So let me start with a question. Do you like every type of food? Are there some foods that you will eat, but might not be your over-all favorite? The odds are, you all answered exactly the same. You don't like everything.
I bring this up because this is the same with things in publishing. We all have our preferences. We all like some genres and dislike other genres. But I want to take this even one step further. There are a lot of times when a story simply doesn't connect with the editors and agents.
When submissions come across my desk, there are some times when I love the premise of the story and will request a partial or a full manuscript to review. I have my fingers crossed when the story comes in on a later email, it will rock! Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Sometimes, it is just a matter of the writing that doesn't draw me in. No, this is not an issue of plotting, it is simply the voice of the story. The writing just did not work.
Now, I get a lot of authors who will reply back and want to know what they can fix in their stories to make the story connect with me better. They ask about plots. They ask about settings. They ask about whether the story should be in 1st person and not 3rd person. The problem is, it is not about the writing. It is just about that subjective nature of this business.
Honestly, I would love to say, I have a solution on how to make that story connect with me more, but I can't. It is just like saying, "I know this pot roast is not your favorite, but how can I fix it to make it your favorite?" You just can't.
While this might feel a bit discouraging, I want you to think about this in a different way. You want that editor or agent totally connecting with your story. You want them so excited about it and drawn into it that they cannot stop talking about it with all of their colleagues. And please remember. I tell a lot of authors who I end up passing on their story that there is probably someone out there who the story will connect with. Just because it didn't work for me does not mean it might not work for someone else.
When I first started at this it bothered me when an agent passed. I quickly learned to pass on the agent as well. It was nothing personal it just didn't connect.
ReplyDeleteI want to work with someone who believes in the story as much as I do. How can an agent sell the book if they do not believe in it as well?
Writers need to be patient. If the story and the writing is good their time will come.