The Daily Rejection, Vol. 2

triceretops said:

The only thing left is the proposal . Kick the frogs to the curb. The Prince will step up (or the princess).

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Thanks tri. I've a lot of have already been turned down and not for the same reasons. These numbers are great but they don't tell the whole story.

Sorry noranne. How about taking a step back and giving yourself some space? It's not easy but then neither is being an astrophysicist. You can get burned out pretty quickly.

merlot143 said:

Thanks tri. I've a lot of have already been turned down and not for the same reasons. These numbers are great but they don't tell the whole story.

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If it makes you feel better, I had tons of fulls rejected and still found a happy home. And I do mean tons.

noranne said:

Two more Rs for me. Very much in the depths of rejection despair. Started crying at a work talk yesterday. I feel just completely idiotic at this point for even trying anymore.

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Sorry, noranne. That's rough. We writers really are gluttons for punishment. But I have to believe your persistence will pay off. And when it comes to writing...is there really another choice? Writing feels intrinsic to me. I can't imagine giving it--or my dream of being published someday, so other people can read my stories--up.

noranne, you're not alone in rejection despair. But you are NOT idiotic for persisting! Because if you're idiotic, then so am I. I'm on revision number 4 with soundly rejected book and I have no idea what I'm doing. I tried throwing in the towel but here I am, poking at it with a stick. I have serious book envy when I see how many manuscripts you've written!
This will pay off for you one day. Feel lousy for now, but don't stay there.

Ugh, noranne, I'm so sorry . Believe me, been there, done that (my workplace bathroom has become a crying haven ).

Hugs noranne. Give yourself the space you need, but we're here to listen!

Have been off AW for weeks. Busy with life, but also a bit impatient with myself, the process. Not my first time around, so I thought it would be less maddening. (NOPE) I have five outstanding fulls, about ten queries still out, then I'm calling it on this book, I think. I have hope-- some of my fulls are out with literally three of my top agent choices-- but I'm trying not to get excited.

Getting close to finishing a new thing which is SO different than my current querying project that it makes it feel like a whole different universe. It's hard to even think of an agent who would love both pieces, so that's a bummer. After four finished books, I feel like I'm still finding my niche-- or not finding it, I guess. Do I have to have a niche? Blerg.

My first full request from last month has turned into revision+exclusive request . . .

Congrats!

Gen5150 said:

My first full request from last month has turned into revision+exclusive request . . .

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That's great news, congratulations!

However, don't get crucified on the exclusive part. There are a few AWers here and there that can share some experiences on how exclusivity can backfire on you if it drags on for too long.

Thank you both.

I was taken aback because I have emotionally prepared myself to invest in my mystery WIP because this novel might be too ambition for a debut. I would have felt differently about an exclusive when I began this journey back in August, but I cant think of a good excuse not to agree at this point.

Plus, I love editing.

noranne, you've got to be pinned for courage above and beyond the call of duty. I have a list of books, like you do in your sig line, except mine is larger, if that seems possible. I'm near collapse myself. I just think the industry as a whole has tightened up, almost like they're running scared. It could have nothing to do with the quality of the book itself. Have you given each and every book a substantial round of submissions? I'm talking about topping off near the 100 mark for each. You would be surprised just how many books are picked up when all hope was lost and the end was near.

Gen, that's good news. Take your time on it. I hope you nail that sucker!

Thanks so much everyone. I'm feeling a little better today. I think I was just really expecting this round of querying to be better. I've been improving my response rate each time and so I think I had an expectation in the back of my mind that this time it would be better again. But it's not. Which isn't the end of the world, of course, I just need to re-calibrate my expectations. I just worry that I keep writing manuscripts that no one wants and I'm not learning enough. I don't really know what I need to do to take my stuff to that next level. I suppose that's the fun part!

ETA:
To give some context to that big list in my sig:
MS1 and MS2 -- written when I was a teenager, basically really crappy and never actually submitted anywhere
MS3 -- started when I was a teenager, dropped for a few years, and finished after college, queried it only a few times before deciding it wasn't really right (and it was YA, which isn't my preferred category); 8 queries, 8 rejections (0%)
MS4 -- the first one I wrote really "seriously" and actually queried widely; 84 queries, 3 requests (3.6%)
MS5 -- I knew this one was an uphill battle because it's super short, but I loved it and still do and it's on the top of my list if I ever decide to self-pub; 84 queries, 3 requests (3.6%)
MS6 -- really thought this was The One, but nothing panned out; 97 queries, 14 requests (14.4%)
MS7 -- thought this one might be an easier sell, but so far... ; 23 queries, 1 request (4.3%)

I know it's still early. The next 75 might bring better results!

Gen5150 said:

Thank you both.

I was taken aback because I have emotionally prepared myself to invest in my mystery WIP because this novel might be too ambition for a debut. .

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Not sure if this applies everywhere, but by what I hear, the more ambitious the debut, the better. I think there has to be something really special in the story, something only you could write, or that you went to great lengths to write, whether it be great and original research or excavating your parents' memories or whatever. I think it's harder to be noticed debuting "standard" genre stuff.

So don't be scared to be ambitious, and congratulations on the request! It's a very good sign. And loving editing is the only way to be in this biz. That's what most of it is, at least in my experience. Good luck to you!

Noranne, it is such a long game, and knowing it intellectually doesn't really help, does it? Especially when this is something you've wanted and worked for for so many years.

I think I mentioned this in a different thread, but about this time last year I was at the point of giving up on my book, which was the 7th one I'd finished but the only one I'd queried. It got an agent quickly, but she asked for many, many rewrites, and I was pretty convinced I'd never "get" what she was trying to tell me, and the whole thing would fall apart. I started a kind of journal where I wrote down what matters to me in life, what I truly wanted to achieve in writing, what was making me so frustrated. I asked myself what I would change about my life if I decided it's okay to never ever be published. Turns out I wouldn't change anything. I'd keep writing, keep trying. Realizing this eased some of the pressure I was putting on myself. All of that pressure is internal, and we can change it, even if it's very hard! Once I relaxed a bit, my writing improved, and everything worked out. But it was a long, long road.

Keep at it! Maybe some soul searching will help you like it helped me. Or take a break. Appreciate the other parts of your life that don't have anything to do with writing. Pick up a non-writing hobby. Sometimes great things happen when we don't strive quite so hard. We have to pace ourselves for this marathon, right?

Cheers on the requests, casualrungal & merlot! And to Gen5150 on the R&E!

noranne, It's not idiocy, it's determination! (And it gets an extra-special R cookie. With sprinkles.)


I haven't been querying, and I'm not writing much either. I can't even seem to get going on the fanfic I promised myself I could play with. I blame the non-writing project, which evidently thinks brain cells are a crunchy yummy treat.

Personal rejection from PodCastle. Said my story was “unique and interesting with a great voice” but then the six deadly words just not what we’re looking for. I’m starting to think this one is not sell-able, and am running out of pro markets.

This is soooo hard...

After chilling out on my MS for a while because of the R&R I received, I finally finished my revision plan! Not all of the agent's concerns are addressed as I think we were looking for different things, but I'm just gon cross my fingers. I still have other fulls out if it doesn't work out with them, anyway. Next week is spring break, so I won't have classes, but I also work two jobs so idk if i'll be able to take advantage of the time offfff.

I can't believe I just started re-editing from the original print version final draft, a 430-page thriller/adventure. Got my rights back on it. Glad I did. The pub house did nothing for it. I'll put it up for reprint. I had some takers on it before. By Yimminy, I'll do it again.

I'm in a similar boat, tri. Got the rights back on my gay British spy historical fiction, so I'm doing a fresh edit. Then I'll decide what to do with it.

I wrote a short, my first one in a long time (10 months). Wasn't feeling it, everything seemed rusty, but let my betas have a hack at it all the same.

Then I sent it off for my obligatory Clarkesworld fast rejection on Saturday. I woke up this morning and found I've got through to the second round. It'll probably still be a rejection because their acceptance is so brutally low, but... it still made me happy. Have had a rubbish winter so it's cheered me up They have always fast-form-rejected me for everything else I've ever tried.

Other submissions are stalling or not doing much. Had some rejections on an older flash piece, including from the ever-elusive DSF (lol).

zmethos said:

I'm in a similar boat, tri. Got the rights back on my gay British spy historical fiction, so I'm doing a fresh edit. Then I'll decide what to do with it.

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That's fabulous. The only site I've found that lists publishers who do reprints or even consider them, is Ralans. I've hardly ever found a publisher who actively does reprints or mentions that they do. (Probably not hitting the right ones).The Ralans publishers say either yes, maybe or no. All of them. And the book doesn't have to be an indie with 5,000 or more sales. I quit today after 84 pages.

Hey, congrats, Harlequin! That’s no small thing, making it to the second round there. Good luck!

Still waiting to hear from the agent that I sent a full to... It's been 42 days, so just over a month really which I know isn't a long time but it feels like it. Already trying to steel myself for the rejection. Keep checking her Twitter too, which I know is bad, and seeing her announce all the other authors she's signed (she's new and currently building a list). Also waiting to hear back from an author who requested the query. It just feels like time is dragging on, seeing as this project has already been queried with everyone else worthwhile... Working on the new one but it's much more difficult and more of a slog than the last one too and I'm losing faith in it.

Keep faith, ace! I have six fulls out right now-- the longest one is 120 days out and I'm steeling myself to CNR it, but then I notice her stats say it takes her sometimes 160 days to respond to fulls.
I'm going to start querying a new thing if/when I get neg responses back on these fulls. I've sent all but two queries I plan to send (the last ones are opening on 3/1, so worth being patient for).

Best of luck in working on new project! I'm gearing up to get back into a new thing too, but might work on a short story to refuel my energy first.