Melissa Lenhardt
Be patient. The publishing industry moves slower than cold molasses. It's like living in the DMV waiting room. Only worse.
Be persistent. Don't give up after five agents reject your MS. Or ten agents. Or twenty agents. Your rejections won't stop when you get an agent. Then, editors start to reject your MS. Then, readers will reject your book. Rejection is the norm throughout the process. If you take rejection personally, you're in the wrong business. Self-publishing might be the best thing for you, but there are pitfalls and drawbacks to that avenue as well.
Learn to take constructive criticism. Was there a common thread in all those rejections? Characters not connecting. Dialogue stilted. Needs editing. If one agent says something, eh. Take it or leave it. (Though I will say that I had one agent give feedback on my Historical Fiction which no one else did that was absolutely spot on. I took her suggestion and the new first chapter won a contest.) If two say it, you should consider it. If three or more say it, your MS has a problem and you need to set your ego on the shelf and fix it.
Be professional. If your MS is rejected, don't send an angry email to the agent. Publishing is a small industry and word will get around about your lack of professionalism.
Join a writer's group. Make sure it isn't a group whose sole purpose is to compliment and stroke each other's egos. If they don't give constructive criticism, find another. If there aren't any in your area, join an online group through a genre organization such as RWA, WFWA, or Sisters in Crime. But, you have to be willing to return the favor. Honestly, learning to critique other people's work will make you a better writer.
Be persistent. Don't give up after five agents reject your MS. Or ten agents. Or twenty agents. Your rejections won't stop when you get an agent. Then, editors start to reject your MS. Then, readers will reject your book. Rejection is the norm throughout the process. If you take rejection personally, you're in the wrong business. Self-publishing might be the best thing for you, but there are pitfalls and drawbacks to that avenue as well.
Learn to take constructive criticism. Was there a common thread in all those rejections? Characters not connecting. Dialogue stilted. Needs editing. If one agent says something, eh. Take it or leave it. (Though I will say that I had one agent give feedback on my Historical Fiction which no one else did that was absolutely spot on. I took her suggestion and the new first chapter won a contest.) If two say it, you should consider it. If three or more say it, your MS has a problem and you need to set your ego on the shelf and fix it.
Be professional. If your MS is rejected, don't send an angry email to the agent. Publishing is a small industry and word will get around about your lack of professionalism.
Join a writer's group. Make sure it isn't a group whose sole purpose is to compliment and stroke each other's egos. If they don't give constructive criticism, find another. If there aren't any in your area, join an online group through a genre organization such as RWA, WFWA, or Sisters in Crime. But, you have to be willing to return the favor. Honestly, learning to critique other people's work will make you a better writer.
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