...It's such a horrible word, isn't it? A horrible word for a horrible feeling. Today was not a good day for me to get one as I'm feeling rather emotionally vulnerable - don't know why...I'm a woman it's my perogative. There's a little voice inside me that's trying to be heard saying 'Don't take it too hard - you'll be alright tomorrow' but the bigger, nastier voice drowns it out and says 'yeah, go and wallow in your self pitying pit and don't come out until you churn out a novel for the 'mass market which will guarantee substantial sales'. What is that exactly?

Apologies for my dribbling and drivelling...excuse me while I have a word with myself...

Nahed, I was reading the other day that only one novel in five makes any profit for the publisher, and that first novels rarely sell more than 1,000 copies. How true all of that is I don't know, maybe Katie does, but it shows how careful publishers have to be if they're not going to go out of business.

No idea what 'substantial sales' are, but how can anyone guarantee them? A prediction is only an informed guess, unless the work is so stunning and the author so marketable that success is assured.

Who'd want to 'churn out a novel' anyway? Writing would then become damned hard work with no pleasure or satisfaction.

The trick is to try to have work in progress at all times and to keep sending stuff out. And remember, it's not personal.

Nahed, Sorry to hear you had a rejection today.

I had the Icera Stone rejected today on the basis that to quote from the publisher...

“The Icera Storm” for our review. I am terribly sorry, ***** is not looking to develop a fantasy list..."


Two things struck me, that they mis-spelt the title of the novel, and secondly that they called it a 'Fantasy Novel' and I, for one, would not put it in that genre.

I'm not having a moan, although it might sound like one. I do not have any high expectation that any publisher would want to publish anything I've written. I'm just making the observation, that one gets the impression that the whole system is just a hugely innefficient lottery.


<Added>

actually, they were otherwise quite positive about it... so I spose I can't complain - Nahed, perhaps you can't call yourself a writer until you've had a few rejections

I had one today too - my first, at least by post. I was asked to submit only one chapter, which was obviously unread - I could tell by the printer static still holding the pages together - lol. The comment was 'There would be an insufficient market for your work.' It took me a few tries at saying aloud, very unconvincingly 'Well - thats your opinion' before I recovered! I cheered myself up by thinking that at least 3 out of the top 10 'big read' winners also apparently would have had an 'insufficient market'. Apart from being suicidal, then cross, then philisophical, it wasn't as bad as I expected! Looking forward to the next one!

Nahed, Andrew, Heather... bad day huh?

The only comfort I can offer is that the vast majority of writers are in the same boat. Rejection is part of a writer's life. Cry buckets, kick the dog, throw things, get rat-arsed. Then, tomorrow, send it out again and get on with writing something else. Remind yourself that the most famous and successful authors have all, without exception, been rejected at some point, Remember it is only one person's opinion. The next person might love it. Yes, it's a lottery. Yes, it's not fair. Yes, it's reality. You have to learn to live with it.

Good luck and keep going.

ee.

ps - don't kick the dog!

Hi Dee - in my case dogs - and they heaved a sigh of relief at the PS and came out from under the sofa :-)) Getting back to novel number two - at least I had email feedback from one publisher who used the word 'engrossing' (yay!) - but sadly no plans to publish that particular genre :-(( Encouraging though! Off now to work out how to upload chapters, to the site, and where to tell folks I've done it :-)
PS - was it you I read grabbed yourself an agent? Congrats!

After gorging on five warmed up scones with lashings of jam and mountains of whipped cream made out of skimmed milk and half the calories of regular whipped cream (a sign that I still care about something, even if it is the size of my thighs)...I am able to write this and say that I feel utterly sick. I should've stopped on the fourth one.

Seriously though, I had a mini-weep, chastised myself in the mirror for being so bloody stupid to let it get to me then ate my scones and lay immobile for an hour in front of t'telly. Vegetation can do wonders at times.

Nell, first of all congratulations on winning first prize in the competition - here's to getting published good and proper, eh!

I know I shouldn't take it personally, and I certainly didn't feel this down on my first rejection (thought of heatherjr and her post), but as I said, had a lot of things on my mind and life etc, etc... It is very frustrating though to receive a standard rejection letter, that gives nothing away because of its generic nature. If an agent/agency didn't read the manuscript - which I suspect the first one I submitted to didn't - then I would prefer to receive a letter saying just that so that I can get over it and move on to the next agent and maybe send the ms to those agents again later down the line once they do have time to read it. What annoys me is that the same sentences of e.g. 'we specialise in commercial fiction and non-fiction tailor made for the mass market and therefore we have to be confident of substantial sales quantitites before taking on a project' or 'having considered your material (when it's clear from how the returned ms looks like it's just come out of my printer that you didn't consider it at all), we do not feel sufficiently enthusiastic or confident about it to believe that we could represent it well on your behalf' are sent out to writers who put their heart and soul into their writing regardless of whether what's written in the letter is true or false.

These agencies I've sent out to and received rejections from are well-established and I would think they could easily afford to hire someone or some two or three to reply to writers not necessarily on an individual basis, that would be unrealistic, but to at least take the time out to reply truthfully and extend the same courtesy to rejected writers as they would to accepted ones.

At least get the name and genre of the ms you're rejecting right...eh, Andrew? Sorry that you got a rejection also - keep at it (that's what I'm telling myself). You too heather, and all other writers who will inevitably be on the receiving end of rejection - persevere and all that and one day you shall have the last laugh

Anyone for a scone???

Nahed x

P.S. Sorry about the long post...it's out my system now though...promise!

Thanks Dee .

I was about ready to go buy myself a dog to kick...but then that darned P.S. stopped me

Hahaha..just thinking - you know how there's a thread saying - Let Us Celebrate With You - Tell Us When You Get Published...maybe I should create a thread saying - Let Us Get Depressed With You - Tell Us When You've Been Rejected.

Oh how pathetic...I'm laughing like a mad woman at my own silly joke :D Whoopsie, hubby has spotted me - looking oddly in my direction - but then he always looks odd.

I have the perfect solution Nahed - you swap your remaining scone for the remains of my box of chocs <grooh>
H

Nahed, if it helps, you can 'virtually' kick my old mut (but not too hard because he's wobbly on his pins)

Heather - yes I now have an agent. This is why I know what you are going through. It was a long and painful road but, if I can do it, anyone can.
Just don't give up.

Dee.

Heather, do your chocs have praline in them?????? *drool*

Dee, you're a sweety for offering your poor old mut...but I'd rather kick myself than an animal Give him a big sloppy kiss from me and tell him Auntie Nahed would neva hoit him.

Nahed, thanks for the congrats. but it wasn't first prize, but one of two runners up! Hope you've stopped feeling sick now - look upon it as a baptism.



<Added>

Oh, I almost forgot - I had a rejection yesterday!

They sure do - I eat all the others and leave the pralines :-))
H

Hey Nell, maybe I was prophecising a First Prize win for you??? Well congratulations anyway!

Heather...I'll send you my address and you can send the praline ones to me!

Now I do fully accept that rejection is part of a writer's life. Really I do and I've had 6 so far. I've very philosophical about them, marked them in my little book and sent out more submissions. THEN...I was reading a "how to" book, written by an agent, and the advice was when you get to 3 rejections, re-think because the book obviously going nowhere in it's present form. I was thinking - maybe go through my entire list of potential agents and then panic but maybe I should start now! Any thoughts anyone?
Sue
;(