Naomi asked Scott Hawkins:

Thanks for answering! I agree about the David/Carolyn scene, and I think it was handled really well. I actually felt that the bull scene was a lot more shocking. I also think the book is more dark fantasy than horror. How did you know when to make the switch from writing books for 'the drawer' to writing one that you felt was good enough to try and get published? Thanks!

Scott Hawkins Hi Naomi,

The somewhat painful answer to that is that I didn't know they were "drawer" novels when I was writing them. I thought they were all publishable. They really weren't, though. The other day I went back and flipped through my second one (written in the late 90s) and it was utterly incomprehensible to me. I had no idea what was going on. It might as well have been written by another person.

I didn't know this at the time, though. The thing is with writing a book, you always know exactly what you mean. The words paint the picture in your head that you intended. But that doesn't mean that it's doing the same thing for other people--that's why having a really savage critique group is so important, I think. It helps you bridge the gap between what you think you're saying, and what other people are hearing.

Anyway, I sent queries to agents for all four. If memory serves, the first book got no interest at all. The second got a couple of "send me the first chapter" type response, but no followup--like I said, the writing was basically incomprehensible. Several agents (including the one who I ultimately signed with) asked to read the entire manuscript of #3, but ultimately passed.

Over the years I really did get hundreds of rejections, and they all stung at least a little bit. You get used to it though--it's part of the process.

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