First, let me start
with a recap of the past ten months.
I began sending query letters for my manuscript, A Heart Not Easily Broken, at the end of
February. For those of you who have gone through that race, you know what a
headache it can be. Its tries your patience, creates a crap load of self-doubt,
and often you find yourself ready to throw in the towel. Rejection after rejection pops up in your
email, leaving you afraid to even open it.
Honestly, it’s hard to know what type of rejection letter is worse:
standard form or one that has a little bit of a personal touch….either way, no
is no.
I received both. It was disheartening to continue to have
the standard forms instead of the ‘we don’t like it because…’ Who’s to say they
even took the time to read the first line of the query letter you put your
blood, sweat, and tears into writing?
How easy is it to look at something, decide you don’t have time to read
it or the genre itself is not what you’re looking to fill, hit the reply
button, and copy/past a rejection letter? Heck, my 10-year-old can do that! Out
of the 70+ query letters sent, only four took five minutes out of their day to
give me an explanation as to why they didn’t ‘feel’ my story. For that I was grateful.
I know, it sounds weird, but hearing them say why they didn’t like it gave me the fuel
I needed to make changes to the next query letter or the story itself and try
again.
Patience. Persistence.
The will to try again. (It makes a
great mantra!)
Yes, I cried, had bad days, days filled with multiple
rejections within hours of each other, as well as some that just flat out made
me laugh. It’s a part of the process. (The
one that made me laugh was not a form rejection, it pretty much said, “Um…no.”)
Then one day, I got it…the email from an agent that said,
“I’d like to represent you…but….”
Yep, that’s right
there was a but.
‘But’…your story was
good (she requested to read the full manuscript), BUT, I don’t know how to market this. I can submit it here (not
naming the publisher, but I will say it was only to the few publishers who
focus on African-American authors), but you’ll have to REDUCE YOUR WORD COUNT
and this part, (the catalyst to the life changing event, the heart of the story
which is in the middle of the book), will have to be changed to the end so the
hero comes riding in on white horse. (Therefore turning the novel into a
typical romance story, following all the genre guidelines).
Um…okay…
OR for your story
to be submitted to the BIG SIX as Women’s Fiction novel, (which was what I
wanted in the first place), you’ll have to add about 20,000 works (Not a problem!!!)….BUT…..You’ll
have to change from 1st person to 3rd person…regardless
of which publisher we submit to.
*Crickets chirping*
The Butterfly Memoirs
was built on stories told in a first person narrative. Turning that to a
third person would destroy the concept of the series and the one point I was
unwilling to negotiate…ever.
I respectfully said, “No thank you.” And kept moving.
Did I have a moment of doubt in my decision? Of course!
After all, an AGENT had not only
expressed interest in my work, she’d also requested to read the full manuscript
and liked it!
As an author seeking publication, you relish the idea of
having a professional take a look at your work, and if you’re comfortable
enough and are willing to be flexible - albeit to a degree - once you sign a
contract, the publisher and editors will at some point suggest, or insist,
changes be made to make the storyline better. (If you are in no way willing to
be flexible and listen to what others have to say, don’t waste your time…self-publish.
But understand it’s an editor’s job to streamline your work, not re-write it.
If they feel the need to do that, then most likely they will not accept the
job.) By no means am I telling you to give the publisher/editor reign over your
work! It’s your baby, your heart and
soul, but they know how to make it work best. If there is something you are not
comfortable with in changing/deleting during the editing process, stick to your
guns and find an amicable solution. If not, then be aware that publisher/agent/editor
may not be the right one for you. Once the contract is signed, it’s like a
marriage…all parties involved are looking to get the most out of the
arrangement. Being stubborn or unreasonable can lead to divorce.
I will say this, even
though I was unwilling to negotiate the change of POV in my writing, I did
appreciate the suggestions the agent made and took from it what I was willing
to work with, made the adjustments and continued to query.
Two months later, I was at a point where I realized no one
would be willing to ‘break the rules’ of general romance writing and publish
someone who not only wrote in 1st Person, but did it from multiple points
of views while addressing a very sensitive subject. I was nearing the point of
giving up. Several e-publishers had
showed some promise by responding to the query and request a full read. But
once they read it, the response was, ‘we don’t have time to put into supporting
your project’.
What does THAT mean? They didn’t have the resources for an
editor? They didn’t like the idea the story was a part of a series? They didn’t
have the finances to market me? Of course no one gave specifics. Well, at least
they replied.
Sigh.
Then one day I received an email from a very enthusiastic owner
of an e-publisher whose acquiring editor had not only read the manuscript,
she’d fallen in love with it. Was I available? My first question was of course,
did I have to change to 3rd person. The answer: NO! Man do I love my
publisher! Thank you 5 Prince Publishing!!!
As I said before, signing
a contract with a publisher, whether big or small, is like a marriage. I am
fortunate to be able to say my ‘marriage’ has been one of great benefit to all
parties involved. I love my editor! June is a wonderful woman who has expressed
as much love of this project as I have. She in no way has been hard to work
with, is very supportive, and willing to listen to my questions and
suggestions. She’s pointed out things in my manuscript that I, even as the
author, missed completely, even after 4 years of re-writes! That is exactly how
an editor/author relationship should be!
Stop by next week for part two of this blog: Life on This
Side of Publication: Part Two - To Publication and Beyond!
MJ
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