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Thursday, September 16, 2010

WHAT TO DO AFTER REJECTION


{“A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight,

and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.”

- Oscar Wilde.}

I received this in my inbox this morning in reply to my query of Feb. 26th :

Dear Roland,

Thank you for your submission. Although I find that your novel has potential, it is not the type of story that I seek at this time. I wish you the best of luck, and hope to hear great things from you in the future.

Best regards,

Marisa

Not the worst form rejection I've ever received. So what to do?

Get back on that horse.

Research who wants urban fantasy. I did and found a freelance editor who is getting into the agent side of things.

And she handles, among other things, urban fantasy. Go here to see if she handles your genre :

http://caseylmccormick.blogspot.com/2010/09/agent-spotlight-cari-foulk.html

And here is my sparkling, revised query : (No applause please -- just throw money.)

Dear Ms. Foulk :

Long before Man. Long before Light. Darkness reigned.

Light pierces its flesh. It hates the light. It hates even more Man who casts light like a garment over this world.

A man with the blood of Death in his veins. A revenant priest. Both thought their lives couldn't get any worse. Hurricane Katrina proved them wrong.

FRENCH QUARTER NOCTURNE is the 90,000 word urban fantasy detailing their struggles to keep the survivors alive and the Darkness at bay in post-Katrina New Orleans.

Here are the first few paragraphs :

It rained lies and death today.

I stood knee-deep in water outside my French Quarter jazz club, Meilori’s. My soul stretched tight across my chest. Everything I saw and heard in the shadows spoke to me ... in threats.

The sudden, short explosion of an unseen gun. A quick, sharp scream in the distance. And the blue spurt of a lighted match at the far end of the street. My city bled slowly in the ripples of the flooded streets.

I leaned back against the door to my club as if for reassurance that something solid still remained to me. That it survived Katrina was a mixed blessing. It was all that was left to me of my wife.

Staying here was both penance and purgatory. Meilori’s was the kind of place in which almost anything was likely to happen and in which almost everything had.

Inside, fifty-one survivors of Katrina were huddled in shivering, too quiet clusters. Words have no meaning when a city dies. Nothing much does.

Somewhere distant in the hot, red darkness a shot rang out. Another called out to it like a wolf. But it came from a different direction. I smiled bitterly. The predators had crawled out from their boarded shelters. They knew the restraint of law had died this day. Soon they would come for me.

You see, I had enemies in the night. And not all of them were human.

***

To get a better idea of my writing voice, you may want to visit my blog, WRITING IN THE CROSSHAIRS http://rolandyeomans.blogspot.com/


I am a former high school teacher, family counselor, and now a blood courier. The last a result of being evacuated from Lake Charles due to Hurricane Rita and having to support myself any way I could.

I found I liked the job and the people with whom I worked. And it gives me more time to write. Thank you for reading my query.

Two other agents are considering the first 50 pages of my novel. I would be happy to send you further sample chapters or the full manuscript May the rest of this year hold only happy surprises with some relief for punished eyes and swamped workloads.

Roland D. Yeomans M.A.
rxena77@yahoo.com

I wish all of us luck in finding success in our publication dreams, Roland
And here's wishing us all a day without rain :


22 comments:

  1. That's awesome that you have partial requests out there! Best of luck with it all!!!

    I always like looking up my favorite authors and the number of times they were rejected. It makes me feel better :p

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  2. Erica : And best of luck with your publication dreams as well. May they come true in the best way possible.

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  3. No, that isn't the worst form rejection out there. It's awesome that you have partials out and I really like the query.

    It is intriguing and the beginning pages really snatch your interest. Best of luck!

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  4. you're right--just have to keep going. Persistence. You'll find the right person, and then none of those rejections will mean a thing~ :o) <3

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  5. Keep moving forward- It wasn't a bad rejection, it seemed almost sincere even. I'm not good yet with query letter- I've never even wrote one- but yours sounds good :)

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  6. Oh my friend, someday we'll sit in the luxury of some fabulous restaurant and joke about how long it took us to reach our pinnacles of success.

    One more rejection, one more query. Keep plugging, keep going, it's all we've got. Someday it will all be ours.

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  7. Roland: I don't know who could not love you and what you write. My very best wishes and I throw all my good luck spells your way. "Ride, boldy ride". ;)

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  8. In this market, where silence is the norm, I consider a rejection a coup. Sad but true.

    Persistence is the word, Roland. You have amazing talent, but it's like playing the slots, everything has to line up. Your manuscript must find its way into the hands of an agent who a) has time to read it; b) knows your genre; c) has room on his/her list; and d) knows the right editors. You just have to keep pulling the handle, aka querying, until it all aligns and you hit the jackpot.

    Trust your old friend, it WILL happen. Wishing you luck that it's sooner rather than later.

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  9. Too bad about the rejection, but that's great about the partials you have out there. And, I like your query letter. It has a nice flow to it. *smiles*

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  10. All the best with your querying Roland D Yeomans - you have a very unique writing style and your French Quarter Nocturne is sure to find a publishing home soon!! Persistence sums it all up really - as does this beautiful Enya song! Take care
    x

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  11. Success in the book world appears to be brought on by chance rather than through our actions.

    Your novel will find a home. After all, it doesn't want to land just anywhere now does it? :)

    All the best, Roland.

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  12. Hang in there, Roland, and keep chipping away until success is reached. It's out there!

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  13. Someday soon, I pray, you will be accepted for publication. . . And my heart will soar like a hawk:)

    Good rejection, if there is such a thing, and I believe there is. Your query also looks good. My only suggestion, don't capitalize, Man. NYC is quite feminist and that may strike them as sexist or something. A thought.

    Thanks for Enya. I love her music.

    Always, the best of luck to you, Roland!

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  14. I always knew... one day it will happen for you. Happy thoughts and good night.

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  15. I think I'm an optimistic pessimist. The optimistic part of me thought that rejection sounded pretty good. Not that I have much experience at good ones. And not for years, either.

    But it sounded to me like she really enjoyed what she read, it just wasn't her area....? Am I naive?

    And I'me very glad you've found someone else to send a query to. Maybe this is going to be your big break.

    I do love your query, but then, I'm kinda biased, huh. You could probably write a page full of 'All work and no play makes Johnny a bad boy' and make it riveting.

    I want to find that poster(?) you put at the top. That's me exactly.

    I admire your determination and I pray an agent sees the light very soon. I want to read the dang book!!!!! :)

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  16. Sending you good vibes, Roland. I'm rooting for you! And I love your attitude about getting back on the horse. Just keep sending those queries.

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  17. Your query captures perfectly the voice of your writing, so bravo, Roland!

    It seems you weren't rejected because of the strength of your writing, but rather you didn't find the person best suited for you. Not so bad, right? The agent for you is out there somewhere and you'll find him/her!

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  18. I love that you don't lose your voice in your query. I see that happen ALL THE TIME.
    Best of luck. Sounds intriguing.

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  19. Wow, I so hope you get published so I can read that tale. Very Noir (or at least very-my-half-baked-notion-of-what-noir-is)! I love it.

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  20. Melissa : At least you are intrigued with my query. Now, to find an agent!

    LTM : Your support helps. Thanks.

    Summer : You're right. It was a supportive rejection -- as rejections go. Nice of you to have my back.

    Anne : I'll even pick up the bill for that restaurant. Maybe invite Elliot, Becky, Olivia, and our other friends!

    Wendy Tyler : Now, to find an agent that feels as you do.

    VR : Your wisdom was a balm for my bruises tonight. Thanks for believing in me.

    Cherie : Thanks for the kind words and pointing out the flow of my query was smooth. I need an outside perspective of my work.

    Kitty : Wasn't that Enya video beautiful? You're right. Persistence will get all of us across the query Shadowlands.

    Terry W. : Your support helps make that chipping away easier.

    Terry : Thanks for pointing out that capitalizing Man or Mankind might be politically incorrect in New York City. I hope the both of us are published soon.

    Leters : Thanks for the support and happy sleep for you, too. Me, I'm working on-call tonight and still at work. This is my break time.

    Words Crafter : I want you to be able to read that dang book, too! If you click on the photo of the poster, you will get a larger picture of it. Thanks so, so much for your constant support.

    Jennifer : And I'm sending great vibes for your publishing dreams, too.

    Amanda : You're right. Upon re-reading it does seem that I queried an agent whose taste and contacts do run to urban fantasy. Thanks for pointing that out.

    Jolene : I try to keep my voice in my queries to have "truth in advertising" in my introduction to an agent. I'm glad you think I pulled it off.

    Shannon : Your idea of Noir is right on the mark since that is the atmosphere I was aiming for. Thanks for wanting to read FRENCH QUARTER NOCTURNE.

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  21. Melissa : My weary mind fumbled at my response to your comment. Sorry. I wanted to say how happy I was that you were intriqued with my query. Now, I had to find an agent with your excellent taste.

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  22. Congrats on the partials! Crossing my fingers for you!

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