Any writers?

[Undertow]

Hey Undertow, have you been obsessively checking your email today?

Oh god... I have a sick feeling in my gut now. After reading what Jack said, and after checking my inbox nearly a dozen times, I still haven't had a response. *yucky*

Now I'm thinking they never received the email, or it's sitting in a burn pile waiting for return but they've forgotten to get back to me with the rejection. They said they typically respond within 2-3 days, but to contact them after 2 weeks...which is leading me to believe they've forgotten/never seen my letter.

I'm certainly sorry to hear about your rejection Jack! Max seemed like a good fit for you. I swear, if I get my foot in anywhere, I'm sending you and Amateis the info!!

 

[Senator Jack]

To whom did you send it? The top man or one of the underlings?

 

[Undertow]

To whom did you send it? The top man or one of the underlings?

Yeah, Mike. I was going to send it to an underling first, but the site said quickest response would be through Mike.

 

[Senator Jack]

Yeah, that's the cat I sent it to. Maybe I got him at the right time: Saturday morning. Or perhaps it was that I personalize my letters when I can, which I'm sure you do, too. He's got The Coney Island Mermaid Parade listed as a favorite event on the site, and since I occasionally drive in it, I used it as an opener. Alas, it didn't do me any good. No response yet for my reconsideration. Good luck with him. I feel he's the type to really get behind everyone he takes on.

I said I was going to take a break from writing and not begin anything new till I sell one of the four projects I got going on. Well, that vow didn't last long. As of yesterday, work on the second novel has begun.

Regards,

Jack

 

[AmateisGal]

I said I was going to take a break from writing and not begin anything new till I sell one of the four projects I got going on. Well, that vow didn't last long. As of yesterday, work on the second novel has begun.

Bravo. :eusa_clap

This is the best thing you can do, I think. Keep on writing, keep on working.

 

[Undertow]

Bravo. :eusa_clap

This is the best thing you can do, I think. Keep on writing, keep on working.

:cheers1:


Absolutely! You don't want to go stagnant! Let us know what he says if he answers the follow up.

 

[Undertow]

Well, at least I'm on the road to thicker skin...

Reject, similar to Jack's inasmuch as "Nice premise but..." and he let me down rather easy ("I prefer curry over cilantro"). lol He didn't go into as much detail with me as he did Jack, I'm afraid.

I supposed that puts an end to the chapter titled Max & Co. for Jack and I!

Now I can appreciate why writers feel an overbearing sense of despair akin to sleepless melancholic nights holding a gun to one side of the head and bottle of Jack to the other. Onward! Upward!

 

[AmateisGal]

Oh, darn it. Sorry to hear about this.

Consider yourself initiated now, though. And start sending those queries out to lots and lots of agents. No need to send one at a time - the more out you have, the more chances you have for a YES!

 

[Senator Jack]

Yeah, sorry to hear that, Undertow. I got the cilantro/curry bit as well.

From experience, I can tell you what you need to do in the query department. Hopefully, this will be the one and only rejection you get, but if not, you should start fine tuning your queries based on the feedback you get from rejections. For example, an early rejection of mine came back with 'I liked the characters but there's too much dialogue.' Yeah, well, I like dialogue. That's why I write it, and I don't see that as a bad thing. Evelyn Waugh wrote a lot of dialogue. So there was my angle. Now my letter reads, 'Unapologetically, the novel leans toward fast dialogue, a result of my being influenced by Evelyn Waugh and Ben Hecht.'

See? Now I'm not only preparing the agent for dialogue but putting the idea of Evelyn Waugh in his/her mind, and I can hear the agent thinking, 'Oh, yeah. Evelyn Waugh. I've heard of her? Him? Her? I guess I should look that up.'

And like I noted in an earlier post, work up the personal angle with agents when you can. Such as, 'I've noticed on your site that you handle 'X's' book, which I recently read and thoroughly enjoyed.'

Looking back on my first month of queries, I can now say they were awful. I regret sending to some of the agents, for I believe I would have had a better shot with a tighter letter.

Well, help all that helps. Now get to woik!

Regards,

Jack

 

[Undertow]

Yeah, sorry to hear that, Undertow. I got the cilantro/curry bit as well.

From experience, I can tell you what you need to do in the query department. Hopefully, this will be the one and only rejection you get, but if not, you should start fine tuning your queries based on the feedback you get from rejections. For example, an early rejection of mine came back with 'I liked the characters but there's too much dialogue.' Yeah, well, I like dialogue. That's why I write it, and I don't see that as a bad thing. Evelyn Waugh wrote a lot of dialogue. So there was my angle. Now my letter reads, 'Unapologetically, the novel leans toward fast dialogue, a result of my being influenced by Evelyn Waugh and Ben Hecht.'

See? Now I'm not only preparing the agent for dialogue but putting the idea of Evelyn Waugh in his/her mind, and I can hear the agent thinking, 'Oh, yeah. Evelyn Waugh. I've heard of her? Him? Her? I guess I should look that up.'

And like I noted in an earlier post, work up the personal angle with agents when you can. Such as, 'I've noticed on your site that you handle 'X's' book, which I recently read and thoroughly enjoyed.'

Looking back on my first month of queries, I can now say they were awful. I regret sending to some of the agents, for I believe I would have had a better shot with a tighter letter.

Well, help all that helps. Now get to woik!

Regards,

Jack

Excellent advice!! I am so glad you resurrected this post AmateisGal! This is basically my life set out ahead of me, and the invaluable advice received is MUCH appreciated. Thank you Jack, and thank you Amateis! I will be doing just that over the next 5 days (I've decided to play hookey from work for mental reasons, see previous post detailing rejection lol )

 

[AmateisGal]

This thread has been a great source of inspiration and support for me, too. We'll have to keep the momentum going. Writing can be such a hard road...but when you have people to share it with who know exactly what you're going through, it helps!

Excellent advice from Jack on the query writing, too. Keep on keeping on!

 

[Senator Jack]

Oh, and drinking does make the rejection easier. I'm having my evening gin and just got a rejection from a referral. It was the usual 'It did not come together as I had hoped' bit. Meh. Do these agents take a college class: 'Rejection 101'? They all use the same shpiel.

 

[lindylady]

I'm currently working on an inspirational romance series set in the 1870s, but I plan to write romances circa 1940 at some point. Depends on if my agent approves. These days, I've been seeing more novels set in the Golden Era as opposed to present day. There's a demand for novels that incorporate nostalgia and a certain bygone style of storytelling.

 

[lindylady]

Oh, and drinking does make the rejection easier. I'm having my evening gin and just got a rejection from a referral. It was the usual 'It did not come together as I had hoped' bit. Meh. Do these agents take a college class: 'Rejection 101'? They all use the same shpiel.

I hear you. Rejection is extremely tough. That first sentence of the dreaded letter always starts with something akin to "Thank you for your submission" but the second sentence kills it with, "Unfortunately...." It really boils down to the saying of one man's trash is another's treasure. I had several publishers turn me down, saying that they didn't like my characterization or the story pacing. Then I queried for an agent, and she signed me because she thought my writing was unique and cliche-free. It all depends on individuals' preferences.

 

[Deleted member 6442]

Just discovered this post having made a mention of my book over in the Observation Bar forum...

I certainly feel everyone's pain re rejection - it can be a long rocky road - but I guess it serves its purpose. But every now and again you can get one away...

It's a golden era set fantasy and out now published by Philomel.

Can read a little more info here...

www.alexwilliamsbooks.co.uk

All best wishes
Alex

 

[AmateisGal]

I'm currently working on an inspirational romance series set in the 1870s, but I plan to write romances circa 1940 at some point. Depends on if my agent approves. These days, I've been seeing more novels set in the Golden Era as opposed to present day. There's a demand for novels that incorporate nostalgia and a certain bygone style of storytelling.

I hope you're right, Lindy Lady. I've had an overwhelming response from agents that say it's a hard time period to sell. Maybe it depends on the genre, though? Mine is more mainstream and not a straight romance, though there is a love story involved.

 

[AmateisGal]

Another rejection. :rage:

I was especially looking forward to the response of this agent (she's very well known) and finally got a letter in the mail today.

"While your writing is strong and you develop your characters nicely, I am concerned about the time period. World War II is an especially difficult period to sell."

ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

 

[LocktownDog]

I was looking for reprints (along the lines of Nostalgia Venture's Doc Savage and The Shadow), and I came across this publishing house with newer prints of Charlie Chan novels. They might be worth sending something to (if you haven't already), as there are a couple of WW2 novels listed in their catalog.

http://www.academychicago.com/index.html

 

[AmateisGal]

Oh wow. Thank you so much, R! I'm going to give this publisher serious consideration.

 

[Senator Jack]

My rejection from Academy Chicago came yesterday. They say they've seriously cut back on fiction.