Mari Walker’s Blog
A New Author’s LifeArchive for January, 2008
Key Number Five: Rejection: Make It Work For You!
Rejection. That word conjures up a lot of negative energy for most of us. You’ve waited weeks, maybe even months to hear back from the person you sent your query letter. You have placed your hopes, dreams, and ambitions for becoming a writer inside that envelope. Your expectations are high. You’ve written the best manuscript you could, you’ve edited and re-edited and you’re ready to send it out as soon as you get the word that it has been requested. And then it comes. The SASE (self addressed stamped envelope) with your writing on the front. This is it. The moment of truth has arrived. Do they want to read my manuscript? Am I one step closer to my dream, or am I back to square one, having to start the process over again? You tear open the envelope in anticipation and read the words, “Sorry, your manuscript is not for us, at this time.” Or words to that effect. Dissappointment rises. You feel like a failure. You’re writing is not as good as you thought. In fact it stinks because they didn’t like it. I might as well give up! WAIT ONE MINUTE!
Rejection is not the end of the road for you! In fact it can be a new beginning. Remember, that letter came from ONE PERSON and it is ONE PERSON’S OPINION! Now is not the time to throw in the towel. There are hundreds of editors and agents out there, get busy and send out another query. If you’re lucky, the person who wrote the rejection will add a line or two telling you why they didn’t like your submission. In my case, the agent told me, my narrative was cold, and didn’t make him feel like reading any further, and that he didn’t care for writing that included religous themes. I was crushed for a moment. I threw the letter up on a shelf and refused to read it, or my manuscript for a couple of months. But then I got over it and remembered that a writer has to have patience and perserverance above all else. (Developing a thick skin will help also) I had to remember that rejection isn’t personal, it is business. It was right then and there that I decided to make that rejection letter work for me. I took it down from the shelf and read it again. The writer said my narrative was cold. If he was right, I could fix that. I got out my manuscript and began reading. I decided he was right, it did read a bit cold and emotionless. So I set about revising it and spicing it up a bit with dialogue and action. I began another REWRITE.
Next I looked at his other reason for rejecting my manuscript. He didn’t like works that included religion. Well that was an integral part of my story, so I knew I wasn’t going to change that. But what I did decide to do was more research on which agents WOULD like a book that featured religous backdrops in a book. I looked at books that were similar to mine and began making a list of who the agents were who represented the writers of these kinds of books. I did some research on each one and picked the one I felt most closely reflected my ideas and goals. Then, I revised my query and sent it out to that person. What happened? She asked for a synopsis and the first three chapters of my manuscript! Eventually she asked for the entire manuscript and ultimately decided to take me on as a client.
I made the one rejection letter work for me and as a result got picked up by and agent and she was able to get me picked up by one of the big ten NY publishers! I can’t promise you that your story will end like mine did, but I can tell you that you will GREATLY increase your chances of getting accepted instead of rejected time and time again if you make your rejections work for you as I did. Don’t take rejection personally. Learn from it, revise your submission and send it out again. And the most important thing: NEVER GIVE UP!
Key Number Four: Write A Dynamic Query Letter
If you write a query that is attention grabbing, you are well on your way to securing that agent/editor. A query first and foremost, tells the editor/agent that you can write, believe it or not. If you submit a query that is riddled with errors, full of embellishments using adjectives to describe how your characters look, you are basically sabotaging yourself. The agent/editor is more concerned with what your story is about, what moves the story (conflict) and how the story ends(resolution of conflict). Contrary to popular belief, this is NOT the time to leave the agent/editor wondering how the story will end. Many believe that inserting a cliff-hanger will peak the reader’s interest and cause them to ask for more. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
YES your goal with writing your query is to get the reader to ask to read more of your manuscript and possibly even ask for the entire manuscript. If you can accomplish this, you have just raised your manuscript from unsolicited to solicited status. (Solicited means requested, and of course unsolicited means not requested by anyone) This means your manuscript, or at least a few chapters of your manuscript will be read by the agent/editor or one of thier assitants. Don’t diss the assistant! In my case the assitant to the editor loved my manuscript so much, she was in the editor’s office every single day raving about how great it was and telling her all the juicy details. The assistant actually helped me get picked up by the publishing company.
The crucial elements of a query? Introduce yourself in the first paragraph. This is where you include your PUBLISHED writing credits. For example, have you been published in a local newspaper or magazine. This is not where you tell about writing for the high school or college newsletter. You are basically telling the reader here what qualifies you to be a writer. If you don’t have any previous writing credit, that’s okay. That doesn’t count your query out. Just wow them in the next paragraph with the brief synopsis of your story.
Use strong adjectives/adverbs to move the synopsis and keep them reading. Paint a picture with your words about the story, but avoid using descriptors like, ” this is a mind blowing, fantastic read”. These types of statements are a turn-off for the professional, because it read likes you are trying to Tell them what to think about your manuscript instead of allowing them to form their own opinion. Instead use words like “this is the story of a woman’s unforgettable battle with an addiction that threatens to destroy her life, and the lives of her children…” I have just told them in my opening sentence what my story is about. Now I can use the ramaining sentences to build drama to make them want more. Remember give them the beginning middle and ending of your story in a couple of paragraphs. This is your opportunity to sell your story, so pour all of the passion that you feel into this portion of the query. If you feel what you are writing, so will the reader!
Next you want to compare your work, to works that are already on the market. This advises the reader that you know your target market and you have thought about the competition. You should tell the reader how your work is similar, but also how it is different and what will cause the prospective buyers of your finished novel pick up your new book instead of the competition. For example, I compared my work to a famous writer’s by using the comparison of both of us using religous threads and backdrops in our writing, but pointed out that my writing differed from hers because my writing was grittier, and gave a different point of view than her stories.
Finally, in concluding your query, thank the reader for taking the time to read your query. Include your contact information, phone number(s), email address, etc.
One final note: Don’t send any part of your manuscript with the query! Agents/editors don’t like getting stuff they haven’t asked you for. This is the quickest way for your submission to end up in the dreaded slush pile, or even worse the trash bin!
Until next time!
Mari
NEXT: KEY Number Five: Make Rejections Work FOR you!
Key Number Three: Remember Your Manners!
Hi all! I know that its been a long time since I’ve posted anything and I apologize for taking so long to get these ten keys written. My life has been crazy busy! With writing book 2, lining up book signings, and promotions for book one, etc. But I LOVE IT! When dream becomes reality, there is no experience like it! An experience I hope that you writers will experience in your near future. I hope the information that I share here helps you in reaching your goals. Anyway back to key number three.
It is very, very important to remember the lesson our elders taught us about minding our manners in this business. Remember, the people whose attention you seek are VERY BUSY! So you’d be surprised how far a little common courtesy and respect can take you. Those little “please and thank you’s” can open doors for you quicker than a battering ram. Just think you are an editor or agent who looks at hundreds of submissions a day. All of the writers of those submission thinks that they have written the next best selling novel that all of hollywood is going to be fighting over the film rights for. In the query letter (more on the all important query letter later) all the writers are so busy telling the agent/editor what fools they would be to pass up this marvelous book, or how they need to read this manuscript ASAP before someone else snaps it up, and on and on. And then the agent/editor picks up your submission and it begins with:
Dear Ms. Koster,
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my query letter. Please find enclosed my query letter, and a brief synopsis…
You immediately set yourself apart from the crowd, because you have acknowledged that this very busy person is taking time from their very busy schedule to read a letter from you and you are THANKING them for doing so. You have set a tone for the rest of your letter, and probably have made the reader more willing to give your letter more than a perfunctory read.
Despite what many think good manners, beginning a request with “please” and ending your letter with “thank you” helps the reader in creating a favorable impression of you. You always want the reader to feel how easy it will be to work with you, should they decide to take you on as a client. The only thing they have to base this decision on are YOUR WORDS on paper. They can’t hear your voice, they don’t see your facial expression, so you words, how you express yourselves will tell them everything they want to know. Make your words a reflection of your true self and your true intentions. Now is not the time to come off like an arrogant know-it-all. Remember your manners. It will stand you head and shoulders above those who forget!
Until next time!
Take Care,
Mari
