Literary Secret Agent Person

So this week I’m going to be doing two major things writing wise with my week off.  First, I am attempting to create a comprehensive outline for the novel I am going to endeavor to create for the 3 Day Novel Contest on Labor Day weekend.  Go ahead and Google it.  It’s like NaNoWriMo on steroids.  The second thing I’ll be doing is trying to create new query letters for my novel Daemon on the anticipation for it’s final edits stage.  The latter of the two got me thinking about all the trials and tribulations I dealt with both that novel and my earlier work, Shifter, when it came to dealing with writing out their queries and hopefully gain the acceptance of some agent or possibly traditional publishing house who still accepted unagented authors.  Also the many times I tried getting certain short stories put into magazines or compilations only to receive rejection notices from their editors.  These are my “fond” recollections.  Bear in mind I’m going to get a bit snarky with some sort of light in the tunnel at the end, so try to always stay positive in your voyage into traditional publishing.

 

I finished writing Shifter back in 2008.  Many of us remember the downturn in the economy and the literary world was no different in its effects, apparently.  Now I’ll never remember how many agents I sent queries to, for this book, for Daemon, or anything else for that matter.  I just know I was very unforgiving to a poor tree for so many letters being sent out at the time.  (Many agents and editors still accepted snail mail product.) But I do recall Shifter received all answers back from its queries with all but one rejecting me.  The one who didn’t requested the first three chapters from me.  Anxious, I sent them what they requested where I received an immediate “Not interested.”  Many of the rejections cited the economic downturn that made it seem like an easy excuse for them.  Still, there were many, “Not interested,” some that tried to sound encouraging to “Keep writing” after it was more of a feeling of why it’s terrible; some sort of passive aggressive torture at that point.  There were even your various one word “No” responses.  Just the word “no.”  No constructive criticism, just one word with their signature stamped on the missive.  Thanks for bothering, I guess.

 

Now we come to Daemon, a novel it took a year for me to writing, mostly in the sleeper berth of a tractor trailer in between pick ups and drop offs so, for me, I really cranked this one out and believed I worked hard on it.  Finished it in 2010 and couldn’t wait to start sending out queries for this one.  The economy was picking back up so agents couldn’t use that excuse again and I’m three novels deep in writing, plus several short stories in between, and I felt this could yield a better response.

 

Unfortunately it was quite the opposite.  Again I cannot recall how many queries I sent out, however I’m sure it was double the about that I sent out for the previous novel, and every single response I received was, for the most part, “Not interested.”  That is when I received rejection letters.  I only received responses from half of the agents to whom I sent queries out.  The other half didn’t even bother to respond.

 

Now, here is to my understanding.  Yes you get tons of queries from people of all walks of life but since Daemon there are a few published works I attempted to read because of their popularity.  Usually I can finish a book unless it suuuuuuuuuucks.  And the two in question are Twilight & Grey.  Please excuse me whilst I go regurgitae.

 

(Intermission while the song “Happy Happy Joy Joy” is played)

 

Okay.  I get infuriated at times.  The rejection letters really bite my craw and I wish they were a little better than the feeling of “That’s nice, you wrote a book.  How adorable.  Now run along now and let the grown ups write the real fiction.”  But between all the passive aggressive vetoing that I can wade myself through I have received on rejection letter that I proudly keep around.  Granted this was way back in 2002, to me this is how a rejection letter should read.  I first asked it’s author if I could put it in my blogpost so that I didn’t get in trouble with any possible misquoting.  Nope, this is verbatim from an editor of a compilation I attempted to be featured.

 

January 12, 2002

 

H.R. Green

6--- H---- Drive

B----------, MI

 

 Thanks for sending “Stormjammers” to  Beyond the Last Star.

 

I really enjoyed reading the story – which incidentally really felt like the middle-to-end part of a much longer novel.  (I kept getting distracted by wishing I could have seen Brice before he got nailed, and his relationship with his princess, and Kregor’s world, and just exactly what Jettison paths were, and how they got formulated.)  Lots of action, and I liked the voice.

 

But.  This really is an end times story, it doesn’t fit the guidelines for this anthology, so much as for the last one Bone of the Earth. The way I see the guidelines is that the story would pick up after Kregor begins his new life…and what happens then.

 

Thanks again-

 

Sherwood Smith

 

Take note agents, THAT is how you write a rejection letter!

 

Sherwood’s website is here: http://www.sherwoodsmith.net/ .  She’s a writer of fantasy, science fiction & historical romance and was once nominated for a Nebula award.  I think she has a little bit of weight of what’s she’s writing about.

 

Well, that’s three straight weeks of blogging.  I think that’s a record for me.  Maybe we’ll try for four after I figure out how to make a audio video for youtube.

 

TTFN