I
moan to my critique partner, who understands completely because she, too, is a
writer. (Hugs to you, Sandi.) Understanding that I’m not alone in the volume of rejected queries
allows me to have more perspective. All writers receive rejections.
Sometimes
I mumble and gripe to my literary muses (two miniature schnauzers) that the
editor didn’t “get” the story (but of course she “got” enough of it to
understand it wasn’t right for the publisher). My reasoning can be a little
warped when the rejections pour in, but the mental warp makes me feel better.
I
don’t fret beyond the day I receive the rejection. I move on with another
project or send the rejected manuscript out to another editor. Remember, it
only takes one editor to love the work and deem it contract worthy. Different
editors have hugely different opinions about what is a great story.
If a
story is rejected several times, I store it away, temporarily. After a few
months (sometimes, years) I reexamine the manuscript with fresh eyes. If
my story seem to have merit, I rewrite and resubmit. (That’s what I’ve
been doing the last few months and snatched a few contracts.) Sometimes the
rewrite bears little resemblance to the original story. AMAZING GRACE began as
a picture book (rejected). I rewrote it as a chapter book (rejected). After I
rewrote it as a middle grade novel, it found a home with a publisher.
Next
week, I’ll look at other ways I deal with rejection.
Call
for submissions for Young and Adult Writers:
Submissions for Wee Tales and Refractions must be age appropriate for the
journal (7 to 12 for Wee Tales, 13 and up for Refractions). If you have
something more geared toward an adult market please still submit it for our
next possible run of Deep Waters. General and Refractions short submissions
should be between 1000 and 5000 words, Wee Tales submissions should be between
600 and 2000 words. Adult and teen writers are invited to submit.
Submission guidelines at https://goldenfleecepress.com/refractions/
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