Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Feeling Rejected? Join the {Prestigious} Crowd

It's contest season in novel-writing land. And that means a lot of ups and downs for us writers. It's easy to forget about any of our own successes (completed rough draft, finished revision round, query polish, manuscript requests etc) and instead focus on how much more successful everyone else around us is.

She got more contest requests than I did. His premise is higher concept. They got agents...

But here's the thing: everyone goes through uncertain times; everyone has to deal with rejection.

We are not alone. 

Inspired by a post by Rachel Pudelek, I've collected some blog quotes from authors in their pre-published days. Now they are agented/published and generally wildly successful authors, but in these blog excerpts, they sound a lot like us!

The first one is particularly hilarious to me.


On Uncertainty ...

...on Sunday, I ran across this contest. I don't know why I spent more than a second's time on it. The theme is lycanthrope (am I even spelling that right?) which is the term for were-animals (duh, says everyone else), and I don't do werewolves. I've never felt the least bit inspired by them...Me. Writing a werewolf novel. What next?
         - Maggie Stiefvater, Author of SHIVER  (massively successful werewolf novel)

... it's different and funny, but it may be too different...not quite the thing for a break-out novel. I get lots of agent and editor nibbles from this one--lots of requests for partials and fulls, but I think it's ultimately turned down because it is a bit random (I was going for a Douglas Adams kind of humor) and it's certainly not a safe bet.
        - Beth Revis, Author of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE


On Writer's Block ...

Right now I'm still perusing agent sites and dreaming.  If only this damn manuscript would just write itself!!!
         -Gennifer Albin, Author of CREWEL

...I'm at that point in my current WIP where I kinda have figured out where the story is going, but I'm just using the Internet as an excuse not to actually write because right now, it's hard and I'm lazy.
        - Beth Revis, Author of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE


Grrr. After a really productive week of writing last week, I've ground to a halt. Writer's block, some might call it, but I know it for what it is: a wrong turn. That stumped feeling of staring at a blinking cursor, knowing where the plot is supposed to go but unable to get it there . . . that means I've done something stupid.
          Maggie Stiefvater, Author of SHIVER


On Crappy Writing ...

I spent almost an hour yesterday just reworking my first page! ARGH. But I know it's the most important page in the whole book blah blah blah so I'm trying to make it as great as I can, but I'm still not sure if I like how I started.
          - Marissa Meyer, Author of CINDER

It. Was. A. Mess.  The dialogue was good but everything else sucked.  There was no world building or character development and the plot was fuzzy at best.  Thankfully I have awesome critique partners...
           -Gennifer Albin, Author of CREWEL

So, after a large amount of cookie dough and some hours off, I returned to the desk and reread the last 2K words I'd typed. Sure enough, they're crap. No wonder my subconscious was making me drive with the brake on. "Stop, you moron! Stop before you hurt yourself and others!"
          Maggie Stiefvater, Author of SHIVER

Also: I didn't figure out what the book was really about until the last twenty pages. Which is a problem. Now that I'm revising and condensing, I'm weaving that information I crammed into the last twenty pages into the rest of the draft.
          - Veronica Roth, Author of DIVERGENT



On Contests & Querying ...

I didn't even get in the top 35 winners of the last contest I entered. Criminy, the judge must not have been my target audience at all.
         - Marissa Meyer, Author of CINDER

I started querying this week and, suffice it to say, I've come down with refreshbuttonitis.
        Gennifer Albin, Author of CREWEL

I will not take it personally if I am rejected by an agent. Or several agents. Perhaps when I reach the "dozens of agents" stage, I may begin to feel a little blue. But at that point, I will buy some Half Baked ice cream and watch a stupid chick flick until I feel better, and then I will get up and keep. writing.
        - Veronica Roth, Author of DIVERGENT

I’ve gotten incredibly mixed scores in contests. People have hated my work, work which, in other contests, have earned me finalist placement. ... I think I caught this chick on a bad day. She didn’t get it. Not just “didn’t get it” the way we talk about people who aren’t into our style of story… but really. Didn’t. Get. It.
        - Diana Peterfreund, Author of RAMPANT


I recently wrote about 100 queries...most of them sucked, one did not.
        - Gennifer Albin, Author of CREWEL

I had to write all those icky queries  first.  I learned through failure.  I would write up a query and come home and read it to my husband, mail it my critique partners, and post it on forums.  My CP's would give it a passing grade, but more like a C than an A+.
        Gennifer Albin, Author of CREWEL

This morning I got a form reject in my inbox.  It was the typical "Not what we're looking for, but best of luck" deal.  On a forum I post on another member pointed out it was hard to imagine one agent form rejecting what another flew out to meet me after reading.  The answer is that this business is subjective.
      - Gennifer Albin, Author of CREWEL


On Doubt ...


It's like a midlife crisis, only it happens far more often. Here's what it is: you came up with this idea. You teased it out. You wrote it out. You re-wrote it. You refined it. You lovingly crafted this book, or this story, or whatever, and suddenly...

You HATE it.

You begin to wonder if anyone will ever like or even mildly appreciate what you've written, because it's flawed, or unoriginal, or just generally oozing suckiness from every orafice. You doubt everything you have done in the past day, week, or hell, year. You consider giving up writing and becoming a potato farmer in Idaho instead.

Happens to me like...once a day.  


Sound familiar?

The fact of the matter is that EVERYONE goes through uncertain times. EVERYONE goes through rejection. Even the stars, folks.

What do you think? Do any of these quotes resonate with you?
What are your favorite quotes from pre-published/now published authors?
How do you encourage yourself along the publishing journey?

24 comments:

  1. Great quotes! I went through the whole gamut at some point or the other.

    I coped by reminding myself that my book would go where it's supposed to. And you know, I'm pretty sure it did.

    ;-)

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  2. Thanks for sharing those quotes!

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  3. Some great quotes in there, especially the writer who decided the judge wasn't her target audience rather that thinking she'd failed. A much better attitude, because it won't only happen once!

    Annalisa Crawford, One of April's IWSG Co-Hosts

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  4. Yep. I have uncertainty right now. And I'm ready for it to become certain. LOL

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  5. Thanks for sharing so many wonderful quotes. Some of them were exactly what I needed to here today.

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  6. Yup, I can identify. I haven't yet "hated" anything I've written, but I've definitely been uncertain about how good it is.

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  7. Great quotes! I love that famous writers feel just as crappy as I do. LOL.

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  8. As writers it's so easy for us to become isolated and start thinking we're the only ones who are struggling. It takes a lot to remember that great books don't just happen over night. I just realised publishing is lot like going through labour. You struggle and scream but when it's all over you forget about the painful stuff and so does everybody else.This is why we have IWSG :) To remind each other we're not alone.

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  9. Oh geez, this is awesome! Thanks for sharing these quotes. I'm currently tweaking my manuscript before sending it out into the scary world of querying, and this is just the encouragement I needed.

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  10. Great quotes! The star authors aren't any different from us. They just kept on writing until they got lucky. We all can get lucky, too!

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  11. This post definitely makes me feel better about myself and my feelings as a writer. Thanks :)

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  12. That last quote by Veronica made me literally laugh out loud!!!!!

    This is seriously the best post I've read all year. Got to go tweet it...

    :D

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  13. I have had PLENTY of why don't I just become a "potato farmer in Idaho" moments over the last several months. Thanks for sharing these quotes, Carissa. They're exactly what I needed to see right now! :)

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  14. Thanks for this post, it's great to know that other people struggle with the same things I do! :)

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  15. Oh man, I LOVED reading this! Seriously, I knew I wasn't the only one, but I still keep telling myself that I must be the only one :) Wait...I live in Idaho. Why don't I just go plant some potatoes? It might distract me from the refresh button.

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  16. Bless you, bless you. As I rack up a ton of rejections, I still feel like a total loser, but I don't feel so alone now. :-)

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  17. I love your compilations. My favorite quote here is Veronica Roth talking about not knowing what her book was about until the last 20 pages. Oh, man, that is me all over!

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  18. "....because right now, it's hard and I'm lazy."

    That was the best! I cannot tell you how many times I've felt this way. What a great post. =)

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  19. A lot of these quotes resonate with me. I've probably thought something similar to most of them at some point in my writing career. And even after good news, I still have doubts, still wonder if I'm even good enough to make it to the next step. And there will always be some kind of rejection in some form. Post like this encourage me, and knowing that with every rejection I'm improving and making steps toward something I'm passionate about and don't plan on giving up. Thanks for this post!

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  20. Love this post! Thanks for taking the time to gather these quotes, because boy is it helpful to read them. A great reminder that every book (and every career) has to start somewhere...

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  21. I LOVE this. Totally. Bookmarked.

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  22. Hilarious. And I totally identify with hating your work almost daily! :)

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  23. I love the quotes and feel that almost all of them have applied to me at one time or another...minus the agent flying out to meet me. Still waiting for that one.

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