I am at the point where I am querying agents for a first novel and got my first rejection letter yesterday. Rather than be disappointed, even though I know rejection are way more common than interest, I was rather excited. I printed (It was an email) it out and saved a hard copy as well as the email. It seemed to represent just one more step to my goal of publishing. Today, I mailed out six query packets and have two out by email. I am going to risk overgeneralizing and say that every writer has a bit of a masochist inside.
I think it's great that you see it in a positive light instead of getting discouraged. The best writers got rejected at least a few times each before they hit it big.
We sorta have to be a bit of a masochist to be a writer. I am both happy and sad for you. If that makes any sense. Sorry you didn't get accepted but its part of the whole thing. Hopefully you will have better luck with the ones you sent out.
Congrats on your first rejection! Now you just have to keep at it. It received 16 rejections before I sold my first short story, so persistence is definitely the key.
congrats on getting that far! what do you mean by 'packets'?... since this is a novel, all you would be sending out at this stage is a query letter...
It's good to have the right attitude. I saved my first rejection letter. Rejection is just a part of being a writer. ~Eliza
be sure to 'vet' them thoroughly, before sending anything... should always start with a check at preditors & editors, then look over their website and check up on writers/works they rep... plus do a google search for negative feedback...
Thanks for the advice. I've tried to be pretty thorough with each agent I've queried. All are pretty proven, only one seemed fairly new, no bad feedback on her, just sales that only go back a couple of years.
I was lucky my first rejection letter has come back with suggestions, they have asked to resee it with some work. I knew it was too early to send it really, there was a short window of opportunity with someone who takes on very rarely, so I did the best I could in the timeframe and sent it off Gives me chance to rework the story the way I want to and still get it to the place I want.lol They like the story enough to market it once I have more experience. Second letter was a standard rejection, hurt like hell lol how dare they turn down my book lol
One thing I cannot stand is rejection letters with nothing in the way of why. In some ways, rejection letters need to say something. Since writing is such an intimate act, it always nice when someone says "I don't like you and this is why." Congrats on the rejection letter, the first, like love, is always the hardest.
Most rejection letters are, and always will be, form rejections. Wouldn't you rather the publisher spend more time on the more promising manuscripts rather than spending time on specific feedback on manuscripts tat are unlikely to succeed regardless?
Is it acceptable to ask why your work was rejected? In the job market it is customary for employers to give the candidate at least some some tips on why they weren't selected and what might be improved upon. I just wondered if publishers have time for that type of feedback.
Maybe where you are. Here in the States you are lucky even to get a courtesy letter telling you the position has been filled. Usually you only hear from the employer if they decide to hire you. They are too worried about rage from rejected candidates.
That and the fact that these days there tend to be so many candidates for every position, unemployment being what it is. Since this thread got resurrected, I'll say that since I posted it many more rejections have come. A few with a word or two of advice but mostly form rejections. One letter of acceptance has come too, not for my book but for a short--enough to keep me going. And I have still been sending things out regularly. If anyone is interested in more detail into the life and times of a wannabe writer, look at my blog, there is a link in my signature.
Rejection letters are like a rite of passage for writers. No good writer i know of got represented by the first agent he mailed or the first publisher he called up.
No, it has been like that for a few years now, before the current high unemployment. I'm not talking about resume submissions, I'm talking about job opportunities that have reached the stage of telephone screenings or even live interviews. But queries are akin to resume submissions. Publishers are more likely to respond with form rejections than employers are to even acknowledge receipt of a resume. It's unreasonable to expect them to provide reasons for every rejection.
Agreed. If you consider the amount of submissions a publisher will receive, and the amount of reading that requires, then it really is unreasonable to expect them to give you feedback. That said, it's always nice to get some.
I read somewhere that, if they tell you why they didn't like it, it means you're making progress with them.
