When I started writing my first manuscript four years ago, I thought, “I can write a novel. I went to college twenty-seven years ago. Nothing has changed, right?”
Oh, my word! WRONG!
Other items in writing are subjective, though. The important thing is that the reader ‘gets’ it. That was my first mistake. I’d been editing nonfiction for ten years. It never occurred to me that I had to allow some fragments and contractions to slip by, and on occasion, start my sentences with ‘and’ or ‘but’.
What? My college courses, Com 2 and English Lit, didn’t teach me that style of writing.
Oh well, back to the drawing board I went. I rewrote and rewrote and rewrote. Every time I received a rejection, it felt as though I was at a dead end, and there was no way to cross the bridge to publishing. But, I brushed off my backside and rewrote again. I think I was at thirty rewrites when I realized, maybe it isn’t just the story; maybe the query sucks.
What? They didn’t believe I was the next Nicholas Sparks or Iris Johansen.
I rewrote and resubmitted twenty query letters, even to some who’d turned me down a year before, and within hours and days, I had five requests. Within weeks I had three ‘we think we want to represent you’ letters if… I wasn’t too keen on the ‘ifs’.
A month later, I’d made a decision between two large agents and two publishers and went with a small publisher who would publish my novel within three months.
Three months later, I was a bestselling author on Amazon’s ‘paid’ list, sitting right next to, you guessed it, Nicholas Sparks. (Iris Johansen and JD Robb/Nora Roberts were lower on the list). I was so excited I took a picture of Sparks and Me. I wonder if he remembers we shared a page for a while. Probably not. LOL!
Morals of the story: Readers decide, not just big publishers anymore, and if you are receiving rejections, take a step back. Reevaluate and reassess your submission; maybe there is something you can do. Or, if it’s everything you want, self-publish, and readers will be sure to tell you what they think.
I hope this musing doesn't come off the wrong way; I hope it gives you inspiration and the okay to tear up something and start over if need be, as that is my only intent.
Until next time, happy reading and writing, friends!
Carmen
Until next time, happy reading and writing, friends!
Carmen
Thank you for stopping by my place and reading my
musings. Remember, these are just my opinions and shouldn’t be
taken too seriously. If you have questions, please feel free to leave
them in the comment section, and I promise you I will answer. If you’re
curious about what I write, please visit one of my author pages, where
you can read all about my novels and short stories. And hey, I’ll even
give you a free book just for stopping by.
If it isn’t
available free in your area, use…
Wow! Congratulations! I'd love to see your before and after query letter.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very good idea, Marie. I'll have to look up the before version. It's not in my computer, but I'm sure I can find it hidden away in my email archives. My after is easy; it's pretty darn close to my mini synopsis, which you can see under my SHE BELONGS TO ME tab on this blog. Other than the normal 'bio and PLEASE contact me', it's almost identical; since it worked with agents, I hoped it'd catch the readers' attention too.
DeleteHi Carmen
ReplyDeleteGreat post. It's informative, inspirational and comforting. Thanks for sharing your journey.
Still dancing
Jo-Ann
Thank you, Jo-Ann. That was my intention, but I also wrote the caveat at the end, hoping people wouldn’t take what I wrote as, “look at me.” Because that is never my objective, in fact, I dislike people watching me; I get all nervous when someone’s observing me.
DeleteBut I did want to share with others that it is okay to go back to the drawing board; it is okay to walk away from a big agent or a publisher if something doesn’t feel write, and it is okay to self-publish and let the reader decide. All of it is okay, as long as you don’t give up.
Keep dancing, my friend; as long as the music is playing, have fun.
Awesome!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this post. Inspirational to writers to always be learning and persist. Thanks.
ReplyDelete