 Rejection letters are a staple of the writing career. It doesn't matter how good you are, how amazing your story is, or even if you've already got several publishing contracts under your belt. A little while ago I interviewed my mother, Maryjanice Davidson, on this blog, as she's a New York Times bestselling author herself. One thing she says all the time is, "I've gotten so many rejection letters that I could make a wallpaper from them and cover every wall of my old Boston apartment." And before you ask: yes. Twenty plus books on the NYT Bestseller list and she still gets rejection letters. And that's okay! Rejection is a part of life, after all. It's just a slightly bigger part of a writer's life. So get comfortable with it, because this relationship is going to stick around for a while. The first thing you need to do: stay calm.Getting rejected by a publisher is not the end of the world, and it's not the end of your writing career. It just means that you haven't found the right publisher for your particular manuscript. Think of finding a publisher as house-hunting. There's a lot of time spent online doing research, you're probably going to want to find an agent to act as your guide, and there's going to be a lot of rejection. Sometimes it's because you don't like the house. Sometimes someone else swoops in right before you can sign the paperwork. Sometimes you find out you can't afford it. Feel free to grumble, complain, and vent. Then once you've got that off your chest, go back to the computer and find another publisher to submit your manuscript to. Remember that it's nothing personal. Editors get a shit ton of manuscripts every day, and they can only accept a limited amount. This is why, when you get that dreaded rejection letter, it's usually very short and vague. It's all, "We can't accept it at this time" or "It's just not a good fit." There's rarely any constructive criticism or feedback that we, as authors, could potentially use to improve the story. There's just not enough time in an editor's day to do that. (This, personally, drives me up a wall. Even though I get why editors cannot possibly give such feedback to every 'script they reject, I'm a sucker for constructive criticism and hate it when I don't get it.) How do editors decide which 'scripts make the cut? Well, that's a little complicated. I'm no editor myself, but here's what I've heard second-hand: 1) They want what's going to sell. Editors want to read a good book, for sure, but quality isn't that important. At least, not in the way it is to us artsy-brained writers. You could submit the most intense, insane, engaging novel, but if the editor doesn't think their publishing house is going to be able to sell a lot of copies, you're going to get rejected. A lot of it has to do with the market. Remember when vampire stories were freaking everywhere? The audience for that was huge. But now? Not so much. It's all about supply and demand. Editors look for types of stories that are in high demand, whether that's grimdark/realism or more light-hearted fantasy. So long as it fits in with the needs of their publishing house. Speaking of which... 2) They want manuscripts that are best for their publishing house. This is why researching a publisher before you submit anything is so important. Let's say you have a post-apocalyptic YA novel. Would you submit that to a publishing house that specializes in historical dramas? Of course not. Genre is very important. Just as writers specialize in specific genres and stories to tell, publishers specialize in specific genres and stories to sell. So the historical drama house rejected your 'script. Shocker. But that's okay! You've found another publishing house, this one specializing in YA novels that have a lot of action, adventure, and cute romantic subplots, all of which your book has in abundance. You submit it and think, They're going to love this! Aaand you get rejected. But why? You've matched the genre to the right house, and even the type of story they like. Well, the thing is, this publishing house has been doing a lot of post-apocalyptic books. They don't want their readers to get bored, so right now they're looking for YA urban fantasy novels. Does it suck? Yes, it does. And getting rejection after rejection does wear on you. This is why finding a literary agent is so important: they can help you side-step a lot of these issues. You'll still run into them, but not as much. Do not give up. I'll give you a personal example. One of the publishing houses I've worked with in the past, Less Than Three Press (I wrote a novella for them that got in one of their anthologies), recently came out with a call for submissions. They wanted stories about shifters--i.e. werewolves, werecats, etc.--with disabilities. Any disability. And since they specialize in queer fiction, several major characters had to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community. I was all over this. I've spent the last two years working as a community support staff--that is, a job coach and PCA for people with disabilities. I'm always down to write about characters in marginalized communities. And I've worked with LT3 before and knew that not only do they pay well, they're also very competent. Now unfortunately, these calls for submissions have deadlines. Although I heard about it relatively early, there was still only two months for me to write, and I work two other jobs, plus this blog and YouTube channel. Nevertheless, I managed to crank out a fun story about an ordinary, asexual human trying to survive college who finds out that the girl with social anxiety that he has a crush on is a werewolf, and she's playing cat and mouse with a hunter a god complex. I sent it in the day of the deadline and went to take a long nap. About a month later I got an email from the editor. It was a rejection letter. BUT. But, this rejection letter had something so few of its brothers have. It had constructive criticism. The editor found two glaring flaws that barred it from acceptance, suggested that I fix them now that I wasn't adhering to any type of deadline, and told me to re-submit as a general submission. Now remember: editors don't have time to do this kind of thing. So when they do take the time to offer some feedback on your manuscript, you shut your mouth and listen. I took a few more months to fix the story, going over not just the problems the editor pointed out, but others that I found and just didn't have time to address with that pesky deadline. Once I was satisfied, I re-submitted. About a month later I got an email from the editor. It was a contract! So now the good people at LT3 are editing my 'script, and soon enough I'll be bugging you guys with promos about my new ebook tentatively titled Hunted. Rejection letters suck. They can wear on your self-esteem like a river cutting a ravine. But they're also what separates the "aspiring authors" from the actual authors. Take criticism seriously and apply it to your story. Keep looking for agents. Keep submitting to publishing houses. Just keep going. (By the way, I highly recommend you guys check out LT3's website and stay tuned for further calls for submissions. They do them constantly, and while they're pretty strict about focusing on queer characters, they accept pretty much any genre. It's a great way for new authors to step into the game, or veteran authors to try something new. Also, the books are really good and really cheap, so it's a playground for readers, too.)
0 Comments
Both Amanda and Michael spent far too many years writing for other people and corporations before turning their work and imaginations to fiction. She used to work as a reporter and communication consultant, while he divides his time between writing, music, woodworking, and gardening. Interview with Amanda K. King and Michael R. Swanson What cool and exciting things have been happening in your life recently? Amanda: We published a book! That’s pretty much it. The whole process eats up free time like crazy. Free time? What free time? Is your recent book part of a series? If so, can you tell us a bit about where the story is heading? Michael: Things They Buried can be read as a stand-alone novel, though it is the first of our Thung Toh Jig stories. The Thung Toh are an independent organization of covert operatives in our world. They provide us an opportunity to create adventures that can be independent of one another. Some of the characters from this first novel will appear in other Thung Toh Jigs, though the reader should be able to jump into those without reading this one. The Jigs will not be the only releases from us, though. All our planned stories take place on Ismae, some will be serial, some stand-alone, and some will introduce other characters, cultures, and storylines as we move forward. Sounds like fun! Can you tell us about what you're currently working on? Amanda: The next release we’re working on is a six-part short-novel serial called The Long Game. We had originally settled on novellas, but as we wrote, that felt too restrictive. If one of them needs more than the standard 40,000 words, we don’t want to short change it just to fit into that category. The series follows up on some of the side storylines, characters, and events from Things They Buried. Each one will be a stand-alone adventure, but an overarching storyline ties them all together. Much like our debut novel, all of these will be heavy on the action/adventure. We’re also working on a couple other projects, one that follows up on a character who left Dockhaven at the end of Things They Buried. I don’t want to mention names and spoil that first novel for anyone. We’re also nearly done with the rough draft of another longer novel that features new (mostly) characters, but still takes place on Ismae. Have you ever written characters that you truly despise? Why or why not? Amanda: Orono, our primary villain in Things They Buried, is truly despicable with just about every nasty personality characteristic we could think of. Because our main characters are solidly grey/antihero, we needed him to be really terrible in contrast, though I don’t think readers will be seeing the same level of awful from most of our future villains. Our original draft featured scenes from Orono’s point of view, but we decided even that made him too relatable to the reader. No one will—or should—want to relate to this man. Ah, the pure evil villains. Good times. Where did the idea of your story come from? Amanda: We started worldbuilding fifteen years ago because we were bored with the stock fantasy universe. Our author’s index for Ismae is mammoth—hundreds of OneNote pages. In Things They Buried, we barely even begin to unravel all the detail already developed in the world. It can be a lot to keep track of but having all that keeps us from wondering what the next story should be about. If we write everything we already have planned, we’ll be busy for decades to come.  A lot of authors are frustrated by readers who don’t understand how important reviews are. What would you say to a reader who doesn’t think his or her review matters? Amanda: I’d tell readers to remember the frustration of applying for a job in order to get work experience only to be told they’re not right for the position because they don’t have verifiable experience. As authors, we need reviews to be able to run promos with companies like BookBub, but we want to run those very promos in order to get reviews. Readers see our ads and social posts then check out the book but instead of downloading a sample, they bounce because no one’s reviewed it. Then Amazon can be persnickety about who they allow to post reviews, so authors can’t count on friends and family to get started. It’s like applying for that job—we need reviews to get reviews. I think nearly everyone can relate to that. What kind of impact do you want your book(s) to have on readers? Amanda: I want people to enjoy reading our books. I want the Ismae stories to take readers out of the mundane world and let them have fun, make them feel something, quicken their pulses. We had one reader tell us he got goosebumps at the end of part two of Things They Buried when he realized what was about to happen. That’s what I want. That makes me happy. Michael: Amanda pretty much covered it for me. The only thing I’ll add is that I don’t want readers to see reading a sci-fi/fantasy novel as a chore. The thousand-page multi-volume epics are often great, but there’s still a place for the two hundred to five hundred page novel. It’s very satisfying to turn off the viewscreen and read pulp for your entertainment fix at the end of a long day. And your Goodreads or LibraryThing annual challenge totals will be a heck of a lot more impressive if you are reading five shorter books in place of one giant volume. What, in your opinion, is the worst mistake an author can make? Michael: Give up. I’ve left a lot of projects unfinished in my life and those are the only ones I regret. I have partially completed musical instruments tucked away in many spots in our house and more than a few unfinished recordings. I guess I keep them around to mock me. Except for a couple of recordings that were released in the nineties, Things They Buried is my only creative project put out to the world at large. It was both the most difficult and the most rewarding creation I have ever completed. If you could have one (real life) skill that you don’t currently have, what would it be? Why? How would you use it? Michael: Kung fu. I always wanted to practice a martial art, but due to bad knees and poor discipline I haven’t yet. I’d use it for bit parts in low budget action movies. What might we be surprised to know about you? Amanda: I garden—raise the veggies from seeds annually and even can them in the fall. No lawn in the backyard, all garden. What creature is better: dragons, zombies, or aliens? Amanda: Zombies. I’ve never met a zombie movie or book I couldn’t at least enjoy. They’re a cultural metaphor disguised as a good scare and I love that. Though the xenomoph is just beyond awesome, too. Michael: I choose aliens. Unless that means grays only, then I’m with Amanda and it would be zombies. The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky
No spoilers. (Promise)The Wolf in the Whale has one of the most unique premises I've ever come across: a historical fantasy that combines Norse and Inuit mythology. And then there's the fact that it starred, what I thought, was a femme protagonist. But as it turns out, Omat is trans.
I actually changed the description up there. The actual description uses female pronouns for Omat, which makes no sense because he spends the majority of the book using male pronouns. In modern culture he'd probably be considered FTM transgender, except that implies that he was assigned female at birth. But despite having a "woman's body," he was raised as a boy, because he inherited his father's soul. The whole thing boils down to "This baby is trans because magic." #MagicTransBaby This of course leads to excellent conflict and exploration of gender, gender roles, and sexuality. One of the villains is a cis woman who is very masculine. One of the good guys is a cis man who is very soft, gentle, and therefore somewhat feminine. Omat goes from strictly adhering to gender roles in order to claim and verify his manhood to "fuck the rules, I do what I want." In terms of pacing, the book is a little slow. The first hundred pages are spent establishing Omat's world, the Inuit culture and mythology, and his magic and family dynamics. We don't even meet one of the main villains until page 103. Once the book gets going, though, shit gets real. Omat has to overcome a tall order of villains and obstacles in order to achieve his goals, which vary from survive to rescue my brother to save my people. There are Inuit villains, Norse villains, godly villains, and nature itself is a bit of a villain at times. One of the most interesting things about this book is its theme of sexual violence. Thanks to some transphobia and misogyny on the Inuit villain's part, Omat is raped. It's not graphically described, but it's still very upsetting. While it's the only time it happens to Omat, it's not the only time it's talked about in the book. It's also talked about from the other side: a rapist who is trying to seek forgiveness and redemption, and has to work for it. You rarely see that in fiction--or anywhere, really. Needless to say, even the "good guys" in this story are very grey. The whole cast of characters are amazing. The Inuit are a tight-knit group and adore each other, but they're willing to sacrifice Omat if the alternative is death. The Norse are fierce warriors and mostly considered villains, but many of them are victims themselves. The gods are a mash-up of good and evil, created by humans and in turn affecting humans in both positive and negative ways. (This book adheres to the rules of American Gods to a T.) I know shamefully little about Inuit culture and even Norse culture, but considering the fact that Harvard grad Brodsky goes ham on research by actually visiting the places she's writing about and (gasp! shock!) talking to people in those cultures, I think we can trust it. Maybe not the part about a vengeful god living on the moon and a massive snake wrapped around the world, but the more historical aspects. Honestly, my only complaint about this book is that it's exhausting. In a good way, but still. The book hangover is not appreciated. While there is no gratuitous violence, the story itself is brutal. Rape, character deaths, animal deaths all get thrown at Omat like a never-ending parade of misery. The poor kid just can't catch a break, and neither do we. I need a nap. Gareth Hanrahan’s three-month break from computer programming to concentrate on writing has now lasted fifteen years and counting. He’s written more gaming books than he can readily recall, by virtue of the alchemical transmutation of tea and guilt into words. He lives in Ireland with his wife and twin sons Interview with Gareth Hanrahan What cool and exciting things have been happening in your life recently? There’s a six-day-old baby daughter in the next room. I don’t know if that counts as cool or exciting for anyone other than my family. At the very least, it explains why I’m running low on cool and exciting things recently. Actually, thinking about it, the launch of my first novel probably counts as cool and exciting, so I should probably mention that. However, it happened a whole month ago, and it’s been a really busy month involving very little sleep, so I can be forgiven for letting it slip my mind. (Also, I can be forgiven for initially mistyping “sleep” as “slepe” and staring at it for several minutes, trying to work out why there’s a little wiggly red line under it.) Do you...do you need a nap? You sound like you need a nap. Is your recent book part of a series? If so, can you tell us a bit about where the story is heading? THE GUTTER PRAYER is the first of the Black Iron Legacy series. The second, THE SHADOW SAINT, should be out late this year or early next year. Both books focus on surviving members of the Thay family, a once-influential family in the city of Guerdon who died in mysterious circumstances. In the first book, the alchemists of Guerdon create a god-killing weapon. The second book explores the consequences of that weapon… Can you tell us about what you're currently working on? Right now, I’m not working on anything for obvious reasons. THE SHADOW SAINT is drafted and with the editors. I’ve got a few short stories in various stages of production, and lots of novel ideas – I’m planning on starting a new book in the next month or two. Putting on my other hat of ‘roleplaying game designer,' I’m also working on a campaign for the FALL OF DELTA GREEN 1960s-spies-vs-the-Cthulhu-Mythos game, THE BORELLUS CONNECTION, while outlining THE BOOK OF THE UNDERWORLD for 13th Age. Have you ever written characters that you truly despise? Why or why not? Hmm. I’m stumbling on the ‘truly’ qualifier. I mean, I despise lots of my villains – THE GUTTER PRAYER is replete with fanatics, cruel tyrants, liars and outright monsters. However, a villain either (a) has a misguided sense of their own rightness according to their own moral schema, even if that’s as simple as ‘might makes right’ or (b) knows what they’re doing is wrong, and despises themselves – and both (a) and (b) can engender sympathy from me. Either they’re monsters, but don’t see themselves as such, or they’re monsters but feel bad about it – and in both cases, I can’t completely despise them, as I can see things from their point of view. I've gotta disagree on you there. There's definitely an option (c) where a villain knows what they're doing is wrong and either doesn't care that it's wrong or even relishes it (i.e. the "pure evil" villains, like the Joker). If you were to write a non-fiction book, what might it be about? Why? Probably something about story structure, and how it applies to writing novels, interactive storytelling, and game design. It would involve a lot of hand gestures and absurd similes. Storytelling is what I know, and hand gestures and absurd similes are 80% of how I communicate. (The other 20% is mostly apologies and offering to make a cup of tea.) Are you an early bird writer or night owl? And do you have any must haves like coffee, chocolates, wine, music or something else required for your creative process? Having “must haves” that aren’t absolutely fundamental (like, say, a keyboard and screen) is a bizarre concept to me. It’s putting up a barrier to your own productivity. I might prefer to write with regular cups of tea, internet disabled, VNV Nation or Halo soundtracks playing, in the early morning… but life is going to get in the way, so none of those things are required. I’ve gotten lots of writing done in hospital waiting rooms and playgrounds. You write when there’s time. (I should add that I’ve been a full-time writer for a long time; my instincts and opinions were shaped from years of frantically typing to make rent, so I come at questions like that from a very practical perspective.) Do you have complete control over your characters or do they ever control you? I’d phrase it as “the characters can make suggestions, and I’ll usually follow them.” I’ve found that my subconscious is a lot smarter than I am – if I write some detail or character quirk that I hadn’t planned, I often find that detail or quirk becomes much more important later on. At the same time, I have to keep a check on things, at least in The Black Iron Legacy books as they’ve got multiple POV characters – if I let every character run off and do completely unexpected things, the books would become unmanageable. So, any suggestions that I can’t incorporate into the overall plan for the story get ignored. What kind of impact do you want your book(s) to have on readers? I like labyrinthine books – books that are so full of possibilities that the story only touches on some of them, and there’s always the haunting feeling that if only the characters had turned left instead of right, there’d be another novel, another story there too. Books that you can reread and find new elements, books that you think about after you’re done. Books that don’t tie everything up so neatly that it feels like everything was engineered to fit together and there was never any other possibility of how the story might go. I’d like readers, therefore, to feel a little lost in THE GUTTER PRAYER. What, in your opinion, is the worst mistake an author can make? Giving really pretentious answers, like the one above. I thought it was fine! Do you have any advice for new authors? Writing is digging. It’s primary industry, like mining or farming. It’s often hard and frustrating, and some days all you do is smash through worthless rocks or dig fruitlessly in mud. But you’ve got to put the work in. You’re extracting raw materials from the noosphere, and that’s a worthy thing to do. If you could have a dinner with one fictional person, who would it be? Why? The computer Deep Thought, from the Hitchhiker’s books. I have several follow-up questions for it. If you could go to any fictional world, where would you go? Why? Iain Banks’ Culture. I mean, if I’m only getting one trip, I may as well go somewhere comparatively nice. If you could have one (real life) skill that you don’t currently have, what would it be? Why? How would you use it? Everything comes down to self-discipline. Hell, the ability to stop checking Twitter alone would be useful… Good luck with that. What might we be surprised to know about you? I’m almost entirely harmless. The part of that reply that’s surprising is left as an exercise for the reader. What are three things you think we can all do to make the world a better place? Be kind, be patient, and eat the rich. What creature is better: dragons, zombies, or aliens? Isn’t “alien” a category error here? I mean, given a choice between “awesome big scary flying fire lizard," “walking corpse” and “pretty much anything conceivable in the vastness of the interstellar depths," the last one is a no-brainer. Dragons > zombies, though. 
Worst Tropes: the Lone Vagina |
What's This?The first Dragons, Zombies and Aliens blog was started in 2015. Somewhere between college coursework, paying rent with door-to-door sales, and keeping up with my sorority sisters, I wrote reviews, rants and commentaries on books, TV shows, and movies. Now, this blog has moved, improved, and the sky's the limit! Categories
All
Archives
May 2019
|
RSS Feed