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Don’t Take No for an Answer

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Flickr Creative Commons: duncan c

“No.”

“Not right for us.”

“Not right at this time.”

“Nope.”

“Nah.”

“Um…”

“There’s no easy way to say this, but…”

“It’s not you, it’s the book.”

“It’s not the book, it’s you.”

“No.”

“No.”

“No.”

Sound familiar?

I mean, I could go on, but you get the point. The truth is, the book business is hard. It will kick you in the teeth. With few exceptions, any writer who hasn’t yet been on the receiving end of multiple rejections in many forms, just hasn’t been in the business long enough. Sad, but true.

And not just at the query stage. Or the submission stage. Or after your first book contract. It can come again and again. It can come when you know it’s coming, and when you least expect it.

No.

No, thanks.

Nope.

You still sweat the same sweat. You’re still the same person they were loving not so long ago. But now they want to see other people. Now they’re not sure that the book that YOU wrote is an “on brand” book. Now they’re not sure that the market is where you’re at.

You think it, they’ve said it.

And what are you supposed to do in face of all of this?

I mean … What would you have me do? Give out, give up, give in?

(I’ve always loved that line from the Lion in Winter delivered to perfection by Katharine Hepburn)

No.

That’s right, I said no.

Do not take no for an answer. [Read more…]

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Surviving Submissions: Donning Your Chain Mail

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In the late 1990s, I wrote a short story—my first ever—and submitted it to The New Yorker. It was a really amazing piece of fiction, one that reflected dozens of minutes of toil and revision. I do not remember the plot (which suggests there was none) except for one detail: the female character sits on a therapist’s couch, and, wrapped in a blanket like a burrito, floats into the air and--poof!--vanishes. I am certain this 7,000-word work of art was roughly 7,000 words too long. More than … [Read more...]

Risky Business?

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You know what I like to do for fun? Sit around and obsessively analyze the thoughtful, detailed, eloquent rejections my agent and I have received from editors. It reminds me of when I was sixteen and I’d try to figure out what my boyfriend really meant when he said, “I love you so much that I want to carve your name in my leg." But this post isn’t about my high school beau. Nor is this post about me and my rejection. This post is about what my pile of thoughtful, detailed, eloquent rejection … [Read more...]

When We’re Vulnerable: Atlas or Achilles?

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I have this friend named Clara. Clara is an unpublished writer, and she and her loyal, dedicated agent have been pitching her debut since June 2012. Since then, nearly forty editors have written kind and thoughtful rejections, most of them including Goldilocks-esque details in their notes. Here are some snippets (and amalgams of snippets): I loved this narrator and cried in the [X] scene, but I'm afraid the teenage voice would be too hard to sell to an adult audience. This novel reminds me … [Read more...]

What We (Really) Need to Hear

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I’ve got bunion-clad old lady feet. I’d take a picture and post it so you could see exactly what I’m talking about, but you may be eating breakfast, and needless to say, Bunions + Special K = Ick. Just last week at the gym, however, something magical happened. I was doing a barefooted class, and this (gorgeous and close-to-my-age) woman came up to me. She pointed to her feet. “Look,” she said. “I have them too. Aren’t they horrible? Don’t you hate them? And yours are so much smaller than … [Read more...]

You Can Get (Almost) Anything on EBay

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As I write this post, EBay has sixty active listings for "full suit of armor." Some are shiny silver, others are bronze. Some have gaudy feathers on the helmet, others offer chain mail accents. A few promise a complimentary battle axe. The prices range from $10-$9,650, and twenty listings offer free shipping. But as long as mine is a full suit of armor, a head-to-toe get-up that will protect my tender heart, my fragile ego, my flighty muse from all writerly rejection, I’ll be a happy … [Read more...]

On Rejection

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As a writer, you may think you have the market cornered on this. This is one job where you can plug away for twenty years without positive reinforcement from the industry. Then one day, everything changes. Instead of an endless string of no-thank-yous, you get a yes, please. That sale or signing with your agent may change everything. But that first breakthrough doesn't mean you'll never hear the word "no" again. And you may not realize it, but agents get rejected as well. Sometimes a book … [Read more...]