jjoneillauthor-blog

[jjoneillauthor-blog]

A good day

Continuing on with the theme of ‘if you can’t say anything nice’ -- I have another good news post!

For the most part I usually can’t find enough adjectives to describe the dark cloaked, closed door attitude of the literary world. I completely get that most agents and editors receive not dozens, but hundreds and sometimes thousands of submissions -- a high percentage of those from kooks writing about cats from outer space. The professionals are victims of being open targets for anyone with a pen and paper, keyboard and fingers, or dictation machine. And thus, we all become victims of a frustrating vetting process.

I think on this journey what I’ve come to realize is I would relish in hearing or seeing the word “no.” I no longer care about rejection, I just want some type of answer to steer me through this literary limbo. To date, I have sent just over 20 queries and received only one solid rejection. From all others -- crickets. The silence sends me back to dating days when my friends and I would anxiously await for a guy to call and then find reasons to call him if we didn’t hear from him soon enough. (Usually a matter of hours.) Back then I would have preferred an honest no and I’d equally take one today. 

Today, I’ve fallen to a new low. Seriously undernourished by the system,  I realized I will accept any type of feedback.

And that is my good news! Finally, two automated responses! Both with instructions on just how long I should linger around waiting for word from my new ‘crush’ (aka potential agent.)

The first from the all-new Root Literary:

Hi! Thanks for your query. We've received it and our current turnaround time for response is roughly: Eight weeks Thanks, and we look forward to considering your work!

They even sound enthusiastic!!

The second came from Levine, Greenberg and Rostan -- and I can’t say enough about how much this agency is trying to help aspiring writers. They offer a full explanation of what is expected in a Pitch of Proposal and their colleagues also offer the very helpful book The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published. (https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Guide-Getting-Your-Published/dp/076116085X)

Here is the reply from LGR:

Thanks very much for your submission to Levine Greenberg.  This email means that your submission went through without a hitch.  Due to the volume of submissions we receive, we can't reply to all, but we do review each one carefully and will be in touch if we'd like to see more material from you.

If you're looking for more information about finding the right agency or about book publishing in general, we recommend that you check out THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO GETTING YOUR BOOK PUBLISHED by our colleague Arielle Eckstut and her husband, writer David Sterry.  To learn more: http://www.thebookdoctors.com/

Okay, so both rather generic, but in this day of sophisticated internet, I just want to say thank you for the common courtesy of acknowledging that my submission was received and providing a suggested time for how long I should wait around before I move on to the next guy.  ;-)

[jjoneillauthor-blog]

I’ve been gone, but my mission not forgotten...

So my Mom always said if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. Usually I’m not so good at listening to that advice. (Although I promise I am working on it!) My silence from blogging on this site is an example of said discipline, with a slight twist: “If you don’t have anything constructive to say -- don’t write it.”

I began this initiative with full gusto. And I remained very excited to catalog my query journey until... I realized how very little there is to track or talk about. I sent out two dozen queries since my last entry. Of those, only two agencies confirmed receipt -- and other than that, the silence from potential agents makes me seem like a virtual chatterbox on this site. I couldn’t even post rejections, because there aren’t any. Just silence. Long spells of cold, hard silence.

Along the way I’ve refined my pitch and thought about posting the new queries, but doubt floated in. Who am I to waste someone’s time with an ‘attempt’ at getting an agent? I don’t want to take up your valuable time, until I know what works. Well, I finally have an answer: PERSEVERANCE. (I know, it’s about as novel as the ‘if you don’t have anything nice to say’ advice, but I can promise you -- it’s true.)

As it turns out, although I don’t have any personal rejections to share as sign posts along my journey -- I have learned a lot about literary rejection in general and I have some very encouraging news to share!

My quest to research rejection came after seeing an interview with best-selling author James Patterson on CBS this past winter. It’s widely publicized that he had his first book rejected by 31 publishers before he made a sale. He also explained that he queried close to 80 agents before landing representation. That means I’m only 1/3 of the way along the query journey! Patterson also received a lot of flack from many established writers who basically said he sucked in the media. Now Patterson is getting the last laugh from his 20,000 sq ft mansion in Palm Beach, courtesy of selling over 300-million books worldwide! 

James Patterson is far from the only successful writer to break through the rejection rut. In fact, it seems like industry norm. And it’s nothing new. Agathie Christie tried to sell her first book for FIVE YEARS -- Mary Higgins Clark peddled her first book for SIX. 

So, the good news: At roughly two serious years of queries, out to roughly 30 agents, I can sleep knowing I’m still in the infancy of my publishing pursuit. Waking refreshed, I will continue refining my pitch and stay steadfast at pursuing my dream.

For your own motivation, I’m pasting links to two of the best websites that cataloged rejections. The first is actually called Lit Rejections! So inspiring (in a dark sort of way!)

http://www.litrejections.com/best-sellers-initially-rejected/

The second is from a Today Show article back in 2013, but inspiring none the less! I hope this keeps you on the upswing!

https://www.today.com/popculture/fight-what-you-believe-how-best-selling-authors-battled-rejection-6C10971491

[jjoneillauthor-blog]

Waiting

So, I thought I was doing pretty well at being patient while I wait to hear back on queries from an editor who requested to read my manuscript and my top two agent choices. I know they receive a ton of submissions and every credible resource says it can easily take 6 weeks for a response. This is one of the only fields in which it is taboo to attempt to follow up, so I followed one more piece of advice: Keep writing while you wait. In fact, I've been so chill -- I've managed to almost complete the next book! I just turned the corner and am heading into the final act. Unfortunately, this positive outlook came to a screeching halt last night. My husband, Chris, and I went to a hockey playoff game. We were having a good time and enjoying ourselves when a friend asked if I've heard anything. I politely said not yet and explained the process can take several weeks. Being in sales, he of course asked why I had not been following up -- again, I politely explained being a pest can really work against you in the literary world. He rolled his eyes and shrugged, like my loss for being inactive. So this morning, when I should be working on a great chapter after detectives find and exhume the body of a missing woman in the new novel -- I'm reeling in self doubt over the process of the first book. I've Googled anything I can find on "being in the slush pile." (They do get a lot of ridiculous material to wade through.)  I checked Twitter to see what the editor and two agents have posted recently. (Nothing!) And then I re-read my queries, which of course, seemed trite and stupid while I'm in the deepest throngs of self doubt. I think I'm going to give in and send an email to the editor. I have corresponded with him in the past. I know he will respond and hopefully that will be the small ember of hope I need to prove the process is still alive, even though I feel like a bright fire buried under a gross, wet pile of leaves.

[jjoneillauthor-blog]

Oops!

Turns out we all have to ignore my first post. I thought I was being funny when I told the story of how long it too to get around to writing a novel. Turns out that's the wrong thing to put out in the literary universe. Agents are looking for hard working, dedicated authors who will kick out a number of books and make everyone money. It makes total sense -- I wish I would have thought of it sooner!

For the record: Since I started taking writing seriously and now that I have the freedom to write, I am very dedicated. I finished Book 1; Book 2 is plotted and a first draft is coming along quite well; and Book 3 is already brewing in my mind. So, on the off chance any literary agents read this: Yes! I am an excellent candidate to sign!

While we're on the subject of dos and don'ts -- I find I've been getting my best advice directly from agents. Many write blogs and their insights are outstanding. Today's helpful hint came from Jessica Faust at Bookends. Ironically, I also received a rejection from her today. It was my first "no" since sending the initial three queries out last week. And I don't think I'm being overly optimistic to say it was a really nice rejection. As the president of the agency, Jessica basically said because she takes on very few new authors she has a narrow focus, but wouldn't be surprised if another agent would be interested in my work. She encouraged me to keep querying -- caveat -- WHILE I'm working on the next book. I'm positive she never saw my 'mistake' blog, but I get the message: Agents are looking for productivity. Now that I'm serious about making this a career, I am too! Sooooo, off to write!

More soon....

[jjoneillauthor-blog]

What's this all About?

This was a big week -- after almost 30 years and 187 drafts, my MS was sent off to a publisher and prospective agents!

I am elated and embarrassed all in one swoop. The level of procrastination I experienced since beginning this project is probably unparalleled. As I neared the finish line, I kept telling friends and family that when this becomes a best-seller, the media will call me an overnight sensation -- little will they know 'overnight' in this case took twenty-some years! I thought I was being a little tongue in cheek, I mean it did take a while, but not that long, right? Well... my husband and I had dinner with my cousin last month. I told her I was finishing a novel and her exact quote was, "Didn't you start writing it when you lived with us?" She said it with pride, but the words struck me like a punch. I lived with her right out of college, almost 30 years ago! Then I started checking other dates, like the weekend I attended a pitch conference in NYC: 2011. Every single publisher asked to read the MS -- and it still took me another five years to finish!

I've been accused of procrastinating, being a perfectionist, and just plain incapable. Now that I'm done, I can look back at clarity with all of the stumbling blocks and tell you they came in various shapes and sizes. I like to have fun. Discipline by far was the number one culprit. But there were also a number of other factors. When people go on a long journey they like to write about their experiences. While I won't be including picturesque settings like those in Eat, Pray, Love, I have some pretty hilarious stories and lessons from sitting 30 years with this mystery novel.

And I'm sure there are plenty more stories on the immediate horizon as I begin the process of querying agents through hopefully becoming published. I can tell you one thing: I hear all that time that waiting for responses from agents is a long, painful process -- I promise you, it won't be anything compared to the 30 years it's taken me to get this far!

Watch for installments of my trials and tribulations here (www.jjoneillauthor.com) provided by Tumblr (jjoneillauthor). And I'll utilize Twitter to track updates of the query process: @jjoneillauthor1.

More soon!

[jjoneillauthor-blog]

Finally finished my manuscript -- now the journey to find an agent!!!