There Are NO Exceptions

Yes, we're going to make this a Blog Flog (sort of).

This really goes out to a lot of writers that some how feel that the guidelines editors and agents put up publically some how do not deal with them. Yes, I understand that many of you who read this blog are thinking, "Come on Scott, why are you even wasting your time on these people?" Well, honestly, there are far too many of them out there. What's more frustrating is that many of them DO have a chance to be published if they would simply think for once.

Let me explain where this is coming from.

As you know, I have been closed to submissions right now and will be closed until March. I have posted this information here on the blog. I have posted this information on my website, not just once, but several times. Frankly, you cannot escape the message. Combine in the links to Facebook and Twitter and I would have to say, that information is pretty much out there. Now, I will have to exclude those people with no internet access at all. But, if they are emailing me a submission, they obviously do.

The point is, since I closed submissions, I receive a huge number of submisisons. Really? How did you miss this.

But I do believe this problen extends beyond the simple submission thing. There are far too many authors that seem to think "their story" is the exception to the rule. Scott accepts only romance and women's fiction, but Author X's non-fiction memoir about his grandmother is really so important that we need to ignore these rules. Steeple Hill takes Inspirationals but Author Z's erotica is so amazing and the sex is inspirational that the editors should take a look at it.

Where else have I seen it? At conferences. You get a chance to pitch to editors and agents, so do your research. Too often I turn away people because they have stories I am simply not acquiring. Heck, at many of these conferences, the information is posted. Again, I do understand that there are some who are complete idiots and just don't read the information. But there are far too many of them that will sit down with me and know I don't take it, but thought I would make an exception. Umm, no.

Yes, these are extreme situations, but the problem can also be seen on a smaller level. Simply put, the information is out there. The information is available to authors. This is not information that we are sending out in a cryptic form just to give us a reason to reject you.

In simple terms. You are not that special YET to do what you want to do.

Scott