“I CAN’T PUBLISH THIS!”–And other reasons why you should keep on writing
In 1929, when William Faulkner submitted an early version of his novel Sanctuary, the publisher wrote back, “Good God, I can’t publish this. We’d both be in jail.” He was referring to rape themes in the novel, which even today might have caused some controversy–particularly the scene with a corncob . Faulkner put the manuscript aside and forgot about it. But to his surprise two years later, he received the galley copies and the novel went on to be published.
Faulkner was not the only acclaimed author to receive a strongly-worded rejection. Rudyard Kipling was told, “I’m sorry Mr. Kipling, but you just don’t know how to use the English language.” Through history and up to the present day, authors of note have gone on to do very well after a rebuff or two or more:
“I do not see anything in this to convince me you can write either narrative or fiction,” Harper’s editor told Zane Grey, who eventually had 250 million copies of his books in print.
To Dan Brown, an initial publisher declared, “It is so badly written.” So Brown went to Doubleday instead, and The Da Vinci Code sold 80 million.
Margaret Mitchell received thirty-eight rejections from publishers before finding one to publish her novel Gone With The Wind, which sold 30 million copies.
After fourteen consecutive agency rejections Stephenie Meyer‘s Twilight went on to sell 17 million copies and spend 91 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.
A personal story: just before the turn of the century (anyone remember Y2K?) when I was trying to get Wife of the God represented, a British literary agent told me in a know-it-all tone, “There are two areas of the world no one wants to read about: Afghanistan, and Africa.”
But four years later, that declaration proved mistaken. Just after the 9/11 attacks when Americans were looking for something to take their minds off the terrible events, they discovered Alexander McCall Smith and his soft and comforting No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. Set where? In Botswana, southern Africa. Then, in 2003 The Kite Runner was published. Written by Khaled Hosseini (a physician by training), the story took place in Afghanistan, and became an international blockbuster, selling some 7 million copies and retaining its position on the New York Times bestseller list for months.
Had I listened to this particular literary agent, I might have stopped writing. No question, a snooty or harsh rejection letter (more likely an email nowadays) can be painful, but remember that it is really only an individual opinion. There is little objectivity in an agent/publisher’s decision to take on a novel or not. The best thing to do on receiving a rejection is to move on to your next plan, because even the best of the best get rejections. Ask the phenomenally successful J.K. Rowling and she’ll tell you all about it. Among the publishers who turned her down, there may be still much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
One exceptional type of rejection email that you might not want to delete from your computer (and your mind) is the thoughtfully written one. Although these may be rare, they do happen. The publisher/editor in this case may say “no,” but she may also make a suggestion on how to improve the work. If so, ask if she would be willing to take a second look after the changes are made. Even if the answer to that is still no, the suggestions offered may be worth considering. One agent told me she would love to be able to take on Wife of the Gods, but she doubted it would sell. She did make a suggestion on how to improve it, however, and I took her advice. It ultimately proved to be the right move. The revised version didn’t go back to her, however. By that time, I had moved on.
A couple other suggestions to preempt a spiral into crushing depression when that “unpublishable” notification arrives:
1) Nothing wrong with confidence about yourself, but keep it in perspective: if you expect to become the next Dan Brown overnight, you’re probably going to be disappointed.
2) Consider using the services of a freelance editor before submitting your work for consideration. I can’t tell you how much a clean, typo-free manuscript is appreciated by editors. All authors need editing, by the way–even Raymond Chandler, who was peeved when his editor told him he was splitting infinitives.
3) Be open to tossing out and/or rewriting large or small segments of your novel. The saying goes, “Authors don’t write, they just rewrite . . . and rewrite . . . and rewrite . . .”
