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Is there a famous writer that you know and when you hear their name, you automatically assume that he/she never knew the feeling of a rejection letter? Mine was Stephen King. No way, did he ever, but he did. Too many to count. Just knowing this and where he is now and what he’s done is a positive action in itself. However, it is hard to accept the fact that you got a big fat no! But when you get that letter with positive feedback, it does make it a little easier to swallow.
These are a few that I got….. “The premise didn’t pull me in as much as I’d hoped.” “It’s just not a right fit at this time.” “Missing some critical elements.” I do not feel that I’m the best agent for this project.” These are just to name a few. I guess it’s better than no response at all.
After a revamp of the beginning and adding to it, I have gotten better responses, so it tells me that I’m getting closer. “This sounds very intriguing, but not the right fit.” “It’s very creative, but not the right fit at this time.” “The concept sounds very interesting, but doesn’t meet our submission guidelines. It is too long.
Finally, I got this email back….
Dear Brandy,
Thank you so much for giving us the chance to read DREAMS OF DARKNESS AND DESIRE, and for your patience, as we fully reviewed your submission. You have a lot of really interesting themes here, which I loved. Unfortunately, I’m afraid it’s not quite the right fit for our list at this time. I liked your characters a great deal, but I found the beginning a bit difficult to get into, which ultimately kept me from fully engaging with the book, and will have to pass.
We wish you success in your writing endeavors, and thank you again for thinking of us.
I then emailed back with the response if I could re-submit after taking her critiques and changing it up… I got a yes, so I did just that. This is the email I got back afterwards:
Brandy,
Thanks so much for sending this revised version of DREAMS OF DARKNESS AND DESIRE. The beginning is much more engaging, but I worry that it explains too much in the narrative. We’re told how Kira feels rather than able to experience her emotions through the writing. I encourage you to work more of Kira’s voice into the story, because she’s quite an interesting character.
It was again a no, but she didn’t have to reply to me at all, so a special shout out to Rachel Gilmer. Thank you for helping me to continue to edit and polish the manuscript, making me feel better about it and getting closer to seeing it published.
I am and will keep those rejection letters (emails) like other authors have done to fuel me to not quit. Maybe I will print them out and put them on a nail in the wall like Stephen King.
I will continue to send queries to agents and send my MS out to independent publishers and not give up. I plan to attend a writers conference and continue to work on my writing skills and also……..read.
You still must make time to read……….
Keep up the hard work and believe in yourself and your project. I truly believe in it and I just have to be patient and believe in it and then see it where it is supposed to be….. in someone’s hand, being read.