Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Rejection is a huge part of the literary world. Even big name authors such as J.K ROWLING was faced with tons of rejection letters. But did that stop her from being a best selling author, who had her books made into popular series of movies? No. She kept trying until the right agent for her, said yes.

Rejection can be good.

How? Are you crazy? It's rejection!!!

Easy. For me after I get a rejection from an agent I look over my query letter and think "What could I do for this to make more sense? To make agents want to know more?" How can you make your letter stand out better? Take in the rejection and change the bad feeling in your gut to inspiration to do better.

If you keep changing and rewriting, maybe you'll catch that agent's eye and make them wanting more. For me I was super thrilled to get my first rejection letter, I saw it as a prize. Proof I was in fact ready to take on the literary world. But I never got a yes.

Why?

My novel wasn't ready. The plot was all over, the characters weren't built yet. It was a mess. But it was my first novel and thanks to it, I got extra credit for high school and because of that I was able to graduate. So this book is dear to me. It saved me. But I don't think of it as perfect, although I had edited it twice. But there is enough room for change and that's what sells. Something the author is willing to change and go through with the agent and editor.

So remember, when your feeling down about all those rejections, think about them as a chance to change. Focus on the good, take the insight and change your query. If you still don't get a yes, start rethinking the novel. Does it need changed? It's normal.


Contests

Are a great way of breaking out into the literary world. They can get your name out there and we all know it'll be much easier to get an agent if you have some good credentials to share with them in your query letter. But not everyone knows where to look for contests. For me I always look for two things when I'm looking for a contest.

1. Does it have a fee?
I don't know about you, but I'm broke. When I'm not writing I'm looking for a job. So I don't like fees. In less it's around five dollars. So I make sure I only enter contests that are free to enter. Not that contests WITH fees are bad. Some are great! It just depends on your budget.

2. What is the deadline and when do they announce the winner?
Some contests are sort, lasting only a few weeks. But some can last months. So if you are feeling impatient, try to find a contest that's shorter. Although the prizes may not be as grand as the longer ones such as.... http://www.amazon.com/Breakthrough-Novel-Award-Books/b?ie=UTF8&node=332264011

Always do your research about the contest. I entered the Breakthrough contest and sadly the person judging my novel was what they call a "troll" but that's not going to stop me from entering again. This time I'm only doing it for fun. So who knows.

Make it fun, get your relatives to cheer you on. The best thing about contests is meeting new authors,friends. Let the contest motivate you in your future project, write down what the judges' didn't like and use that to help you improve. As an author it's about improving.


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