A long time ago, I wrote a novel. It took me a year to write it, and I then sent it off expecting a quick reply, a fat cheque and early retirement. What I got instead was a stream of rejection slips, other than two letters, which showed interest and offered encouragement. One was from an agent, who showed great interest, the other from the fiction editor of a large publisher, which has now been swallowed up by a multinational conglomerate. I was invited to rewrite the novel, making specified changes, and resubmit it. I did this. It took me another year, in between renovating a house, teaching English, playing rugby and getting married. I sent off the rewritten version, expecting more speedy replies and an even fatter check. Instead, after quite some time, I received two polite letters. The first one informed me that the agent had died a month earlier and that the agency was dealing with her affairs and unable to take on new clients. The second letter told me that the editor in question had left publishing. I was just a little disappointed and said things such as ‘Oh gosh’ and ‘Dearie me’, as I flung the unread, returned typescripts across the room. I then rushed out of the house and assaulted a man who happened to be walking his dog. For good measure, I kicked the dog too. Ten years later, in between playing rugby, renovating another house, being married, teaching and becoming a father, I rewrote the book, again with no success. Sadly, I couldn’t find an old man or a dog to assault, so I shot the neighbour’s cat instead.
This book would not let go of me, so I decided to have another go, this time with a difference. To try and make a little extra money, I had tried my hand at short stories, after trying a writing course. I won’t go into all the details, but the course taught me to ‘throw away’ every word that was not essential and to focus on the story and the characters, not my self-indulgent descriptions and unnecessary narrative. As a result, my novel was completed at half the original length. It was self-published (paid for by a friend, who had faith in it), in 2006, and sold quite well with family and friends (I made the huge amount of approx £200.00). I have also had five short stories accepted for publication. So, there you go: to get this far, it has taken a couple of decades (on and off), a badly-beaten man and his dog and a dead cat. I thought I would tell you this just to cheer you up and fill you with optimism from the outset.
The first thing you should know is that becoming published is extremely difficult. And that is an understatement, even for those who are talented enough and have a potential best seller to offer. If you are not prepared for a very long ride and to accept one rejection after another, forget the idea. You might become one of the lucky few and quickly find a publisher or agent to take you on. But, for most aspiring writers, it is a very long and rocky road. Becoming published demands talent, accepting good advice, working on the craft of story-telling, a lot of patience, hard work and determination. It also demands a willingness to accept the letters of rejection time and again then pick yourself up and start all over. It’s not easy. Consider this. You have put in a great deal of work. You have slaved over your typescript and you believe it is going to happen for you. You really believe that your hopes and dreams will soon be a reality. You have sweated over that typescript for months or years. You believe in it. You ache to be recognised as a writer. You think it is a worthy piece of writing. Then, the postman delivers that first rejection letter, and many more follow. You receive one letter after another telling you that your work is not wanted or good enough. It is heart breaking, a terrible feeling of disbelief and hurt. How can they say that you ask. I’ve worked so hard. They can’t do this to me. And the rejection letters rarely offer worthwhile encouragement or advice. I have been there, and it hurts. It knocks the wind from your sails, and you really have to want writing success to face these slings and arrows and keep on going. If you think you might not be able to face that then forget about being published right now. Have I cheered you up even more or do you feel like shooting a cat?
There are too many examples to quote of successful authors who were initially rejected by numerous publishers and agents. There are thousands of them. You may be aware of James Patterson, currently a very popular author of a string of best crime and mystery novels, several of which have been made into films. His first book, The Thomas Berryman Number, was rejected twenty-four times before being published, but it went on to win the prestigious Edgar Award for a first mystery novel. Another author, John Kennedy Toole, provides a very poignant, example. Toole killed himself in 1969, because he could not get his book published. His mother persisted with the typescript, which was eventually published as A Confederacy of Dunces, a wonderful book, which subsequently won the Pulitzer Prize and was translated into ten languages. I imagine few people have not heard of a certain JK Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was not her first novel. She had written and put aside two novels before beginning the Harry Potter series. The Philosopher’s Stone itself took years to write and was rejected numerous times before publication. These are just a few examples, and I will provide some more, later. There are many successful authors, past and present, who have had frequent experience of rejection. The keyword is ‘perseverance’: if you are good enough and want it enough, you may succeed, but it is not easy. Or, hard as it may be to accept, you may not have what it takes and must face that reality. But if you are good enough and want it enough and persevere you could get there.
On Persistence: “Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not: unrewarded Genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone can assure success. Press on!”
(Anonymous)
Publishers and authors’ agents receive hundreds of typescripts or manuscripts each week and are inundated with work from unknown writers as well as work from established authors or writing that has been specially commissioned. The competition is very fierce, and even established authors can be rejected. An editorial assistant or professional ‘reader’ may determine how far your work gets, and it may depend on personal preference or simply a whim. Even if your work reaches the desk of an editor who thinks you have potential, it may not be his decision to accept or reject your work. You may have produced writing of merit, brilliance, even, but that does not guarantee publication. In days gone by, publishing houses might well accept work of merit and publish it for little or no profit, in the knowledge that the work was good and may possibly lead to bigger things. However, the days of ‘gentleman publishing’ are gone, and accountants now rule the roost. Many of the old publishing houses have disappeared, replaced by conglomerates and multinationals whose sole motivation is profit. These big organisations have many established writers on their books and do not need to rely on fresh talent or first-time authors. The criteria for publication are ‘will it sell and to whom and how many copies’. It does not matter if you have talent or potential worth nurturing. If you can not turn an immediate profit you will probably face rejection, unless you are lucky, for luck as well as talent and perseverance play a big part in becoming published unless, of course, you ‘know’ someone, and even then there are no guarantees. It is, in a way, comparable to The X-Factor, on TV. There are thousands of applicants, a great deal of talent on display, more than a few sad people with little self-knowledge or ability, many broken hearts and only a small number who actually make it. Such is life, but remember that every winner of the Booker Prize, Pulitzer Prize or even Nobel Prize was once an unpublished writer. Writers write and keep on going. So, do you still want to be a writer?
Dealing with rejection: remember that both past and currently successful authors, many of them now household names, once faced rejection. John Braine, one of the literary ‘names’ of the last century, had Room at the Top rejected thirty-eight times. It is now regarded as a classic of that genre. Jack Higgins, who wrote The Eagle Has Landed and a stream of best sellers, struggled for years to become published. Wilbur Smith, Stephen King, even Charles Dickens: the list is endless, and rejection is the norm, not the exception. A rather scary piece of information is that there are probably more writers than readers out there.
However, although a rejection letter or slip will hurt you, it is not the end unless you allow it to be. Think back to the earlier examples of rejected writers who achieved success and fame. Here are some more: “You’re welcome to Le Carre. He hasn’t got any future.” This was said about John Le Carre’s book The Spy Who Came In From the Cold. I wonder how many million books John Le Carre has now sold. “A long, dull novel about an artist.” This was a comment on Irving Stone’s biographical novel of the life of Van Gogh, which sold a million and was made into a film. So, it’s not all gloom and doom, but keep that word ‘perseverance’ firmly in your head and accept that you are most probably in for a long haul if you really want to be a successful and paid writer. No one ever achieved writing success by throwing away a typescript when rejected and angry and bitter and hurt by a publisher’s adverse reaction. Keep your typescript, shoot a cat then start again. Mao Tse Tung, the father of modern China, said: “A thousand-mile journey begins with the first step…” And most aspiring writers face that metaphorical ‘thousand-mile’ journey. You have to start somewhere, but it will probably be a long walk, so be prepared or pack it in, now.
Publishers and agents will, for the most part, if rejecting you, provide a polite letter in a standardised format. They do not exist to edit or criticise your work and will refuse to do so. They are very busy with those whose work has been accepted. However, if you are lucky enough to receive a reply with more than a brief, perfunctory comment you are honoured, as publishers do not waste time with those whose work shows no merit at all. If this happens to you, despite the rejection, be encouraged, but if you receive a stream of offhand rejections you might consider whether your work is worth the effort or that writing is not for you at all. So, do you still want to be a writer?
The rewards of writing: I’m sure there are many people who would and will continue to write for no material reward, but wouldn’t it be wonderful to get paid huge amounts for a labour of love? But, I’m afraid there is more bad news for you. For most, the financial rewards are few. I’ll bet you’re glad you’re reading this, aren’t you? We sometimes read of astronomic sums paid to novelists, the sale of film rights and writers who become tax exiles. It is no wonder some people think writing is an easy way to become rich. In reality, the average author’s earnings are very small. Few can afford to make it a full time career unless they have other means of financial support. Even one successful book does not guarantee a second, and earnings may vary from year to year. You would probably need a string of best sellers to guarantee automatic acceptance of your next book or a large and steady income from writing novels. Or, you could become a glamour model, with an expensive boob job, display your goods to all and sundry in the tabloids and, after a short career of boob displays, write an utterly fascinating biography of life as a ‘celebrity’.
So, you write your novel and are fortunate enough to find a publisher. What can you expect to earn? Well, there is no hard and fast answer. Perhaps you might make that fortune or maybe you will hardly cover your expenses. You may receive an advance from your publisher, but the amount will depend on the number of future sales your publisher envisages. The greater the sales potential of your book, the larger the advance you will be paid. If sales of your book produce an amount exceeding the advance, you will then receive royalties as well, according to the contract previously negotiated. For example, if your book costs £15.00, you will have to sell one thousand copies at a royalty of 10% to earn £1,500.00, and there is no guarantee you will sell that many. Perhaps you might then receive upwards of £1000.00 for the paperback rights. This will be shared with your hardback publisher, in keeping with your contract. Foreign translation rights and public lending rights (libraries, etc) could increase the amount your book earns, as could the foreign rights, if sold. Multiply this by ten and you might have made £30,000.00 but may take several years to achieve this. And you must balance this against all the time and sweat and hopes ploughed into your book.
My own view is that it’s not about money (I won’t refuse any donations, however): it’s about the love of words and language; it’s about the excitement of creating; it’s about the freedom and fun of being able to do what the hell you want to, with characters and situations, people and places – it’s about writing.
Do you still want to be a writer? I do.
Ian Roberts loves rugby, reading and writing, as well as wine, music and film. He’s a smallholder who lives in North Wales and the author of ‘Catch the Sun‘ on Slush Pile Reader.
If you too want to be a guest blogger – send us a message: johanna@slushpilereader.com
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