I'm going to start with some statistics:
No. of submissions made: 18
No. of rejections: 18
I've got a little black book (www.moleskine.com) and the first three pages are filled with names of Agencies, dates of submission and the word 'rejected' next to each one. I have eighteen emails telling me not to give up, that this wasn't quite what they were looking for, that they no longer represent Young Adult fiction (do your research!); all very kind, all very encouraging, all very disappointing.
So, there's reality. What do you do? You carry on!
I've not been idle since making that first submission. I've written and edited a second Young Adult novel, not a follow-on from The Tomorrow Child (though there is going to be one), but a brand new story that is now ready to send out to Agents. What will I do differently this time?
As you will have seen from my previous blog, I have self-published The Tomorrow Child through Kindle Direct Publishing. I'll be blogging about the experience as I have a crack at marketing the book, and I'll also be looking into the option of publishing it as a print-on-demand paperback.
The Tomorrow Child went live yesterday, and it has already sold several copies. If that was you, thank you!
No. of submissions made: 18
No. of rejections: 18
I've got a little black book (www.moleskine.com) and the first three pages are filled with names of Agencies, dates of submission and the word 'rejected' next to each one. I have eighteen emails telling me not to give up, that this wasn't quite what they were looking for, that they no longer represent Young Adult fiction (do your research!); all very kind, all very encouraging, all very disappointing.
So, there's reality. What do you do? You carry on!
I've not been idle since making that first submission. I've written and edited a second Young Adult novel, not a follow-on from The Tomorrow Child (though there is going to be one), but a brand new story that is now ready to send out to Agents. What will I do differently this time?
- Be more targeted. I think last time around I felt I had to get my manuscript in front of everybody and anybody in the hope that someone would pick it up and say yes. A bit like closing your eyes and throwing a dart in the hope that you hit the bull's eye.
- Really nail the synopsis. I found this difficult - what to put in, what to leave out. Do you give away the twists? Do you name check every character? I also found that each Agency I submitted to would have slightly different expectations of a synopsis, especially in terms of length.
- Read more of the Agent's blogs. These give a good insight into what an Agent is really looking for, what they are promoting, who they represent and how that author is performing. This, I hope, will help with point 1.
As you will have seen from my previous blog, I have self-published The Tomorrow Child through Kindle Direct Publishing. I'll be blogging about the experience as I have a crack at marketing the book, and I'll also be looking into the option of publishing it as a print-on-demand paperback.
The Tomorrow Child went live yesterday, and it has already sold several copies. If that was you, thank you!
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