What a Roller Coaster writing week!
One day I receive a MORE DOCS PLEASE email for one publisher and another day a NO THANKS from another.
Last week a rejection letter arrived in my email inbox for SAYONARA.
I was mortified! How could a publisher reject the first three chapters of my beloved crime novel? … The ones I had sweated over?
I was ashamed, too embarrassed to tell anyone. So I let time and research be my healers.
The reality is that very few writers achieve a YES from a Publisher on the first or even second submission of their manuscript.
So many best-selling books and authors were rejected tens or hundreds of time. I found solace researching their famous names and their rejection history.
I printed and displayed my own rebuff like a badge of honour, reminding myself not to take rejections personally. (Devouring a chocolate bar and gulping a glass of shiraz helped.)
Image may be NSFW.
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Now that I’ve accepted my NO and my ‘diagnosis’ I’m ready to absorb the publisher’s feedback and take her advice on board.
I’m mind-mapping solutions and developing a constructive plan.
I’m so grateful the publisher offered me personalized advice via not one but TWO emails … Thank you.
Her words heartened me.
“SAYONARA has great merit … a promising manuscript.”
What’s my plan for success?
• Break down her advice into doable chunks and perspectives.
• Mind mapping …Who? What? Where? When? How? with characters, timelines and SHOW DON”T TELL.
• Immerse myself in the crime genre with books and film.
• Rewrite Sayonara following the plan
• Seek Beta readers to provide feedback
• Research publishers who are a ‘good fit’ then submit
Phew! Now I have a practical plan in place I will transform SAYONARA into something stronger and punchier. I’m 95% there and that extra 5% will make all the difference. I can’t wait to read the finished book.
*EXCITING* NEWS
WooHoo! A children’s publisher requested MORE documents for my picture book ALANA TO THE RESCUE #2 days after they received my original submission.
YAY! I’ve made it to Round 2 … I’m already visualizing my book launch!
* How can Writers become more resilient to rejection letters?
*Or will those letters always be fraught with tears and shock?
