Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Writer Rejections






So the question is, "When is a rejection not a rejection?"

If you're a writer looking to get published, let's face it, YOU WILL BE REJECTED.
So I repeat, "When is a rejection not a rejection?"

It's all subjective. "No" is still a no, except when it's followed by "but." (No, this is not
making you the butt of a joke or any other such fodder...)

Say you submit to Publisher X and you get a response of "Sorry, your work does not fit with the market we sell to."

Well, hey, yes, they said no to your work, but they didn't say your writing is unmarketable. Matter of fact they didn't say anything at all about your writing. It's just not a fit for them.

So the first thing any writer has to do is target the market they are going to try to sell to. (Well, okay, maybe second. Either you have to write your story first, or your synopsis, or at least have an idea of what your story is.) Because if you're going to write a historical story in space, for instance, I think you're going to find very few markets for it. (Perhaps you ought to consider self-publishing?)

So let's say you've done your homework and you have a list of publishers that all handle exactly the type of story you write. And still you get a "Sorry, your story is not ready for publication, but..."

Ah, is not ready - THERE'S HOPE!

So your story is not ready YET but obviously they liked something and hopefully they will point you in the right direction. Watch for the next installment and I'll point out some of the biggest struggles writer's have.

And I'll bet you can probably name a few.

Until next time.

4 comments:

  1. Donna, what great post on a very sensitive subject for those moments when writers put their 'babies' on the line and don't exactly hear what they most long to hear. All I can say after doing this for "a while" :-) is that the writers who succeed refuse to give up, and embrace that which can make them better. As to the rest of it, you gotta just learn to let it roll!!! Great job on the blog!

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  2. That's exactly the idea, Marianne. You just gotta roll with it.

    Thanks for the comment.

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  3. Great post - looking forward to the next one.

    PamT

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  4. I think one of the hardest things for any writer (beyond actually getting to 'the end') is learning to appreciate revision and rejection. Equally important is the ability to take a good look at all those comments and suggestions everyone has given your work. They can't all be used, that's for sure, but it's amazing how the most off-beat (and sometimes unkind) remark can inspire you to fix and fix well!

    Excellent blog, Donna. Thanks for encouraging us all.

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