In February this year, I entered my book in a writing contest. I sent in two copies of the first 30 pages and a 1-page synopsis. The best part about it was that I’d get two critiques, no matter if I ended up a finalist or not. I hadn’t had an editor (let alone two) with no relation to me take a look at my work and give me honest advice before, and it was a great opportunity.
I found out sometime last week by email that I wasn’t a finalist. I was a little let down, but not heartbroken. There were 900 entrants, and they had to pick 10 finalists for each of 12 categories (two from each category actually win money and a chance to chat with agents and editors at a conference). I can’t imagine having to choose between so many people. I didn’t let it bother me. They said the critiques would be mailed out the following week, and would be scored out of 50.
The critiques were in the mail today. Interestingly, so was the next issue of the New Yorker, which happens to be entirely fiction this time. Today I also received two old issues of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction from a coworker as a suggestion of a place I could submit short stories to if I wished. Turned out to be a day to face where I wanted to go as a writer.
To be blunt, the results were not what I was hoping for. Critics can be harsh, it’s true, and not all of them are good at giving both negative and positive feedback. But these ones are honest, and not affected by their relationship to me. They weren’t even shown my name when they critiqued it (and I wasn’t shown theirs). They likely didn’t see each other’s critiques either.
Both of them are of the opinion that it needed a rewrite. The whole thing. Their overall reasons appear very different. Critic #1 (who gave me a 31/50) says I need to either change my story somehow so that it stands out from the rest of the fantasy genre, or make the writing much stronger (many suggestions are given for this), but says it cannot succeed as is. Critic #2 (who gave me a 22/50) says my main problems are that I rely too much on dialogue to carry the story, and that the world I’ve created does not have enough of a fantasy setting.
From the time that I’ve spent in critique groups, I know that the best way to really get use of critiques is to notice where multiple critiques all point out the same issue–even if they suggest different ways to fix it. The important thing is to see where they end up agreeing on a problem. If you understand what they mean, you can fix it in the best way for you, rather than them. It’s going to take a lot of re-reads and dissections to find that here. I’ve got a full 6-7 pages from each critic. Of course, first I need the stomach to sit down and read it carefully.
I don’t know what I’m going to do. Do an entire fresh rewrite? Ignore the critics and submit to agents anyway? Take a break (not that I’ve spent a lot of time in the past few years working on it) and write something else? Maybe short stories for a change, if I can figure out how to write them? How much of what they’re saying is opinion, and how much should I listen to? Do I really want to continue with this story? And, how much longer is it going to take me to do a rewrite now that I have a full-time job?
This is why I like science and computers; there’s a right answer and a wrong answer, and no in-between. I’m so grateful that I enjoy my day job and that I’m good at it.
I love it to pieces, but writing is hard.
Maybe it's like programming, you should expect to throw the first draft away? Remember that you are still learning, don't be too hard on yourself 🙂
It definitely isn't the first draft… it's been in the works for 7 years and I've probably been working on it off and on for about 4 years within that time. It's been through a lot of changes and I've learned a lot already. I know I'm still learning and in no way is this going to stop me from continuing, it's just disappointing to realize my dream is that much further away than I thought. I also don't even know how much of the critiques to take to heart. It's just confusing more than anything else.
I'm getting this AM that you may want to try submitting to some Agents anyway! I believe spirit likes your writing and is suggesting that there may be a way to go with what you've got… knowing that there'll be lots of changes/edits, etc. along the way.
Keep Shining! And know your Brilliance, Dancing heart~~~
The list of famous writers who were rejected is long. Rejection and writing go hand-in-hand, but sometimes it feels that those pesky publishers simply don’t know what they are talking about.
We all know that quality of writing isn’t the only reason for reaction. Perhaps your book is not a good fit for the publisher, or the agent is looking for something ‘different’ or your work has just been misunderstood. Yet, no matter what the reason those rejection letters still sting!
Here’s eleven famous writers who were rejected and show that writers might just be right after all…
1.Madeline L’Engle’s book, A Wrinkle in Time, was turned down 29 times before she found a publisher.
2.C.S. Lewis received over 800 rejections before he sold a single piece of writing.
3.Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind was rejected by 25 publishers.
4.Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was rejected 121 times.
5.Johathan Livingston Seagull was rejected 40 times.
6.Louis L’Amour was rejected over 200 times before he sold any of his writing.
7.The San Francisco Examiner turned down Rudyard Kipling’s submission in 1889 with the note, “I am sorry, Mr. Kipling, but you just do not know how to use the English language.”
8.An editor once told F. Scott Fitzgerald, “You’d have a decent book if you’d get rid of that Gatsby Character.”
9.The Dr. Seuss book, And to Think I Saw it on Mulberry Street, was rejected for being “too different from other juveniles on the market to warrant selling.”
10.George Orwell’s Animal Farm was rejected with the comment, “It’s impossible to sell animal stories in the USA.”
11.The manuscript for The Diary of Anne Frank received the editorial comment, “This girl doesn’t, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the curiosity level.”
I hope that these famous writers who were rejected will give you a little bit of hope on those dark rejection letter days!
P.S. I'm up to 61 rejections on novel #2, some great feedback along the way and just last wk got a request for a full submission!
Congrats, Megan! And thanks for the encouraging words. 🙂
All good advice here. And you've taken the situation–and the critiques–apart in a very thoughtful way.
Now that some time has gone by and you are at a bit of a remove from the critiques, you may have had some flashes of clarity. So here are my thoughts, for what they are worth.
1) Do not let someone else define your vision and future. You LOVE to write and that love means everything. Don't let the opinions of a couple of so-called “experts” deter you from writing. I think you were meant to write. And you know this from how sad you feel when you think about not writing. It's in your blood; it's something you need to do.
2) Critique–even really scathing critique–will continue throughout your career as a writer. Some people simply won't like your stuff and there's not a thing you can do about that. One young writer added the tag “barfing in chunks” to her critique of my book on Goodreads. Some readers will not “get” what you're trying to do; others will not care; still others will think you failed at doing it. How much of your life would you allow to be determined by the opinions of strangers? The same is true of your writing. Your true readers will connect with it at a soul level. Others will enjoy and be entertained by it. Others will say, “Huh?” and scratch their heads. We don't write to please absolutely everybody. Because we can't.
3) If you're not already doing so, you might want to think about ways to build a readership for some of your fiction *now* either by posting it on the blog or self-publishing through Wattpad or Smashwords. Choose carefully what you want to put out there, but just as you have readers for the blog, you could have readers for your fiction. It's hard when you have stories, but they have to stay locked in your computer for years and years. That is, I think, part of the frustration of the unpublished fiction writer. We write stories for readers, and it's hard to have the stories languish.
Writing and submitting short fiction to contests, journals, magazines, and literary websites is another thing I'd encourage. I cut my publishing teeth on children's magazines. It gave me confidence and the credibility I needed when it came to seeking a book contract.
4) Keep taking writing classes. I love to do this when I can, because after so many years, I feel I get into “ruts” in my voice and technique. A class from another writer can shake things up for me, forcing me to try approaches I wouldn't have tried otherwise, and surprising me with ideas I'd never have considered.
5) Don't give up. Rejection is part of the process, as Megan mentioned above. It'll give you stories to tell at writing conferences later, when you're the one teaching the workshops.
Hope you're feeling better and have had some time to gain perspective.
Take care of yourself.
Sorry for the late reply, but thanks so much for your words, Katherine. I expect I'll get back to it before long. There's something about writing (and this story) that just won't let me let it go. 🙂
I've been listening to the Writing Excuses podcast recently, Heather, maybe you'd be interested? The current season is structured as a masters class for creative writing, and I've been finding it helpful!
A key point I've taken away from writing excuses, though, is that sometimes you have to move on and try something else for a while. Maybe set this story aside for a while and try something entirely different? That'll allow you to focus on improving your writing, without the concern that you aren't staying true to this story?
Anyways, I'm glad you're getting back into writing! 🙂
Thanks for the suggestions, Cat! Embarrassingly I've taken quite a long break from writing lately, been priotizing other things. I think you're spot on about taking it in another direction. I had a new story idea that I tried fleshing out in the past year, but it wasn't really grabbing me. I considered recently that it was cause I should backtrack to my original idea and go in a completely different direction. Maybe I'll take your comment as a sign to get into it again and try the new direction! 🙂 Glad you're writing too, hope you're enjoying it!