Rejection

Oops - a whole week gone by and I've neglected my blog. Sorry, dear followers. But a large yellow thing called The Sun (or so I'm told) has appeared unexpectedly in the sky, causing havoc with my normal troglodyte activities. Service has been resumed...

So..rejection. Are you sick of it? Do you cringe whenever you see an email in your inbox or hear the thud of mail on the mat? I have a fat file of rejection letters which I fondly think of as my battle trophies. Seems you can't really call yourself a writer without them, as this article would seem to prove. There is some comfort in knowing the Great and the Good suffered the same indignity as we lesser mortals. So take heart and look on every rejection as a step along a rocky road to success.

Why Was I Rejected?

One topic that comes up a lot on writers' boards is what to do if your manuscript is rejected. Should you keep working on it and try again or give up and start something new?

I've been in this position myself so I know how frustrating it is to get form rejections. At first they might be worded so nicely you think they are saying something good about your writing, but in time you come to realise they don't mean anything much other than the fact that the agent/editor doesn't want your book. Agents/editors don't generally give feedback because it's too time consuming and often people react badly to criticism. So always assume it's a form rejection unless it mentions specific details about your book.

If you are blessed with a personal letter - and I use the word advisedly because you should always bear in mind that no one owes you anything at this point so they're doing you a huge favour by taking the trouble - it may address possible areas that need improvement. This kind of feedback is like gold dust. Professionals working in the industry know what a book needs to get accepted and published, so you should take their advice very seriously. Of course, you may not agree with it, that is your right. After all, it is your book and only you can decide how you want the finished product to look. But if you want to reach a wider audience than your family, friends and critique group you would be wise to at least consider their opinion.

But what if you get no advice? That's a tough one because there are so many possible reasons for a book to be rejected. Unless someone tells you specifically what the problem is you could be wasting your time and energy on rewrites. Here are some possibilities:

1. The writing isn't good enough
This is the main one. You need to ask yourself some tough questions. Why do you think you can write a novel? Have you ever had any acclaim or praise for your writing from anyone other than your mother? If you're writing in isolation and not showing your work to anyone you can easily fall into the trap of thinking it's great when it isn't. It is painful to face criticism but if you want to go the whole distance and see your work in a bookshop, you have to get used to others critiquing your work.

There are different approaches to this. Joining a writers' group is a good start. You will get free feedback from like minded authors as well as learning a lot about self-criticism by critiquing their work. I've been a member of a few online groups. They also help you network and learn about the industry and perfect your synopsis and query letter. You will make some good online friends that way, which gives you a shoulder to cry on in tough times.
You can also pay for a critique from an editorial consultancy. These don't come cheap so you need to do some research before forking out for one.

Learning to take criticism is basic to being a professional author. Even if every agent and editor loved your book you can bet there will be some armchair critic out there dying to give you a one star review on Amazon, and some of these reviews are eye-wateringly vicious.

If this is your first attempt at a novel the chances are it just isn't good enough. First novels rarely get published because they are the ones we make all our basic mistakes on in the process of learning the craft. Most published authors have a few duds under their mattress. So you need to ask yourself how attached you are to this particular book, whether you want to spend a year or more reworking it or whether you'd prefer to start on something new. Remember it's never a waste though. You have cut your author's teeth on that book and everything you write from now on will be that much better.

2. The Concept is not good enough
Is your story original? Different? Intriguing? Or is it a thinly veiled rehash of a Bonanza episode you once saw? Have you researched what is being published in your genre? Is your book sufficiently similar but with an unexpected twist to capture the reader's imagination?
One of the toughest lessons to learn is no one really cares how well you can write. If you can't hook them with a great story they'll buy something else that does.

3. You are writing the wrong genre
What do you love to read? If it's romance, then why are you trying to write children's fiction? You should be writing what you love to read. And don't fall into the trap of thinking anyone can write a children's book/Dan Brown-type thriller/blood-and-guts horror story. You must know your genre like the back of your hand and then you must write something even better than the ones you love to read. It's not enough to be 'as good as'. There is already a Stephen King in the world so why would anyone want another one?

Rejections they might have had

Sent another couple of submissions today, so I've had the whole business of rejection on my mind. Wouldn't it be funny if some of the most famously successful books had been rejected? How would the rejection have read?

Dear Author

Thank you very much for sending us "The Bible" but I don't think we are the right agency to represent it.

Although I found it an engrossing read, I have to say at 770k words it would be a very hard sell in today's market. The narrative was over complex, with too many plot threads and repetition. Cut all the stuff about who begat who, nobody cares believe me. You could easily simplify this and strip it down to a more linear narrative. Modern readers will not stick with long complicated stories and sales would suffer. And the title is too dry. May I suggest as an alternative "God v. Satan: The Final Showdown". You could stick in a few vampires for good measure, they always sell well.

Coping with Rejection

There's always a lot of moaning in writers' blogs and forums about rejection. I've blogged about it before, so I won't go on about it again. But I wanted to post a link to this hilarious take on the subject. It makes a nice change to see the funny side of such an angst-laden topic.

Romcom Movie Plot

OK, here's one for you. Jennifer Aniston plays Colleen, hardworking New York literary agent working to a deadline. Christian Bale plays Roscoe, the published author seeking representation. Roscoe queries Colleen, but she ain't too impressed and knocks him back. Roscoe's a tad upset and shoots off an angry email in response.

Incensed by the man's impertinence, Colleen publishes his email on her blog. A frantic Twitter campaign ensues, Colleen elicits haikus insulting Roscoe from her many friends and followers. Word gets round the writing community and soon everyone is taking sides on which of them is worse.

But here's the happy Hollywood ending. Roscoe hears about the haikus and comes round to sort Colleen out face to face. But the building is attacked by 9\11 style terrorists and they're both trapped on the 49th floor. Everyone was killed in the explosion and the stairs are blocked by fire. If they're going to survive this, they need to work together.

So eventually they get out after much bickering during which they learn to see the other's point of view and..well, fall in love of course. By the end reel they're signing a contract, he's proposing and there's a stomach churning montage of wedding photos a la Four Weddings And A Funeral.

Title? How about "When Egos Collide"?

Too schmalzy? Maybe, but then, real life ain't Hollywood. Here's the real version for those who prefer non-fiction.

Excuse me if I hate your work...

A recurring theme on writers' boards is the issue of rejection. It's accepted as a given that every writer goes through a baptism of fire before finally being accepted, and freelance writers are routinely rejected throughout their career. So it pays to get a tough skin as soon as possible.

I wish I'd known that many years ago when I submitted a piece for a well known satirical magazine. This was back in the days when I didn't feel the need to research things like submissions policies and just shoved stuff into an A4 envelope, scribbled the address on it and Bob's Your Uncle. I was quietly pleased with my effort which closely resembled a regular item they published. At the very least I expected a word or two of praise to come back in the post. But no such luck. My piece sprang back so quick I doubt anyone had even bothered to glance at it, with the words NO THANKS scrawled on it.

Charming. The reason it has stuck in my mind after all these years was the sting I felt at what seemed a comprehensive and damning rejection of not only my wonderful piece but myself as a writer and a person. Not only had no one bothered to explain to me what was so wrong with it, they hadn't even taken the trouble to write a proper note. Clearly I was beneath contempt, unworthy of any professional courtesy. My uninitiated and tender heart quickly consigned my work and myself to the municipal dump of ignominy.

If I could go back in time and say anything to my younger self it would be this: Never let someone else's opinion crush you. A rejection means one thing: your piece isn't right for them. Nothing else. It doesn't mean you can't write for toffee. It doesn't mean you are a low and worthless person. And an offhand dismissal probably means they are very busy and haven't time to sugar coat it. Shrug it off and move on.

Would I have believed it? Hard to say. We tend to wallow in negative feedback, don't we? We dismiss praise as someone "just trying to be nice". Years on it's that stinging rejection that remains in my memory. Of course there's potential for learning in rejection, and we should take it. But never to the extent it undermines our confidence and makes us give up the fight. At the end of the day, it's only one person's opinion.

And if you want to see how wide ranging people are in their opinions, go and look up the Amazon reviews of any bestseller. You're guaranteed to find plenty of one star reviews amongst the good ones, and pretty scathing they are too. Reading them you wonder how that writer can even get out of bed in the morning when someone hates their work with such passion! But they keep writing and selling books because enough people DO like their work.

It's a lesson for all of us.