Any writer out there actively submitting has probably received a rejection letter at some point in their career. If you’re like me, you’ve received hundreds of rejection letters?
With every rejection letter received, it’s difficult not to feel discouraged. So how do you beat the rejection letter blues? Here is my Top 10 Countdown to Beating the Rejection Letter Blues.
10. Ignore it. Rejection letter? What rejection letter?
9. Toss it. Shred it. Ball it. Rip it. Burn it. Scribble over it…. Whatever will help get that frustration out and make you feel better.
8. Gorge yourself on a pint of double chocolate fudge ice cream. It’s cliché, but it’s been known to help.
7. Cry. Hey, sometimes a good cry is all it takes.
6. Curse the editor/agent (to yourself or to an empty room, of course). Their loss for not realizing what a wonderful writer you are. They’ll eat their words when you make the NY Times Bestseller.
5. Call up your best friend/writing partner/critique partner/spouse/mother and let them remind you what a wonderful writer you are. The pep talk does wonders for a wounded ego.
4. Stash the rejection letter with all the others you’ve been collecting. They’ll make a great bonfire when you do sell. The bigger the collection, the closer you are to your goal. That collection is validation that you are doing your job and pursuing your dreams. Have you heard about the size of Stephen King’s collection of rejection letters?
3. Realize that each person is entitled to his/her own opinion. Getting published is about more than having good quality writing and a stellar story. It’s about being at the right place, at the right time, and finding that one editor/agent who “gets” your writing and is enthusiastic enough to stand behind you 110% percent. There are hundreds of editors and agents out there. You’re bound to find one that’s a good fit for you. Scratch this editor/agent off your list and move on to the next one.
2. Learn from the rejection. Now we’re talking! Did the editor/agent point out anything they liked and disliked? Did they give any pointers on your strengths/weaknesses? How can you make your proposal better so that the next time, it won’t be a rejection letter but an acceptance letter waiting for you?
1. Send out 5 more queries for every rejection letter. Everyone knows you have to go through 100 No’s before you can get to your first Yes. Each No is a step closer to a Yes. Get submitting!
It’s been a while since I last posted on here. Since then, there’s been a lot of change. The elections are now over and we have a new President-Elect that inspires and brings hope to the world that change is here. The holidays are finally upon us. In fact, Thanksgiving is only 2 days away!
I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Keep warm and safe on your trips, and try not to count the calories this holdiay season. Have fun!
The video below is from Google and is a follow-up to the previous post. This will tell you exactly where to go to register to vote and also to find out if you are registered or not.
If the subject got your attention and you want to rant about it, then watch this video first. It will explain everything.
The video WILL make a difference, and it only takes up a few minutes. It’s an extremely important message passed on by Leonardo DiCaprio, Forest Whitaker, Tobey MacGuire, and others. There isn’t much time left, so watch it now.
Just finished reading the newest book from one of my all-time favorite authors. Like some of the historical authors I know, this author has also recently branched out into writing contemporaries as well.
One thing that I noticed in this book (her newest release) is her use of explicit words that hasn’t been used before in her previous books. More to the point, it was the “c” word for the male appendage, if you know what I mean. That word took me by surprise and was disturbing enough to jerk me out of the story.
Don’t get me wrong. I have no problem with that word. It’s just that it’s not something I’d expected to see in a historical romance. A regency, at that. A contemporary, most likely. And erotica, you bet! But not a historical. Especially not a regency.
Also, while this author has always written very sexy books, I felt that the love scenes in this book were too graphic for my taste for what a historical romance book should be that isn’t marketed as an erotica.
Am I wrong to think this? I know that sexy books are in right now, but if you’re already writing sexy and have a solid readership base and are a NY Times Bestseller, why change the formula?
I suppose my biggest issue with this is that it doesn’t (to me) fit in with what (my perception of) a historical romance should be. Unless it’s marketed as an erotica.
But maybe — and this is something that has become a problem with me recently — it’s because of her switch to contemporaries. Maybe it’s her contemporary voice carrying through to her historical books.
Recently, because I’ve been reading so many eroticas, I find myself having difficulty writing the love scenes in my books because I find myself wanting to write sexier and edgier. I have to make an effort to rein in my words and remember to use “manhood” versus the “c” word.
Maybe that’s what happened with this author.
Or maybe it’s because she just changed publishers, and this is something that this publisher requires.
There are a lot of things that factor in. However, despite the cause, more importantly, you have to bear in mind the effect. In historicals, you are constrained to certain (unspoken) rules that you have to follow. Historical readers read historical romances because they expect certain things from it, one of which being that the love scene stays true to the time period and genre in terms of language. And using the male “c” word, in my humble opinion, is going a little extreme with the language.
I know a handful of historical romance readers who don’t like to read erotica because of the explicit language. This will most likely turn those readers off.
Well, my Technorati link is up and working. I think the problem before was that my profile was too new to load. Now everything’s there, and it’s the correct link.
For the past couple of years, there was talk that the historical market was declining. Editors weren’t buying as many historicals as they should, and the only ones they were consistently putting out were from well-established historical romance authors who have a large readership.
But now the talk is that historicals are on the rise again.
I honestly don’t think historicals were ever in danger. Yeah, at one point in time, editors and agents weren’t buying them as much. BUT, the readership is still there. The readership will always be there.
A lot of people think that if you don’t write Regencies or Scottish, then you’re in trouble. However, I say write what you love. Let your characters tell the story. If it’s a good story, it’ll be bought. At least, that’s my humble opinion I’m holding onto.
And I think they ARE trying to expand the market. Well, the smaller houses are. Kensington just bought a Caribbean set historical. Forgot which house it was that bought an ancient Roman set historical a few months ago. Regencies and Scottish historicals will always be in, thankfully, followed closely by Medievals. But it’s good to see that editors are also broadening the market with other eras.
Whatever the trend and no matter which direction the market takes in regards to historicals, rest assured there will always be a readership. The historical market readership is there and it’s strong. You can’t take a historical lover and try to convert him/her. Just isn’t going to happen. Historical readers are passionate about their historicals. This one certainly is!
Is it just me, or are we starting to see a fall in the paranormal trend? Nothing too drastic, but a small dip. That market is so over saturated, if you ask me. Although I’m not one to follow trends — write the book the way it was meant to be written and not because you’re trying to jump onto the current trend bandwagon, right? — it’ll be interesting to see what the next “trend” will be, and where it’ll take us.
I actually think the paranormal market was hurting for a while there. Now editors have gotten smarter. When the trend first became super hot, editors were buying up everything that came there way. Established authors who had no experience writing paranormal starting writing paranormals. Some became very good at it and you can tell they have a passion for it. Some, you could feel were only doing it because their editor told them to. Also, unnamed authors gave it a shot and were being bought, and as a result, the quality of paranormals being put out two years ago weren’t as good as they could have been. Now editors are more selective on who they buy, and the paranormal market is getting tougher to break into again — not like how it was 2 years ago. But it’s a good thing because the paranormals published today are more quality paranormals.
But I think the general consensus now is that people (even editors and agents) can only tolerate so many vampires and were-creatures books. (No offense to authors who write vampire and werewolves.)
A good author friend of mine writes funny, light contemporaries. Her publisher wanted her to right dark paranormals and dropped her when she refused to. Ouch. I think that is what is hurting some established authors. They’re being forced to write genres that they’re not comfortable writing. I think she could have done it if they had allowed her to write light paranormals. All she has to do is add a little magic to spice things up and still keep her funny contemporary voice that she’s so good at. But dark? That wasn’t her thing. And while I’m saddened her house has dropped her, I’m very proud of her for standing up for herself and knowing her limits.
Alright, so maybe it’s not so much a decline, but a shift in the way paranormals are now viewed and bought.
I’ve noticed this for some time now, but was wondering if anyone saw what I saw as well. Does the guy on the cover of Lora Leigh’s Nauti Boy look familiar to anyone?
So, for some reason, I tried to click on the link given me (which was inserted in the previous post), and it tells me they have no one by the name of maichristythao. Very strange, since I’m logged into Technorati as maichristythao at the moment.
