My first rejection

phantom000

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I got my first rejection e-mail from Tor.com. I am actually kind of excited because it was a personalized rejection, rather then an automatic form e-mail, you know "thank you for your submission but we have decided not to use your manuscript at this time."

They said 'not what we are looking for at this time,' citing the quick pacing and I seemed to rely on dialog a little too much, but suggested another publisher might be interested in the manuscript.

What is funny is that some of the feedback i got from the forum was that i had a weak beginning that seemed to waste the reader's time so as i reworked it for submission i cut out anything that was not directly connected to the plot.

So now i am trying to decide if i should rework it again or just find someone else to send it to as is.
 
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Maryn

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Ah, now that you've started to collect rejections, you can look forward to being grizzled like the rest of us!

It sounds like they did like it, so maybe find another market that could work?

Maryn, who saved them back when they were paper
 

Maggie Maxwell

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Congratulations! Tor is a solid first rejection, they're very good at it. I've gotten personals from them myself, and I usually find them to be wise. Sit on the advice for a little bit, then go back and see what you can tweak. It sucks, but it'll get easier each time.
 

Woollybear

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What is funny is that some of the feedback i got from the forum was that i had a weak beginning that seemed to waste the reader's time so as i reworked it for submission i cut out anything that was not directly connected to the plot.

So now i am trying to decide if i should rework it again or just find someone else to send it to as is.

Definitely crack a few books and look at their opens, ideally books repped by agents you plan to query or published by houses you hope to sub to. it is enlightening to say the least to see what is actually prospering in the world beyond. It might help you decide which way to go.
 

Sonya Heaney

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phantom000 - having a personalised rejection from Tor is pretty amazing. Welcome to the dejection club. Rejections happen even after you're published, so getting used to it is an essential part of this strange job!

Congratulations! Tor is a solid first rejection, they're very good at it.

I'm not laughing at your answer, but the fact we work in an industry where "congratulations on the great rejection" sounds normal to us.

Publishing is pretty ridiculous. Or maybe that's just my way of coping with it. :)
 

phantom000

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Is word count a common concern? I suppose it would vary from publisher to publisher but at 22,500 words I am worried I have a very weird word count.
 

Maryn

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That's mighty short, unless you were submitting to a call for novellas. Or might long, if it was a call for short stories. It can be a difficult length to sell in some genres. I don't read much scifi these days, so I don't know if Tor publishes short works.

Maryn, who is, in fact, reading Sanderson at the moment, to her credit
 

Maggie Maxwell

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Yeah, as Maryn said, if it was for their novella call, that's a fine length. If it was as a novel, it's unfortunately far too short. Novels don't start until around 40 to 50k, and that's at the very short end of novels.
 

bahamaswriter

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I got my first rejection e-mail from Tor.com. I am actually kind of excited because it was a personalized rejection, rather then an automatic form e-mail, you know "thank you for your submission but we have decided not to use your manuscript at this time."

They said 'not what we are looking for at this time,' citing the quick pacing and I seemed to rely on dialog a little too much, but suggested another publisher might be interested in the manuscript.

What is funny is that some of the feedback i got from the forum was that i had a weak beginning that seemed to waste the reader's time so as i reworked it for submission i cut out anything that was not directly connected to the plot.

So now i am trying to decide if i should rework it again or just find someone else to send it to as is.
That's great that you received a personalized rejection! That doesn't happen very often. It might be worth reworking it again, bearing in mind what was said in the rejection and also the feedback from the forum.
 

SAWeiner

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Rejections happen, unfortunately. I myself have not gotten anywhere close to acceptance with my novel. A personalized touch indicates the person reviewing thought it was good enough to merit more attention. I meanwhile wouldn't revise based on one opinion. Just my take here.
 

Nether

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They said 'not what we are looking for at this time,' citing the quick pacing and I seemed to rely on dialog a little too much, but suggested another publisher might be interested in the manuscript.

Sounds like I'll never get anything published with TOR šŸ¤

Quick pacing and tons of dialogue are my jam.

(And yeah, old topic, but two other people replied recently, so I decided to slide right in there.)
 

Woollybear

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Heavy dialog is definitely a snappy way to open, and there are plenty of examples in published fiction, but pick up a few recent releases in SFF and they usually (more often than not) open with narrative and little dialog. Not backstory, not infodump, but possibly interiority of the viewpoint character acting toward a goal or something like this.

Critique from writers is great--taking heed of it is great--but it's only one source of taking our writing to a better level. Reading recent trade published fiction is just as important. That's the stuff that 'made it' in this business and serves as a great compass (arguably better than the genuinely helpful opinions of a mixed bag of mostly strangers online.)
 
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stephenf

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The rejection rate is about 98%. Not what we are looking for , is up there in the top ten reasons for rejection . It could be argued that the writer has not done the research , on the publisher. I believe it is mostly bad luck .Getting published is a bit hit and miss. It's supply and demand . Most publishers receive about 98% more submissions than they can publish.
 
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gwunders

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Huzzah! Welcome to the rejection club! Soon you'll be using them for fuel and gnawing on the massive pile for sustenance and vigor!

For real, though, that's a great rejection to start on. Good luck and keep at it!