Writing Update: What to Do If Your Manuscript’s Been Rejected

The Fantastic and Mundane Chronicles of an Aspiring Writer

Hello, everyone! I’m sorry I haven’t been updating lately. These past few months I’ve been trying to regroup after sending my manuscript out to several agents. Unfortunately, so far it hasn’t been successful, and while initially, I couldn’t help but be discouraged, I’ve since found a way of coping: writing another story, of course!

This isn’t to say I’m giving up on my previous manuscript, but I have, however, found great joy in starting another story. So far, the only things I can share about this newest project are that it’s a young adult fantasy and involves a love story.

In my experience, dealing with rejection regarding a manuscript is always hard. After spending so much time and effort giving everything you have to a story only to several literary agents give a simple and curt “no thanks” (in a usual pre-formed rejection email), it’s difficult to not take it too personally.

For all those fellow writers out there who may be in the same situation, here’s a short list of things you can do to regroup after facing rejection.

1. Take a Break! 

It’s ok, even empowering, to take time to regroup. I love writing, but it was nice taking some time off to relax and focus on other things besides writing which leads me to the next tip.

2. Find inspiration

Aside from simply enjoying watching scifi/fantasy movies and reading books of the same genre, I also find I can glean a lot of inspiration from them as well. Yet this tip isn’t necessarily limited to focusing on things you think could lead to inspiration. In other words, I’ve found that inspiration often comes unconsciously and when you least expect it as well. I also think that while looking for inspiration is almost always beneficial, it isn’t a process that can be forced. Keeping a relaxed and open mind in regards to any creative activity is one of the most sure ways to find inspiration.

3. Start writing again

I would say this is can be both one of the hardest and easiest tip on this list. If you keep thinking back to how your last manuscript was rejected and all the overwhelming odds stacked against the possibility of you becoming a published author, then yes, picking up the pen to write again can be next to impossible. However, on the other hand, if instead of focusing on past disappointments and the unpredictable future, you focus on the story you want to write, on developing the characters and setting and everything about your current manuscript to the best of your ability, then this process will be rewarding no matter the outcome.

I hope these short tips help, and if anyone else has any please feel free to share! Most importantly, however, I believe if you have a story to tell, you should write it. Don’t mull too much over the details of if it will ever be published or anything else that isn’t directly related to your process of writing. In the beginning, just focus on getting your thoughts on page even if a story isn’t fully formed, and you may be pleasantly surprised by what adventure it leads to.

Good luck to all of you in your writing endeavors!

“I once followed a path through a winding wood..”.

Given the all the raw emotions remaining from the election last night, I thought today would be a good day to share this quote with everyone.

Even darkness must pass. 

A new day will come. 

And when the sun shines 

it will shine out the clearer. 

-J.R.R. Tolkien 

“The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words all being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible.” -Vladimir Nabokov

“The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words all being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible.”

-Vladimir Nabokov

Writing Playlist Part III: Battle/Action Scenes

In this part, I will be posting some of my favorite instrumental tracks to listen to while I’m writing action or battle scenes. The majority of these following songs consists of film scores and trailer music. I hope you enjoy!

1. Phoenix Rising-Audiomachine
2. Red Warrior-Audiomachine
3. Archangel-Two Steps From Hell
4. Praetorian Guards-Jo Blankenburg
5. Guardians at the Gate-Audiomachine
6. Legions of Doom-Audiomachine
7. The Battle-Harry Gregson-Williams
8. Firebending Training-Jeremy Zuckerman
9. Black Blade-Two Steps From Hell
10. Blood and Stone-Audiomachine
11. Legacy-Fringe Element
12. Drink Up Me Hearties Yo Ho-Hans Zimmer
13. Dracarys-Ramin Djawadi
14. Taking a Stand-Henry Jackman
15. Finale and Curtain Call-Joe Kraemer
16. The Majestic Tale (Of a Madman in a Box)-Murray Gold 

The Query Letter and Purpose of a Literary Agent

Hello, everyone! I just sent out my first batch of query letters to several literary agents (*crosses fingers excitedly*), so for this post I thought I would focus on the subject of literary agents in general. I hope all you aspiring authors looking to get published out there find this helpful!

Anyone trying to get his or her manuscript published should strongly consider looking into obtaining agent. Their job is to submit the author’s work to publishing houses, or more specifically, the editors he or she believes would be the best match for the manuscript. In essence, literary agents act as mediators between the author and any entity wishing to sell, advertise, or promote his or her work, such as publishers or film studios. Simply stated, a literary agent’s function is to act as the author’s representative in the literary market. An agent will drastically increase your chances of getting your manuscript accepted by editors, negotiate the terms of your publishing contacts to give you the best deal possible, and also manage the subrights of your work.

Author Nathan Bransford has written a wonderful article that depicts the author-literary agent partnership in great detail here.

Here’s a basic list of the things you should include in your query letter:

• 1-2 paragraph summary of your manuscript (like the blurbs on the back of book covers you see at the store) 
• Brief biography (only things writing-related) 
• Word count of your manuscript 
• Why you are contacting this particular agent (note: This is IMPORTANT in making your query letter more personalized. If you’re choosing to query a specific agent because you read an interview that he or she was looking for YA fantasy works, and your manuscript fits this description then MENTION this!) 

Before starting your letter, you should research various resources online for more detailed guidelines on how to do this (the link for AgentQuery below will lead you to a page with this kind of information).

Okay, so now you maybe wondering exactly how to find the right literary agent for you?

One of the easiest ways to do this is to search online. There are many writing websites that regularly post agent spotlights that explain the types of manuscripts each one is looking for. These are some of my favorites:

AgentQuery

Literary Rambles

Manuscript Wishlist

You can also buy this year’s Guide to Literary Agents book, which contains a comprehensive list of every literary agency in the U.S. and what genres they are currently accepting.

Tip: While it is tempting to immediately send a query letter to the top literary agents of famous bestsellers, you should keep in mind that newer agents who are still building their client lists are more open to submissions and more likely to take on inexperienced authors. Writer’s Digest has a specific segment focusing on new and upcoming agents that you can check out here.

Good luck and write on!

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” -Henry David Thoreau

 

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”

-Henry David Thoreau

Writing Update:What to Do While Waiting for Feedback

So while I’m waiting to hear feedback on my manuscript from a beta reader, I decided to keep myself by starting another book!

I’m currently spending my day jotting down notes and ideas for where I want the story to go as well as beginning the first chapter. I always love writing the initial lines because they hold so much potential for the rest of the story. What do you do while waiting to hear feedback on a manuscript?

Word Counts

Since I last updated, I have begun revising and editing my manuscript! This includes general proofreading as well as rewriting and adding or removing scenes. Right now I’m trying to decrease my word count as much as possible by cutting out anything that isn’t vital to the story. This is because literary agents and publishers are less willing to accept manuscripts with higher word counts, especially with new authors. Additionally, each genre has its own idea word count range. So for a YA fantasy/Science fiction novel, which is what I’m currently writing, my manuscript can be anywhere from around 75,000 to 110,ooo words, thought I should aim more towards 100,ooo words or less.

For more information on word counts check out these other sources!

Writer’s Digest 

LitRejections

The Swivet (slightly outdated, yes, but still a good information to keep in mind)