I'm late with this because I've had all the aches and pains of a cold bug without the sneezing over the last few days, received two rejections within a week of each other, and I've been out for a country walk with a very good friend today. Unfortunately she claims to have no skills at literary critiquism, otherwise I think she would have found my ms in her lap! It is so easy to lose heart, and I must admit the thought crept into my mind last night ~why torture yourself like this? 
Bt then it's always like this when a rejection comes through, and especially this time because in one case I'd been asked to send in the full ms. We try to remain level-headed, but somewhere on the subconcious plane the mind is busily crafting away on how delightful it will be when that acceptance comes... and then of course comes the big crash. At least this time I heard, and they told me very nicely. So many times the response is just silence. Aching, unending silence. Is it any wonder aspiring authors are basket cases?
Never mind. I keep on doing it because I love doing it, and I'm trying to achieve success in a time and place that has never been harder because of the recession. I'll take few days off, and then I'll be back, working away in my sixteenth century world where Matho has got to Edinburgh and the English are poised to attack tomorrow....how can I resist getting him and Phemie together for a few hours?
.jpg)
6 comments:
Sorry to hear about the rejections, Jen.
Is that the same Matho's Story, or a new one?
No, Anne. Thankfully this was a Regency story I finished a while ago. For Matho, I still have my fingers crossed!
Bummer about the rejection, Jen - we always expect them - but then we don't. Crazy aren't we?
Sorry about the rejection Jen. It always takes a bit of time to pick yourself up and get back on the horse doesn't it?
Love the photos on your blog. Simply stunning
Thanks everyine re commiserations. Hazel, glad to see you beat the moderator!
Hi Jen, just working my way through your posts and saw this one about being rejected by an agency. I know how it feels - I've kept every rejection letter I ever got: fifteen years' worth of them. There must be about forty or so, from all of the major London agencies, including the one that represents me now!!
As ever, don't quit. The only sure way to fail to accquire an agent is to not write anything. Keep an eye open for changes in the market - my first two novels were historical fiction, written between 1995 and 1999. I had no idea that at the time historical fiction just wasn't selling. My books could have been brilliant and it would have made no difference to a publisher or an agent as there was no market for them.
If you keep going you'll get there eventually, either because you'll produce something that the market wants or because the market for your work will come into fashion.
Post a Comment