Getting Serious About Getting Published - #3
Yes, I have yet another letter (e-mail to be specific) added to my Rejection folder. The frantically fast agent I had submitted to twice now has officially rejected me twice now.
And that door, while not slammed, was closed firmly.
What do I mean? She was very nice and very professional and offered a bit of constructive criticism - but made it clear she didn't connect with my voice (style of writing, as a quick explanation) by not offering to look at the piece again if I changed it per her suggestion.
I certainly don't want you to think I fault her one bit for not offering to review the proposal again. She is, I'm sure, bombarded with e-mails. Agents and editors get hundreds of queries per week. If they take the time to send you a personalized e-mail or letter, that is gold and should be considered a "positive" or "good" rejection. And I do view it as such, to be sure. That's why I sent her a thank you e-mail.
Let me explain, if you don't quite understand. Part of being an author is learning to not only write well and infer things in our writing, but we really need to learn to READ BETWEEN THE LINES! We have to figure out the subtle language of the publishing industry (which, granted, isn't always subtle but sometimes brutally clear!). If she had made a connection with my voice and felt more confident in my writing, she might have made the suggestion and asked me to re-submit after I had made the change. Since she didn't, I surmised she wasn't interested enough.
Publishing is tough and getting tougher. There are fewer houses (publishing houses/companies) and the costs keep going up to produce books. Bookstores are disappearing. The really hard part of being a writer is understanding the business side of the industry. Learning to understand agent/editor speak is part of that job. This agent wasn't enthused about me and my work. I don't want an agent who is wishy-washy about me. I want an agent who loves my voice and will convey that excitement to editors.
So, I have tweaked my work a bit and am preparing to send it out to more agents in the coming days.
I'll be sure to let you know what happens. And Happy Ground Hogs Day.
And that door, while not slammed, was closed firmly.
What do I mean? She was very nice and very professional and offered a bit of constructive criticism - but made it clear she didn't connect with my voice (style of writing, as a quick explanation) by not offering to look at the piece again if I changed it per her suggestion.
I certainly don't want you to think I fault her one bit for not offering to review the proposal again. She is, I'm sure, bombarded with e-mails. Agents and editors get hundreds of queries per week. If they take the time to send you a personalized e-mail or letter, that is gold and should be considered a "positive" or "good" rejection. And I do view it as such, to be sure. That's why I sent her a thank you e-mail.
Let me explain, if you don't quite understand. Part of being an author is learning to not only write well and infer things in our writing, but we really need to learn to READ BETWEEN THE LINES! We have to figure out the subtle language of the publishing industry (which, granted, isn't always subtle but sometimes brutally clear!). If she had made a connection with my voice and felt more confident in my writing, she might have made the suggestion and asked me to re-submit after I had made the change. Since she didn't, I surmised she wasn't interested enough.
Publishing is tough and getting tougher. There are fewer houses (publishing houses/companies) and the costs keep going up to produce books. Bookstores are disappearing. The really hard part of being a writer is understanding the business side of the industry. Learning to understand agent/editor speak is part of that job. This agent wasn't enthused about me and my work. I don't want an agent who is wishy-washy about me. I want an agent who loves my voice and will convey that excitement to editors.
So, I have tweaked my work a bit and am preparing to send it out to more agents in the coming days.
I'll be sure to let you know what happens. And Happy Ground Hogs Day.
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