Comments on: A Creative Way to Handle Query Rejections

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Wed, 23 Dec 2020 04:40:08 +0000

In reply to Jakki L. Thanks, Jakki! I loved this post too. :-)

By: Jakki L

Jakki L — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 21:50:14 +0000

Such a sweet idea. I love how you are turning these rejections into a positive and creative experience! I wish you lots of luck in the query trenches.

By: spurvis500

spurvis500 — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 19:21:18 +0000

Hi Karen, What a lovely post. The roses are fabulous. Although, I must admit, the voodoo dolls appeal to me too. 🙂 Wishing lots of luck finding the perfect home for your fascinating memoir.

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 23:12:06 +0000

In reply to Eldred Bird. Hahahahahaha!

By: dholcomb1

dholcomb1 — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 21:42:22 +0000

Love the rose--it's a great idea.

denise

By: Eldred Bird

Eldred Bird — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 19:29:03 +0000

Love the roses. I suppose it's wrong to make the letters into little Voodoo dolls of the agents and publishers that reject me and pin them to the walls of my office...

By: ecellenb

ecellenb — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 18:46:24 +0000

The roses are beautiful. I'm happy that you've found a positive way of dealing with rejection. I do better with out of sight, out of mind. I read the rejection letters, respond with a thank you for your helpful comments if given any, and use visualization. In my mind I let the sadness I feel fill a red balloon, cut the string and set the balloon sailing into the air. This technique helps me. Agents have a difficult job. I believe that most of them don't like to pass along rejection letters but that is part of what they do. Some never respond at all. A few have sent encouraging words, which I appreciate. I once went to a conference in Phoenix where an agent who sent me a "no thank you, but keep trying" letter spoke. When she had a free second, poor woman was slammed, I thanked her and explained why after her shock wore off. LOL. We all need to be appreciated.

By: Vern Turner

Vern Turner — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 16:25:42 +0000

In reply to Jenny Hansen. Again, thanks for the encouragement. At my age and with multiple careers, I'm not used to failure at anything. It's hard to unhitch that wagon from the submission/query process. I hadn't realized that agents aren't making any money. For all those high-rent addresses in NYC, one would think that they're selling something to keep the lights on. I know that publishers want a "guaranteed" 10,000 copy sell before they'll be willing to publish. How do they know without reading the book? The whole world wonders..... Stay safe. Stay home.

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 16:14:11 +0000

Thanks for posting your roses with us, Karen. There are writers who will use this quarantine time to work on this creative project and find some beauty in those dreaded rejections. I saw Susan Elizabeth Phillips speak at a conference several years back and her stance on rejections i"s "throw it away" and "get it out of the house." I like your method better!

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 16:10:11 +0000

In reply to Vernon Turner. Vern, the thing is, none of it's personal. The agents are busy and rarely making any money. The writers are busy and rarely making any money. If we don't do it because we love it and need to create stories, the rejection process with wear us to shreds. I think that's why the indie market got so robust is that writers needed to captain their own ships without being worn down by all the rejection. That being said, we have all kinds of writers here - literary, non-fiction, memoir, genre fiction (mystery, romance, etc). We are an all-inclusive writing community. I'm glad you stumbled upon us for Karen's post. Hit the archives - there's a lot. :-)