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Rejected again
I'm a writer. Note, I'm not an author. Authors have to get published.
I'm male, 26, wrote a nice piece of fantasy, book one of two. And no agent is touching it.
I've already refined it to the point where it's only subjective if you don't like it. I've been to conferences, queried several agents.
And I just don't know how much longer I can keep doing this.
I know that all the no's are supposed to lead to a yes, but every time I'm rejected, I hate myself more and more, and feel like I'm wasting my life.
I don't want to self-publish, I want to prove that my talent is good enough. I want to find the right agent, I want to be a big smash. I want to feel like I haven't wasted my college years studying for this and the years after chasing it.
I don't even know what I'm asking for on this site. I just... I just want to feel confident that I'll find my agent soon.
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Want to answer more questions in the Miscellaneous category?
Maybe give some free advice about: Random Weirdos?
This may not be what you wanted to hear, but you may need to be a smash first before you get published.
Matthew Wayne Selznick, Mur Lafferty, and Scott Sigler all got publishing contracts after posting audio versions of their books on podiobooks.com. David Wellington, author of the "Monster Nation" series, couldn't get published for years. Then he serialized "Monster Island" on a friend's website and generated so much buzz and positive feedback that he finally got a contract.
Getting published is not a judgement on your talent, nor is it a validation of you as a writer. There are plenty of hack writers who get contracts. Ever hear of Gael Baudino? She wrote some fantasy novels in the '80s and '90s, was lauded as this rising star in fantasy... then disappeared. John Norman is a terrible writer, but he's published 27 novels in the Gor series. It's all about what sells. There are plenty of talented writers out there, and it's a lot easier to attract the attention of a publisher if you can bring the promise of a dedicated fan base to the table.
If you love writing enough to have studied it formally and to write novels, then you won't be able to stop. You have it in you to tell stories and tell them well. But it's meaningless if nobody hears you. Put your stuff up on the web and let people read it. Screw the publishers.
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A kindred spirit! I'm 21 and a writer - unpublished, with three novels under my belt, a five-book series (unfinished), and hundreds of short stories. I've talked to many published authors (including Doug Allyn and S. J. Rozan), who have told me that they at least know people who were rejected over a hundred times before they finally got an agent to bite. How many queries have you sent out?
You can't expect to get published right off the bat. Someone out there will eventually like it, but not everyone will. You absolutely cannot take this personally. If you do, the writing biz isn't for you. You'll wind up depressed and self-loathing. Take rejections with a grain of salt. They aren't rejecting YOU - they're simply saying your manuscript isn't what they're looking for at this point in time. You MUST develop thick skin for this type of world. All artistic fields are incredibly cutthroat, and you must be, if not amazing, at least persistent.
Head to your local Borders book store and find a copy of the Handbook of Literary Agents, if you haven't already. There, you'll find a list of agents looking for just the type of story you wrote. If you've already done that, look for another book of agents. Contact some college professors of yours, explain your situation, and ask if they have any useful contacts (not in those words, they won't get you anywhere). Networking is your friend. It doesn't reflect negatively on your writing. It simply means that you have someone to contact who can help you get what you want. There's nothing wrong with that, and I guarantee there are successful authors out there who've done the same thing. Look at what happened with J.K. Rowling and Stephanie Meyer...I guarantee you and I are both better writers individually than both of them put together. Well, J.K. Rowling after the fourth book. After that, her prose went waaaaay downhill...anyway.
If you'd like a friendly opinion on your work, or just someone to vent at, feel free to IM me - SirenCytherea on AIM - or look for my e-mail on my column.
If you choose not to contact me, I wish you strength and luck in all your endeavors.
-Siren =)
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Dont give up.
I know exactly how it feels to be rejected.
Just try searching for other agents and companys.
Did you know the first "Chicken soup for the soul" book was rejected by almost everyone they when they wanted to get it published?
But they kept trying and finnaly found someone who would publish it and they made millions!
Maybe those authors are making the same mistakes.
But keep trying :)
Those years studying this stuff in collage wasent a waste.
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Rejection hurts, but it also makes it worth it when you succeed. I'm sorry you're having some trouble, but you can't give up. You've came this far & worked so hard, so don't give up now. Just keep trying. Send it to every publisher you can find, & if you get rejected, don't let it bring you down. Just keep trying.
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