I kept a special folder for book, keeping those letters organized. Eventually my first book was picked up by a small publisher, but I'm still collecting rejections. Only now, since almost all submissions are electronic, my rejections letters are sitting in my inbox.
I haven't decided whether to print copies to put in those fat file folders or not. But either way, I'm not discouraged. Not completely. There are lots of wonderful, indie publishers out there and I'm happy to be an indie author. Every writers collect rejections.
Cate Masters, a successful indie author, and one of the hardest working writers I know, is someone I'd like to mention today. Cate is very prolific and does tons of promotion. She is super supportive of other writers and has even started a blog, TBR, to help writers showcase their work. She really helped me when I decided to reclaim my rights to my fantasy series and published them myself. Please stop over and visit her. She has a new book, Death is a Bitch, will be coming out on August 3rd. Do you save your rejection notices? Are all your queries electronic now?
11 comments:
I've always kept my rejections, but I have less now, because I submit less!
The name that made me stop and think on that list was Anne Frank - it seems so bizarre that the book was submitted in the normal way.
Electonic queries are impersonal. It's like eletronic job applications.
I'm going Indie so I'll have no rejections....oh wait, I ahve one.
Hugs,
Shelly
http://wwww.shellysnovicewritings.blogspot.com/
Yay, Cate!
Ref: rejections
I'm sure they're somewhere. I tend to save correspondence, but not for any "sentimental" reasons. ;-)
My queries are all electronic now. I use to save the ones I got in the mail, but I was obsessing too much over them. If it's just a form letter, I delete it. One with a particular reason for rejection, I hold on to for a while longer.
I saved some of the snail mail letters for a while, but ended up chucking them. Now, all I keep is a notebook, showing when something was submitted, when the response was received, and what that response was. It's more of a way to keep track of the process than to obsess over the naysayers. I LOVE the title of Cate's new book.
The readers are all that matter.
I noted who rejected me and saved the actual letters and messages until I signed the contract for my first book. Then I threw them all away.
I think it's probably a good idea to track rejections so you don't send a query to the same publisher twice. Other than that, I say delete it. Unless it's motivating for you, then print it! :)
I might still have a couple in drawer somewhere.
Annalisa, I agree with you about Ann Frank. Who submitted it?
I think reading everyone's answers, I will do some housecleaning of rejection folders both on my computer and in my file cabinet.
And like Tonja and Susan suggested, I do keep a notebook for tracking who rejected and I hold on to any that have suggestions. They're almost not a complete rejection. LOL
You are so sweet, Susan - thanks for the mention!
Years ago, I had my own little Bonfire of the Vanities and literally burned all the rejection slips I'd saved. It was such a wonderful release! Now I just delete them, lol. Unless, of course, it's a "good" rejection with suggestions, and a hint they might want to look at a revised version. :)
Love the graphic - I have a copy of Chicken Soup for the Writer's Soul and it lists many many more such rejections, so it just proves that we can never never never give up!
You are so welcome, Cate.
Post a Comment