Georgia Writers Association

I know a “writer” who spent two years working on his manuscript (and it was good), sent it to an agent who gave him a terse “does not meet our standards,” and never submitted it to anyone again.  His magnum opus had been REJECTED!  He didn’t realize that in the world of publishing, rejection is not the same as the refusal of a marriage proposal.  Rejection of one’s manuscript often has less to say about its merit than what the agent or publisher is looking for at the time he receives the work, or sometimes even the mood he is in when he reads it, IF he reads it at all.
{joomsay}Julia Child’s famed Mastering the Art of French Cooking was repeatedly rejected until an editor at Knopf (who loved to cook) published it and made a fortune.{/joomsay}

I know of no serious writer who has not been rejected, often many times. Julia Child’s famed Mastering the Art of French Cooking was repeatedly rejected until an editor at Knopf (who loved to cook) published it and made a fortune.  Chicken Soup for the Soul was rejected by many publishers before one took a chance—and won big.  Some authors keep all their rejection slips in a pile, sometimes even proud of all those papers saying, “No, not now, not ready, not for me, or not suitable for our list.”  I have often wondered exactly what their “list” is.  I think I know why so many authors keep their rejections slips.  It’s because among all those no’s came a YES, a “This is great,” followed by a publication and success.

Sometimes rejection is good and useful to the author.  Some agents and publishers will take the time to tell the author why her work was rejected.  If you are lucky enough to get an explanation, especially if that same reason for refusal turns up again, heed what that agent or publisher is saying.  If she says, “It’s too slow in the beginning,” and he states, “The first chapter is ponderous,” then maybe you should rewrite, rework those first few pages to add more life and spark.  If, however, an agent tells you that your work is good, but needs some editing, and she can recommend a good editor for you, then it’s time to reject that agent.  To ask for money from a would-be author is probably a scam or  kick-back.  

Reputable agents and publishers should praise or criticize, reject or accept, but they should not try to profit from an author’s submission by requiring a reader’s fee or offering related services for a price.  

One of the qualities of a good/great author is her refusal to give up in the face of one or many rejections.  The worst rejection I have ever seen concerned one of Céline’s novels, Death on the Installment Plan: “It is the product of sewers!”  Today, more than sixty years after its publication, Céline’s work is considered to be a great, dark masterpiece, while the man who condemned it is forgotten.  Rejection is just one of the less pleasant parts of the business of writing. 

A. Louise Staman is editor of Tiger Iron Press  http://www.tigerironpress.com/ ,  international, prizewinning author whose most recent biography is Loosening Corsets:  The Heroic Life of Georgia’s Feisty Mrs. Felton, First Woman Senator of the United States, available on Amazon or at bookstores.