DAY 29:
"... Unfortunately, we do not feel your manuscript would be a commercial success for us at the present time. ..."
Personalized rejection letter.
On the bright side, I topped 70% of my odds!
It's good to finally have an answer, and I'm glad it was sooner rather than later.
Back to work!
Friday, July 27, 2012
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Kinds of Novelist / Feedback
This post took a long time to boil down (and as I've said in the past, hard writing isn't often great). I wanted to classify everyone on Earth in terms of writing, and I think now I've actually managed to do that, but it took a long time to find my approach toward this subject. After some thought, I've managed to whittle down the entire human population to six major categories, with respect to publishing.
1. People who don't want to write a novel.
2. People who are "thinking about writing a novel" and never will.
3. People who have started writing a novel, but will never finish it.
4. People who can kinda write but ignored the submission guidelines - careless writers.
5. People who can't write but did somehow pump out and submit a novel.
6. People who can write and have submitted a completed novel.
I like to think that I fall into the last category. My fear is that I'm somehow in category 5 however, and that don't even know it.
I think about this type of thing a lot. I look around at people that I have met and ones that I see around the city, creative ones especially. I try to imagine how writing effects their lives, I wonder how many of them have thought about or tried writing a book of any kind. I try to consider myself a normal guy, at least when it comes to talent, basically because I have no other solid standard with which to judge myself.
In the absence of actual professional appraisal of my work, in this kind of uncriticized limbo, my mind starts chasing these rats inside my head.
I'm the type of writer that thrives on and adapts to feedback. I absorb what I hear and change my work accordingly, making the changes within the parameters of my own style.
Example: for some of the chapters of my manuscript, especially the latter ones, I had my wife read over my shoulder. Except for the overlooked mistakes, I was sincerely happy with every line in the work. My wife, on the other hand, would find things confusing that I thought were okay. Taking her perspective into account, I'd simply rephrase the sentiment or add a single line, and everything became clear to her, while remaining true to my vision and style.
The drawback of this is that I actually need a second set of eyes to walk me through my own work. It's because of this that not only am I completely for criticism and feedback, I thrive on it. I require it.
1. People who don't want to write a novel.
2. People who are "thinking about writing a novel" and never will.
3. People who have started writing a novel, but will never finish it.
4. People who can kinda write but ignored the submission guidelines - careless writers.
5. People who can't write but did somehow pump out and submit a novel.
6. People who can write and have submitted a completed novel.
I like to think that I fall into the last category. My fear is that I'm somehow in category 5 however, and that don't even know it.
I think about this type of thing a lot. I look around at people that I have met and ones that I see around the city, creative ones especially. I try to imagine how writing effects their lives, I wonder how many of them have thought about or tried writing a book of any kind. I try to consider myself a normal guy, at least when it comes to talent, basically because I have no other solid standard with which to judge myself.
In the absence of actual professional appraisal of my work, in this kind of uncriticized limbo, my mind starts chasing these rats inside my head.
I'm the type of writer that thrives on and adapts to feedback. I absorb what I hear and change my work accordingly, making the changes within the parameters of my own style.
Example: for some of the chapters of my manuscript, especially the latter ones, I had my wife read over my shoulder. Except for the overlooked mistakes, I was sincerely happy with every line in the work. My wife, on the other hand, would find things confusing that I thought were okay. Taking her perspective into account, I'd simply rephrase the sentiment or add a single line, and everything became clear to her, while remaining true to my vision and style.
The drawback of this is that I actually need a second set of eyes to walk me through my own work. It's because of this that not only am I completely for criticism and feedback, I thrive on it. I require it.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
REJECTION WATCH I,II
DAY 11: Publisher's web page warned that appraisal
could take three months or more. In the meantime, I've been rereading my
manuscript, and have discovered about one error on every three pages or
so. While this is discouraging, I made a deal with myself; in the
interest of finishing the decade-long project, I'd finish each chapter
and not go back. Returning to earlier pages bogged me down for many
years.
DAY 20: Came home from vaycay to discover that my SAPC (self-addressed postcard) included with my manuscript was in my inbox.
The publisher now has my book in their slush pile.
I've been thinking a lot about the possible responses from them. In order of probability, and based on absolute speculation, I think the resolution may be one of the following:
1. 7/10: Form-letter rejection. By my dead reckoning, I've got a 70% chance of outright rejection. The question I'll be asking myself after this is obviously: "What could I have done better? What changes could make this saleable?" The problem with this is that a form letter will likely never tell me anything toward that. All you know is 'not fit for publishing' and that the manuscript is now so much seventh-generation toilet paper. Maybe it wasn't long enough, maybe I used "I," "is," and "and" too much, maybe they're just not looking for vast space navy stories. Maybe they'd say "It's not you, it's us," or something of that nature. Hard to know what causes a form rejection letter, but it's clear from it that you're not worth wasting any time or thought on.
2. 13/50: Constructive rejection letter. I'd call this a 26% chance, mostly because when I did some writing for IMG magazine, I was accepted outright. It was my first attempt at having my writing appraised outside of school, with the editor/founder saying I was a great writer. This was back in early '01/ late '00. I give this a generous chunk of probability mainly because my understanding of what a publisher does concerning a new work is to read the first three pages to determine if it's worth continuing, and in my novel, there's definitely something worth checking out if you base the rest on the first three pages.
If the style of my prose isn't good enough, the ideas are still pretty interesting, at least to me. It's certainly possible that a publisher would find value in my ideas, just have issues with my execution. A constructive letter may come with a way to contact an editor directly, to avoid the slush pile. It may also just be a different kind of form letter.
3. 3/100: Conditional acceptance. I'd estimate a 3% chance of them asking for me to rewrite the entire book to eliminate the present tense, first-person perspective of the novel. It may be that this would just be a method to influence me to walk away from that publisher. Then again, I may just be paranoid, but I find the chronicle perspective to be compelling for my novel.
DEFENSE OF MY STYLE: I didn't find past tense interesting because that would demand foreshadowing. The narrator, my main character, would know beforehand how the story ends, and given what happens, I didn't want that. The first person perspective allows me to focus on what's going on inside his head, because his own thoughts come out as narration. It seemed that a third-person perspective—omniscient or limited—would have been less focused on my main character. I use his blind spots and ignorance in a constructive manner, and I prefer the novel that way.
4. 1/100: Immediate acceptance. For a first-time novelist on his first attempt, 1% may very well be generous. I think, however, that after 14-16 years of growth and learning with and for this tome, I've earned the benefit of the doubt.
WHY DO YOU THINK YOU'RE WORTH MY TIME!?: I've been typing on computer keyboards for years, so much so that it's actually managed to warp my fingers and arms to a home-row setup without the carpal tunnel syndrome bends.Computer keyboards are now in my very bones. While most of that had little to do with my book, granted, I still have spent many hundreds of hours working on it, many times that doing research and education concerning my subject matter, online.
In between starting this book and now, I've finished high school, I attended two different colleges, earning a crapload of credits, I've been certified as an OSHA Firefighter, a NR-EMT, and as a phlebotomist. I've also spent about 3 years in the military, only to discover that I hit most of what it's like to serve dead on the head, before I joined.
In the end, accepted or not, I'll continue to work on the galaxy I've created.
DAY 20: Came home from vaycay to discover that my SAPC (self-addressed postcard) included with my manuscript was in my inbox.
The publisher now has my book in their slush pile.
I've been thinking a lot about the possible responses from them. In order of probability, and based on absolute speculation, I think the resolution may be one of the following:
1. 7/10: Form-letter rejection. By my dead reckoning, I've got a 70% chance of outright rejection. The question I'll be asking myself after this is obviously: "What could I have done better? What changes could make this saleable?" The problem with this is that a form letter will likely never tell me anything toward that. All you know is 'not fit for publishing' and that the manuscript is now so much seventh-generation toilet paper. Maybe it wasn't long enough, maybe I used "I," "is," and "and" too much, maybe they're just not looking for vast space navy stories. Maybe they'd say "It's not you, it's us," or something of that nature. Hard to know what causes a form rejection letter, but it's clear from it that you're not worth wasting any time or thought on.
2. 13/50: Constructive rejection letter. I'd call this a 26% chance, mostly because when I did some writing for IMG magazine, I was accepted outright. It was my first attempt at having my writing appraised outside of school, with the editor/founder saying I was a great writer. This was back in early '01/ late '00. I give this a generous chunk of probability mainly because my understanding of what a publisher does concerning a new work is to read the first three pages to determine if it's worth continuing, and in my novel, there's definitely something worth checking out if you base the rest on the first three pages.
If the style of my prose isn't good enough, the ideas are still pretty interesting, at least to me. It's certainly possible that a publisher would find value in my ideas, just have issues with my execution. A constructive letter may come with a way to contact an editor directly, to avoid the slush pile. It may also just be a different kind of form letter.
3. 3/100: Conditional acceptance. I'd estimate a 3% chance of them asking for me to rewrite the entire book to eliminate the present tense, first-person perspective of the novel. It may be that this would just be a method to influence me to walk away from that publisher. Then again, I may just be paranoid, but I find the chronicle perspective to be compelling for my novel.
DEFENSE OF MY STYLE: I didn't find past tense interesting because that would demand foreshadowing. The narrator, my main character, would know beforehand how the story ends, and given what happens, I didn't want that. The first person perspective allows me to focus on what's going on inside his head, because his own thoughts come out as narration. It seemed that a third-person perspective—omniscient or limited—would have been less focused on my main character. I use his blind spots and ignorance in a constructive manner, and I prefer the novel that way.
4. 1/100: Immediate acceptance. For a first-time novelist on his first attempt, 1% may very well be generous. I think, however, that after 14-16 years of growth and learning with and for this tome, I've earned the benefit of the doubt.
WHY DO YOU THINK YOU'RE WORTH MY TIME!?: I've been typing on computer keyboards for years, so much so that it's actually managed to warp my fingers and arms to a home-row setup without the carpal tunnel syndrome bends.Computer keyboards are now in my very bones. While most of that had little to do with my book, granted, I still have spent many hundreds of hours working on it, many times that doing research and education concerning my subject matter, online.
In between starting this book and now, I've finished high school, I attended two different colleges, earning a crapload of credits, I've been certified as an OSHA Firefighter, a NR-EMT, and as a phlebotomist. I've also spent about 3 years in the military, only to discover that I hit most of what it's like to serve dead on the head, before I joined.
In the end, accepted or not, I'll continue to work on the galaxy I've created.
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