Look at you, living a life of creative abundance and courage. I always celebrate the audition, the submission. What happens beyond that we cannot control. But we can show up, again and again, even after we've heard No more times than we care to recall. Good on ya for continuing to show up. That's where the magic is. See you soon!
I don't know how small press publishers work, but Roxane Gay says there are a lot of them in the US, and she says they take care of some of the work you'd have to do in self-publishing. When I finish my book, if the trad route doesn't pan out, I'm going to take a look at this option.
Also, if any of the feedback was actually useful (like, "this character had an inconsistent voice"), you might reread your work with that in mind and see if you see it/agree...because "this isn't the right fit" isn't very helpful. But better than no response at all.
Anyway, I have faith you will eventually get published, and I will joyfully pre-order multiple copies!
Sadly, any feedback I got was not specific at all to my work beyond “this doesn’t feel right for my list,” “I did not connect with the opening pages,” and “I don’t know how to market your book.” Beyond that, all form letters, so the mystery continues.
Hello, Jay! Those auditions sound gruelling, but I bet you'd feel worse if you'd never tried. Analogy: When my office had a lawyer vacancy, there were 300 to 400 applicants for the job. Unless The Deciders liked you more than the other 299 to 399, it was "thank you" to them all. Dunno how many applicants there are for symphonic vacancies, but if there's ONE tooter they think is better than you, it's goodbye, right? And as the Psychedelic Furs sang so memorably, "You can never win or lose if you don't run the race." BTW, I'll be attending a writing "retreat" in a coupla weeks--I'm up to my balding scalp in writing techniques and secrets, but my masterpiece has never been out the door. Race ya to the Fame And Fortune Finish Line! ;-)
Loved that waiter analogy and enjoyed this post. I just cued up La Gaza Ladra on Youtube for Katie and up came a clip of the Chicago Symphony with Jacobs and Kleinhammer. #KFW. I look forward to your first published work. It won't be long.
Look at you, living a life of creative abundance and courage. I always celebrate the audition, the submission. What happens beyond that we cannot control. But we can show up, again and again, even after we've heard No more times than we care to recall. Good on ya for continuing to show up. That's where the magic is. See you soon!
I don't know how small press publishers work, but Roxane Gay says there are a lot of them in the US, and she says they take care of some of the work you'd have to do in self-publishing. When I finish my book, if the trad route doesn't pan out, I'm going to take a look at this option.
Also, if any of the feedback was actually useful (like, "this character had an inconsistent voice"), you might reread your work with that in mind and see if you see it/agree...because "this isn't the right fit" isn't very helpful. But better than no response at all.
Anyway, I have faith you will eventually get published, and I will joyfully pre-order multiple copies!
Sadly, any feedback I got was not specific at all to my work beyond “this doesn’t feel right for my list,” “I did not connect with the opening pages,” and “I don’t know how to market your book.” Beyond that, all form letters, so the mystery continues.
Love you. That is all.
Hello, Jay! Those auditions sound gruelling, but I bet you'd feel worse if you'd never tried. Analogy: When my office had a lawyer vacancy, there were 300 to 400 applicants for the job. Unless The Deciders liked you more than the other 299 to 399, it was "thank you" to them all. Dunno how many applicants there are for symphonic vacancies, but if there's ONE tooter they think is better than you, it's goodbye, right? And as the Psychedelic Furs sang so memorably, "You can never win or lose if you don't run the race." BTW, I'll be attending a writing "retreat" in a coupla weeks--I'm up to my balding scalp in writing techniques and secrets, but my masterpiece has never been out the door. Race ya to the Fame And Fortune Finish Line! ;-)
Loved that waiter analogy and enjoyed this post. I just cued up La Gaza Ladra on Youtube for Katie and up came a clip of the Chicago Symphony with Jacobs and Kleinhammer. #KFW. I look forward to your first published work. It won't be long.
I hear you. Hang in there. I'm told self-publishing isn't so bad. You just have to become good at marketing...shh. I'm not ready to take that on
Hang in there, Jay, publishing is a long game...