Wednesday Q & J: June 14, 2023

Q: How do you deal with rejection?

J: I consider any questions or statements the editor may have made in the rejection. If their rejection makes no sense, I/we send it on. Honestly, about twenty of the books I have most recently sold have been turned down by from one-to-ten or other editors for different reasons. Maybe it doesn’t suit their taste or fit their list. Maybe they are publishing something too similar. Maybe they had a bad reading day. Maybe they just don’t like my work. Etc.. Just say thank you for reading this–and move on. The editor who wants it is still out there. Or maybe hasn’t been born yet.

Follow up Q: Has your agent ever not liked one of your ideas?

J: Sure. And sometimes she is right. Other times I can salvage it, or put it away until I am smart enough to rewrite. And sometimes I pitch it to a new editor I have just met who asks to see it and they buy it!!!