subbed three of my manuscripts, basically staggered around 4 months apart each, but they went MG, then YA, then MG, which helped her ability to do that. She made clear that this is really not the norm. It's because the options get limited - if she's already subbed to one editor with the first MS, she can't sub another MS to them before they've responded to the first one, and she also can't sub the second manuscript to another editor at the same imprint, or sometimes even at the entire publishing house, until she hears back from the editor with the first MS.

But whatever, I just keep writing. I'm going to have something new ready to sub by the end of summer.

That makes sense, Joy. With some editors using the no response means no policy, I wonder how that will change subbing rules when they're still waiting for a response.

My agent and I were talking about moving quickly onto submitting one of my YA books when I was on sub, but then when talk started about a possible multi-book deal, that stopped because we feel the next project needs to be the sequel.

I'm actually pretty relaxed at this early stage. I mean, it's out of my hands now. When I was querying, I had to do a new round every few weeks for almost a year! Getting my hopes up with every full request. That was grueling. With this, I may not freak out until I have to do edits for someone. In a few months, I'll probably feel different, though!

That's interesting on the multiple subs, Joy. I just finished a first draft of my WIP, and after revisions, betas, etc. I think it will be ready to show my agent in the fall, but all of a sudden I had this feeling of why bother? Like the one I currently have on sub, the one I just finished is an MG contemporary fantasy, so I'd think the same pool of editors would be in play. I'm beginning to think this was really stupid on my part and that I should have written something in a different genre if not age category. (Not that I necessarily can control what interests me/what I write anyway.) Oh well, I had a flash of an idea a few weeks ago and started a YA. I'll work on that one next. It just seems with editors taking so long nowadays that it'll be years before the first one is considered a dead project to even start subbing the next!

That wasn't at all stupid, Owlie. I have a friend whose option book just got turned down by her publisher because it had elements of a different genre than her debut book. If you do sell the first book on sub, it'll be great to have another completed book in the same genre. Even possible to get a two book deal. You're also well positioned if you get rejections on the first book, but the editors say they want to see more from you. We share an agent, don't we? Share the new thing with her - she'll know what to do and be glad to have options and a productive writer.

Yeah! It's definitely well worth having that extra book. That could be the one an editor falls in love with, which then brings them back to the book currently on sub afterwards.

Thanks, guys. Good points! For some reason the realization suddenly hit that the six-month mark was approaching. With only hearing back from three editors, I got caught up in doing the math and things just looked bleak. But you never know which book will sell, so of course it's better to keep going. Also, the first editor who passed on the one currently on sub told my agent that she loved the book--she just thought it might be too quiet for her list. She read a short summary of this WIP and told my agent she'd like to see it when I was done. If anything we can probably submit to her.

Owlie, that's great! I hope that first editor loves your WIP. I've heard that phrase "too quiet for her list" a number of times now from editors who've passed on others' novels as well as mine and wonder what it really means. Is it code for "pacing too slow" or "not enough action" or "no famous people are in it"? Does anyone have thoughts on this?