While I was looking for blog posts to tweet last week, I came across a site where a blogger was particularly dejected over a rejection.
The blogger had met an agent at a conference, established a solid connection, and sent a manuscript to the agent, as invited to do.
The blogger is active in the online writing community, writes well, and follows industry news.
He’d been doing everything right, and he was getting frustrated. He mentioned throwing in the towel.
That’s a very natural response. I sent off each of my carefully-written, carefully-targeted queries with a good deal of hope and optimism.
When I’d see my SASE back in my mailbox, I can remember the sinking feeling I’d get. Some days I’d rip the envelope open quickly to get the pain over with—sort of like tearing off a Band-Aid. Some days I’d open everything else in my mailbox first…even the bills.
Either way, it felt like a punch in the gut. Particularly when I felt like the agent and I were a good match for each other.
So I wasn’t having any luck. My agent search was now stretching over the space of years.
Finally, I decided to go to Plan B. I’d keep the agent queries in circulation, but I decided to go ahead and submit directly to some carefully-targeted publishers, too.
I approached this a couple of different ways. I did submit directly to editors at smaller and independent publishing houses that accepted queries from the unagented (I usually got the editors’ names from the thank yous in authors’ acknowledgment pages.)
I also, I’ll admit, submitted to larger publishers who were closed to queries from the unagented…and a couple that were closed to queries altogether.
Sometimes, I think a different approach is really the only way to keep moving ahead. Obviously, you’ve still got to really make sure that the publisher is the one that fits your manuscript. You need to have a great query. You need to address it to the right editor.
But you don’t have to have an agent first. I’d rather have done it that way…but at the time, it wasn’t going to happen. And it ended up working out well for me—I ended up with a book at mid-sized mystery publisher Midnight Ink and interest from Penguin books, resulting in a new series. And, soon after that, an agent.
Change it up, go to Plan B. But please, don’t throw in the towel.
Yes, there is always something you can do. You can mix it up in all sorts of ways. Since I got into indie publishing, I know people who have self-published some work, and then went back to getting an agent later.
And sometimes it’s just a matter of waiting for the winds to change. Maybe those agents you hit it off with loved your work, but didn’t see a place to break in a new writer in that particular genre right this minute. Another query, another story, a few years later, and suddenly it’s exactly right.
You just never know.
I can’t remember this exact quote but it goes something like, “The only difference between a published author and an unpublished one is the published one never gave up.”
Elizabeth – It is such a difficult experience to be rejected. The temptation to give up is very, very strong, and it’s understandable why people would want to. As you’ve often said on this blog, though, there are several routes to publication. Thanks for sharing what you did to move along and keep going.
I know what you mean about those SASE’s. I was always a ‘save it for last’ person.
Terry
Terry’s Place
Romance with a Twist–of Mystery
Oh how I wish I’d known you when I was in that process. I threw in the towel after 1 1/2 years of searching for an agent and at the time, I didn’t know you could submit directly to publishers. Sigh!
karen
Thank you for reminding us.
And my advice to other non-published writers: remember to tell your good friends about your rejection so they can help you get through it. After my first rejections I didn´t tell anyone but my family, because the letters made me feel stupid, but it is vital to remember that so many brilliant authors began their careers with several rejections.
The problem with saving that envelope for last is you can almost see it pulsing with its bad news. Thanks for reminding me how you made your way out of the rejection swamp.
I’ve been getting that dejected feeling but no because of the agent/ publishing search (not at that stage yet). I feel like I will never finish writing my first book. Too many extraneous factors are in play and I just don’t know how to juggle all of it.
I can’t remember who the author was, but someone once said they had a TBS file that they kept their recjection letters in. (“They’ll be sorry”)
Long after she became published (and a best seller) she said she was approached by an agent on an elevator who said they would like to represent her. She was amused because a rejection letter from that very agent – was in the file!
:-)
Camille–You’re exactly right. It’s frequently not the manuscript, it’s the market. And persistence really does pay off.
Linda–Yes! We’re stubborn, pigheaded people, I think. I know I am! It’s very difficult to get me to change my mind about things…which certainly helps in this business.
Margot–If the only route to publication was through an agent…there’d be a lot fewer books on the shelves. :)
Chary–There are so many reasons NOT to finish a book. There are a LOT more reasons not to complete it. If there’s any way possible, though, slug it out…if nothing else, just to prove to yourself that you can do it! I found the 2nd book came a lot easier.
Terry–A couple of times I thought I’d just toss the SASE in the trash without even opening it. But I *think* I always opened them. The two times that I’ve gotten interest from a publisher directly, though, it was via email or phone that they contacted me…I’d figured back then that if I saw an SASE, it *couldn’t* be good news.
Karen–It’s one of those things that I think we’re all reluctant to do…particularly after a lot of agent rejections. But honestly? I think it’s harder to find an agent than find a publisher.
What an excellent plan B! I’ve actually started to gather the names and websites of reputable publishers who accept unsolicited manuscripts. There are more than I thought there were. Now I’m just making sure my work is polished to perfection!
What’s another rejection when you already have enough to paper your walls? If you hang around as long as I have, rejections will seem less like personal failures and more like another piece of spam in your inbox.
Shushiboofy–I was rejected by my current agent. :)
Heather–There *are* a lot of them. Many of the publishers are well-known, smaller to mid-sized publishers. If I wasn’t familiar with one, then I was sure to check them about “Preditors and Editors” and “Writers Beware.” Good luck!
I agree. There are so many option out there that you don’t need to try just the one way.
CD
Excellent advice – especially the “don’t throw in the towel.” I landed an agent I met at a conference. She did nothing. I then went to plan B and found a publisher on my own.
Clarissa–Definitely more than one way to approach the publication quest.
Jane–There’s that, too–sometimes having an agent isn’t the be-all, end-all.
Dorte–I think it’s better to share the experience, because we’ve all been there. I’ve JUST thrown away a huge drawer of rejections that I came across. I’m not sure why I kept them. When I saw them the other day, I still felt sort of sick…I flung them in the trash real quickly. Bleh.
Bravo! I see so many writers just determined they will find an agent for their very first book, and it rarely works that way. There’s far more publishers than agents out there – why not increase your chances for success?
There are other ways of being published–not just one. Perseverance is important! Thanks for the reminder of it.
There was a Plan A???
Elspeth–Well put! Yes, and it was QUITE a swamp that I was in!
Diane–There are definitely other ways to approach it. :)
The Golden Eagle–I think persistence is everything!
Alex–Not for some of us! You’ve done really well with your Plan B!
Patricia–I’ve tried to think how many I must have had in a 7-8 year period. I’m thinking close to 100? And I was targeting my queries!
My plan A is self-publishing. It’s time for more writers to signal that breaking into traditional publishing is not the only form of writerly success.
I feel very lucky that my first rejection consisted entirely of two words, and one misspelled: “No tahnks.”
It’s a common error, one we’ve all made, but I couldn’t help laughing a little at the irony: this agent’s query guidelines were adamant about how carefully written professional correspondence should be.
Not taking that first negative response too seriously helped lighten the impact of the others.
This was the perfect post for me to read right now, Elizabeth. Thank you! I recently attended Bouchercon in San Francisco, and it became crystal clear to me that the small publishers represented there (including Midnight Ink) are terrific, and responsible for publishing a lot of successful writers in the genre. This seems like an intelligent route to take. Thanks again.