You have worked for hours on your "perfect pitch" and the time comes when you meet with that editor or agent to pitch.
...and they say no.
What???????? Really????? Yes, this does happen. It is an unfortunate element of this business but it does indeed happen. But please realize this is not the end of the world. You can indeed walk away from this whole experience learning a lot.
Listen to why the editor/agent passed on the project. Was it because they don't represent it? Was it something about the story? Regardless of what they say, you can walk away from this with a nugget of information that will either tell you what to do with the current project, or what to do you on your future projects. The key is to listen to what they have to say, ask questions and then learn. Don't blame them for being idiots and not seeing a good thing. don't blame your critique partners for not giving you the guidance you needed to make the sale.
Learn, grow and plow ahead. Besides, this is what we want in an author.
Scott
Great advice.
ReplyDeleteI've had increasingly better rejections (it's weird to me even saying that) from Steeple Hill. I've gone from the form letter, to--3 submissions later--a personal email with it all laid out. What they liked, what specifically didn't work and what will turn out to be a problem if it continues through the whole book.
It's hard, but I'm learning to take something away from their advice. Even when it's tempting to just shred the whole project, it's important to learn something.
It doesn't matter if you're editing and resubmitting, or starting a fresh project, their advice still helps.
Thanks.