Rejections

Rejections are a part of every writer’s repertoire. I’ve received hundreds in my years of submitting – I even have a folder in my email dedicated to them, though I dare not to look!

For new authors, rejections are hard to swallow. Feelings of inadequacies often follow. Is it me or do they hate my writing?  I thought like that for years, and hated my work because of it. But you must never take it personal. Agents or publishers don’t dislike you as a person- your work doesn’t suit them at the time or they didn’t feel a connection to the work.

I’m currently in submission for my historical WIP Unspoken. I’ve received nothing but rejections for 2 months. It stings but I keep on trucking. Someone out there will like this work, a book I spent 12 months pouring blood, sweat and tears into.

I submitted to a well known publishing house recently and they seemed keen on reading the work. I heard back from them today and I knew the email wasn’t going to be an offer. They said the work had great detail but read like a soap opera. I don’t disagree with them – I see it, but I never intended for the “drama to go on and on”. It needs cleaning up obviously, despite having 3 beta readers and two edits by me. A book can never have too many edits.

They mentioned it needs a good copy edit and my past tense is all off. Unfortunately that’s my weakness; I can’t seem to grasp past and present tense well enough. My current publisher is always pulling their hair out because of it.

I expect a lot more rejections to come with this new revelation. I wish I had spent more time editing it before submitting it to 20+ publishers. I get too impatient and can’t wait to submit it.

I’ve spent so much time and effort on the book I couldn’t wait to get it out there and out of my mind. Never listen to your head! If the book doesn’t feel finished, don’t send it out!

Rejections are a part of life and something you must never take personal. Just think: JK Rowling was rejected by dozens of publishers before being sold. When a publisher or agent rejects your work, they are not rejecting you as a person and its only one person’s opinion. There are many other avenues out there for you work. Just keep on writing!