The Rejection Project - Jenniffer Wardell

Jenniffer Wardell and I are old friends. We started about the same time and share a publisher. She's visited the Blog Mansion several times and she's still alive which means something. 

Jenniffer took time away from the publicity tour for her new release BEAST CHARMING to offer share in my little project here. I like her style, in storytelling as well as handling rejection. I'm going to adopt #2 forthwith.



Rejection Survival Guide for Writers
by Jenniffer Wardell

Being a professional writer requires a skill set similar to that of Wile E. Coyote's – the focus and determination to pursue your goal past the point of (emotional) injury and good sense, the ability to stand back up again after you've fallen off a cliff, and the willingness to do something over and over again no matter how many times it hasn't worked.

Sound appealing yet? Of course not. Ready to give up?

No?

Then you're in the right place.

Though there's no way to save yourself the emotional bruising – or the well-meaning comments from concerned loved ones questioning your sanity – there are tricks you can do to help make the process of receiving rejection letters a little less bloody than it might be. All of these come from my personal toolkit, so feel free to add to them and pass them on to any other writers in need you might know.

After all, we coyote types have to stick together.

1. Before you send something out, do your research
We may run off of metaphorical cliffs for a living, but it's always a good idea to make sure that our Road Runner is actually waiting for us at the bottom. Check out the publisher or magazine you're considering submitting to and see if your writing would be a good fit. Some have very specific genre or style preferences that might not be compatible with your work, and it'll save you time and heartbreak to focus on the ones where your work would be a better fit.

2. Get a human shield
Any rejection letter is less painful if you get someone else to read it for you. Not out loud, of course – that's probably a form of torture in some countries – but just scan it and have them tell you yes, no, and any necessary details. If they love you, they'll probably say something like "Well, these people are clearly idiots." Whether it's necessarily true or not, it'll make you feel better.

3. Remember you're not alone
The majority of all writers, everywhere, have their own stacks of rejection letters they've either lit on fire or stashed in the back of a drawer somewhere. Even the most famous authors – yes, including J.K. Rowling – sent their writing out time and time again only for it to be ignored and rejected. If someone was stupid enough to say they didn't want to publish the Harry Potter books, then that suggests that there are certain publishers/magazines out there who simply can't recognize a work of genius when they see it. Remind yourself of that the next time you open up a rejection letter.

4. Don't ignore advice
Mostly, rejection letters will be impersonal form letters that took zero thought from the magazine or publisher. On very rare occasions, however, you'll get personal commentary from someone listing a specific reason why your work was rejected. While you shouldn't necessarily take this as gospel, the fact that you made enough of an impression for a personal touch means that comments like that might be worth taking into account.

5. Words of support are waiting
If you're feeling down, go online and get words of encouragement from famous writers who've never even heard your name. Writers love to talk about their experiences with writing, and a big part of that is dealing with rejection. Look up "writing quotes - rejection" online, and you'll find dozens of examples of support and commiseration from writers who have felt just as miserable as you do now. Re-read them as often as you need to.

JENNIFFER WARDELL—

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The Rejection Project - Kim Williams Justesen

Kim Williams Justesen

One of my all time favorite people has one of my all time favorite rejection stories. Today I bring you, Kim Williams Justesen.

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I've been writing for close to 20 years now, and I've collected a variety of rejections in that time. I've received letters that were formal and came in the mail, post cards that were more generic, but also arrived in my mail box, and then as the internet grew in convenience and popularity, I received email rejections as well. I used to save my rejections in something I called “The Gilded Box” – a cardboard box I’d covered in gold paper and stenciled the words “One Step Closer” on the top. At first it comforted me to feel like I was a real author getting real rejections, but as the box filled, it began to depress me, and eventually I threw it away.

By far, for me, the strangest rejection I ever got turned out not to be a rejection at all. But that's how it started. I had written a YA novel called The Deepest Blue. The process of finishing that novel is another story for another time (it took nearly five years), but in the spring of 2010, I began submitting it. It went first to the publisher of my middle grade novel, My Brother the Dog: Tanglewood Press in Terra Haute, Indiana, and to my editor Peggy. She held it for a few months, and on June 1 when she had finished reading it, she called me.

"Your writing is solid, and I love the story, but this is an emotional story with a male protagonist and I think the market is too tough to carry that right now."

I understood what she was saying, and I even agreed with her, but I was banking on the fact that it would take close to two years for this book to be released, and I hoped by then the market would have turned around. With that thought, I began submitting the book elsewhere. I collected about 35 rejections from agents and publishers who all said the same thing that Peggy had - the market wouldn't carry this type of story, and until the market turned around, they weren't willing to take the chance.

I shelved the book and decided I'd look at it again later. In the meantime, I finished another YA novel, A dystopic speculative project, and I began working on a horror novel that I coauthored with a former student and friend. A very turbulent and challenging year passed, and I was doubting myself as a writer, but I kept writing and soon finished revisions on the new YA. In the summer of 2011, I was ready to submit it. Naturally, I contacted Peggy first. It was July of 2011. I also began submitting to agents and other publishers, just in case. I had about 10 rejections collected and I was beginning to feel doubtful and insecure again. It was December 1 when I heard from Peggy.

"I'm sorry this has taken me so long," she said over the phone. "I have some good news and I have some bad news, and I have a question. The bad news is, I like the new story, but I think I need to pass. The dystopic novels are on the downward slope, and I think it's not a good time for that one." She paused for a moment and despite my disappointment, I hung on for what might come next. "The good news is, I'd like to rerelease My Brother the Dog with a new cover and a new title and see if we can breathe a second life into it."

Naturally I was thrilled! We had both agreed that the book didn't get a fair shot at things initially for a number of reasons, and anything she wanted to try was a great idea to me.

"Now I have a question. Where is The Deepest Blue?"

"It's on a thumb drive," I said, a little bewildered.

"No, I mean, is it at another publisher? Is it under contract somewhere?"

"It's on a thumb drive, in my office."

"Good," she said. "I want it. Don't accept any other offers until I send you a contract."

She and I talked about the changing market, that she still felt the book was a risk, but she loved the story enough to take the risk. She told me that in the last year she had received hundreds of manuscripts that were emotional stories with a male protagonist, and that each time she read one, she would find herself comparing it to The Deepest Blue, and the comparison always fell in my favor. She said the story stuck with her, and she felt it was time to bring it out.

It occurred to me that her offer to publish The Deepest Blue had come exactly 1 1/2 years after I'd received her initial rejection. I'd never heard of this happening before - though no doubt it has to have happened to someone. Anyway - I received the contract within a few weeks, and in September of 2013, the hardback copy of The Deepest Blue was released and the launch party was held at the King's English bookstore.

So many things go into an editor's decision to reject a book, and so many times we as authors have no idea why. I'm grateful to have had an editor who was willing to share the insight into why this story was being turned down, and why it was being accepted.
__

Born and raised in Utah, Kim was the kind of kid whose mom had to come in and take the flashlight away so she would stop reading and go to sleep. She has always been an avid reader and writer. Years of Public Relations work kept her writing on the job. Then, when her third kid came along, she decided to stay home and try her hand at writing professionally. In 2003, Kim earned her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the prestigious Vermont College of Fine Arts, and the rest was - as they say - history. 
     In addition to writing, Kim loves being out of doors, whether it's in her garden picking raspberries, in the mountains camping or snowshoeing, or traveling to her favorite beach in North Carolina. Kim has taught writing and English courses at local colleges, and has presented various workshops on writing. She is the mother of three kids and grandma one grandkid. She has three cats and one dog, and one day she wants to have a pet snake!

Rejection Project - Jay Wilburn

Jay Wilburn is no stranger to the Blog Mansion. He visited back in 2013 when things got a little weird. He's an active, hard working writer with talent, connections and macabre tastes. I've followed his career with interest and envy for years. Jay's new project sounds great and his rejection story is one for the books.


“Twice Rejected Twice”
by Jay Wilburn

Rejection is a part of being a writer. Maybe it is a part of being alive, but it is really a part of being a writer. I’m more and more convinced that my acceptances mainly come from writing so many stories that I just beat the odds. In good times, my acceptance rate for short stories has been 1:1. Usually though, it is closer to two rejections for every one short story acceptance. I’ve gone through spells where it was just one rejection after another.

I’ve published two novels with small presses. One went through fifteen rejections or no answers for three acceptances and I picked one. I had three acceptances. Two came at once and I picked one which has turned out to be a great partnership for conventions and ongoing royalties. The third came after I sent an e-mail about pulling it. The second novel was requested by a publisher and then was accepted. The third novel I wrote has gone through about as many rejections and has not been accepted yet.

Two times though I had a story rejected twice. Let me be clear. I submitted the story. I got the rejection. I moved on. I don’t respond to rejections. I just rewrite and resubmit. But then I got a second rejection from the same publisher for the story submission that was already rejected. And this happened to me twice with two different publishers on two different stories.

That stung a little. I was a little confused because I went back to mark the rejection on my charts where I track where I submitted stories only to see it already marked. Did I accidentally submit it twice? No, it was rejected two times for one submission.

I imagine the editor waking up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night thinking, “Oh, God, that story was so awful. Did I reject it? I can’t remember. It was so bad that I should really go ahead and send another one just to be sure.”

If it had only happened once, I could brush it off as a mistake, but two publishers did that. I honestly don’t remember which stories got double rejected. I wish I had noted it because it is an important history, but maybe it is best that I don’t remember.

I don’t want my stories to have a complex. I just need to pick myself up and keep writing.

I still love my work with small presses, but I’m opening up to self-publishing again. I’ve worked with a number of great, full-time authors that are writing their own tickets that way. We’ve done collaborative pieces together. We hire our own artists and editors and do the work right, but we set the rules. There are some pieces that are not going to make it through the gatekeepers the way they are conceived. Sometimes that means a work needs to be improved, but sometimes it means if you believe in your vision, you put it out there on your own terms.

I did that with Dead Song and the music of The Sound May Suffer. Music and a book were more than most publishers were ready to take on, but that’s how this story had to be told, so that’s how I told it.

For all of these pieces, I have said that you only need one acceptance. The number of rejections doesn’t matter. You can learn something and revise, but that one acceptance is all you ever need. You beat rejection by keeping on working until you get that one acceptance and then you have won.



Check out the latest book and music from a new series by Jay Wilburn:

The Dead Song Legend Dodecology Book 1: January from Milwaukee to Muscle Shoals

The Sound May Suffer - Songs from the Dead Song Legend Book 1: January


Jay Wilburn lives with his wife and two sons in Conway, South Carolina near the Atlantic coast of the southern United States. He taught public school for sixteen years before becoming a full time writer. He is the author of the Dead Song Legend Dodecology and the music of the five song soundtrack recorded as if by the characters within the world of the novel The Sound May Suffer. Follow his many dark thoughts on Twitter @AmongTheZombies, his Facebook author page, and at JayWilburn.com

Rejection Project - S.P. Miskowski

My relationship with S.P. Miskowski goes back to my first published book with Omnium Gatherum. She's a force in Dark Fiction. She edited the wonderful LITTLE VISIBLE DELIGHT where your's truly has a cool story, so needless to say, I don't associate her with rejection. But I asked her about it all the same. Here's what she said:

My first story publication, in a small press magazine, happened in the late 1980s. From 1993-2008 I worked in theater, and then returned to writing short stories. The technology for submitting stories has changed but my approach remains the same. And most of my stories have been published. Here's my best advice.

Edit your work mercilessly. Aim to write your best story, every time. Give your manuscript to a trusted colleague, for notes. Edit again. Proofread the final draft. Keep the cover letter simple and direct. Don't brag or embellish. Be polite. Only submit work after taking a look at the editor's previous publications. Know your editor's interests. Don't send cosmic horror to an editor who prefers bizarro, or vice versa. This is the best way to avoid rejection.

And a certain amount of rejection is inevitable. It's part of a writer's life. You're not a writer if you can't cope with rejection. I don't have a ritual or habit regarding rejection, except to take it in stride and keep going.

Write back to the editor who rejected your work and say thanks for considering it and best wishes on the anthology or magazine. Never argue with the editor's decision. He does not have to choose your work, or recognize your talent. He doesn't have to give you notes to help you improve the story. It isn't his job to invest in you. It's your job to write fiction people want to publish.

Don't dwell on rejection. Get back to work, on something new. Set aside the rejected story until you can read it objectively. Then see if you need to make more changes to improve the story. Find another publication suitable for the story, and submit it.

That's all. Keep writing. Keep getting published and/or rejected. Only submit your best work, and submit it to an appropriate market. Be professional in all of your interactions with editors. Expect nothing. Your role as a writer is nothing. The story at hand is everything.

Good luck!

S.P.

S.P. Miskowski's four-book series, the Skillute Cycle, is published by Omnium Gatherum. Two of the books were finalists for Shirley Jackson Awards. Her stories have appeared in Black Static, Supernatural Tales, Other Voices, and Identity Theory, and in the anthologies October Dreams II and Little Visible Delight. She has stories forthcoming in the anthologies Cassilda's Song, The Hyde Hotel, and The Leaves of a Necronomicon. She's the recipient of a Swarthout Award and two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships.

Rejection Project - Robert DiBella

Robert DiBella

Today we hear from Robert DiBella a published author and an old friend of mine. We met through Rainstorm Press, the first publisher who ever sent me an acceptance letter and the force behind Robert's two published novels. His new book TEN NAMES just came out. I asked him about rejection and got this:

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Robert: Rejection is not easy. I thought the hardest part of writings would be actually finishing the novel. Once it was done I felt that I worked too hard on it for people not to like it. The first challenge a writer faces (after finishing their work) is that hard reality. For every one yes that you get there a thousand no's. 

I must have sent query letters to hundreds of publishers and lit agents. I sent out so many that one publisher responded "Mr. DiBella we write children's books... Why did you send us this?" They were right for not taking it, like ten people got shot in chapter one alone, my story wasn't a children's book. 

I'm a big believer in the cliche what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, with every rejection letter and no reply your writing skin gets tougher. My advice to new writers is always to stay the course. In the digital age there are so many small presses and agents looking for e-books and other outlets to sell novels. Somewhere out there is an agent or a publisher whose gonna love your story. 

I was referred to Rainstorm Press by a good friend in college. When I called up the publisher and asked about my query he said it's a cool story and we're gonna pick it up. I was so excited, I was never the kind of kid who read books, let alone write one. Now I was getting published!! It was a bit over whelming, all the rejections made that moment feel that much better. Getting published really kind of changed my life, it opened up a new world of opportunities and I also love to read now! 

Rainstorm Press just published Ten Names, the sequel to my first novel. Check it out on Amazon and Barnes and Nobles website. 

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

THE FINGER TRAP - Cover Reveal

When the only way out is deeper in...

Coming this Fall from Jolly Fish Press - THE FINGER TRAP, the first Tony Flaner mystery.

Check out this cover!

Tony Flaner is a malingering part-time comedian, full-time sarcastic, who’s never had it hard, and never finished a thing in his life. He’s had twelve years to prepare for his divorce and didn’t. He had his entire life to choose a career and hasn’t. Now time’s up, and he’s in a world of trouble. But it gets worse. A first date and a drunken party ends with Tony facing prison for the murder of a girl he hardly knew.

Other than that, it was a pretty great party.

To save himself, wise-cracking Tony must discover who the mysterious girl was, what she was involved in, and what the hell she saw in him in the first place. Their lives are linked together at the ends of a Chinese finger trap, like life and death, friends and enemies, arugula quiche and pigs knuckles.

An adult comic detective noir — murder and mayhem, cops and robbers, poisons and puppets, sarcasm, social commentary and a mid-life Peter Pan crisis we can all admire.

Available now for pre-order.

Rejection Project - Max Booth III

Max Booth III

As I mentioned in last week’s Blog Mansion I’m exploring the phenomenon of rejection among writers. I contacted a slew of authors and presented them with some seed questions to get them thinking about their rejections. They could either take the questions as prompts or answer them straight up.

To get you an idea of the questions and to start with a bang, I bring you the very busy and scary Max Booth III.

Max Booth III is the author of Toxicity and The Mind is a Razorblade. He’s the Editor-in-Chief of Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing and an ongoing columnist at LitReactor and Slush Pile Heroes. He works as a hotel night auditor in a small town outside San Antonio, TX. Follow him on Twitter @GiveMeYourTeeth and visit him at talesfromthebooth.com.


How do you deal with rejection? Do you have a ritual? Do you save your rejections? Keep count?

I’ve been a diehard Chicago Cubs fan all my life, so I think this has helped numb me from rejection. Rejection is simply one of the necessities of being a writer. Even the best porn star in the world can’t get it up every scene, you know? You just have to keep practicing. I do not save my rejections, no. Maybe I should, then I wouldn’t accidentally submit the same story twice to certain markets. I think maybe I’m developing an early case of Alzheimer’s. It’s in my family, so why not. It’s a better explanation than me just being an idiot. 

What was the best rejection you ever received?

I collect two to three rejections every month, so it’s hard to keep track. I don’t know if I would qualify any of them as “best”, though. The more I think about it, I’d say the best rejection I’ve ever gotten was from Post Mortem Press. I submitted my novel, Toxicity, to them, and they eventually passed. So I rewrote it a few times and made it a novel worth reading, then sent it again. Bam. Accepted. What I’m saying is, the best rejections are those that motivate you to improve. 

What was the worst rejection you ever received?

Probably the time Nightmare rejected me in like twenty minutes. One day they will love me.

Strangest/most memorable reason for rejection?

You know how we include our cell phone numbers in our cover letters never expecting editors to call us? Well guess what? Yeah. This lunatic calls me up one day and rants for twenty minutes about how first-person stories are ruining the world of writing, Guy says any respectable editor will never accept a story written in first-person. Obviously this editor was Anthony Giangregorio. And yeah, I laughed a whole lot when I inserted the word “editor” in the previous sentence.

What are you shopping now?

A little bit of gold buried in a lot of shit.