“Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.” F. Scott Fitzgerald April can be a troublesome month. April showers (continual in my part of the world), taxes, spring cleaning, April, as T.S. Elliot observed “...can be the cruelest month.” But, raise your heads, my fellow readers and writers! In the spirit of I Will Wade Through the Puddles and Get New Boots if Necessary - here is a list of 10 authors initially rejected by publishers. 38 rejections - Gone with the Wind ( Margaret Mitchell )  After 5 rejections, this author put her manuscript away in a hat box. Two years later she resubmits - Anne of Green Gables ( Lucy Maud Montgomery ) “Stick to teaching” advice given by publisher rejecting her manuscript titled Little Women . Louisa May Allcott   140 rejection letters saying ‘Anthologies don’t sell’ - Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen authors of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series   “An irresponsible holiday story that will never sell” ...

The Blood-Red Pencil would like to welcome guest blogger Nancy Martin, the author of some fifty popular fiction novels. If you are currently submitting manuscripts to agents and editors, pay close attention as Nancy shares rejection letter translations skills she's gained over the course of her prolific career. “Sorry, this manuscript isn’t right for us at this time.” "We will pass on this one but please send us more submissions." Have you received one of these emails after sending a manuscript or partial to an agent? This kind of rejection note generally means your writing is good, but your story idea is one that the agent can't sell. The real message? Put this manuscript in a drawer and write something fresh for us because your writing isn’t the problem. Part of the frustration of the submission process—which always comes with a disheartening amount of rejection—is trying to interpret what secret message might be contained in a gentle refusal to represent yo...

I love when I get questions from young writers--and you can take "young" to mean in age or in reference to writing journey. Sometimes, after much experience, we tend to forget that every day there are writers who come behind us as wet behind the ears as we were when we first started. So, I went to a special young writer friend of mine and posed the question, "As a young writer, what are some questions you'd like answers to in regards to writing (the life, the practice, etc.)?" What I got was a nice list of questions, and I'd like to answer one now: What would you tell an aspiring writer whose fear of criticism and failure keeps her from jumping in and writing? There are three important things a young writer needs to know; well, there are a lot of things a young writer needs to know, but to answer this question, I'll tackle three things. ONE Every writer will face criticism. It's just going to happen. As long as people have a right to th...

This post was originally published on October 31, 2009, but we hope you'll agree that it will never outlive its usefulness. Economy got you down? Try optimism. It can help you get published. Doubt it? Read on: More than thirty years of research in high-rejection endeavors, from athletic competition to life insurance sales, suggests the statement is true. There is more to optimism, however, than The Little Engine’s “I think I can.” Optimism is the practice of framing what has already happened in a positive light. To raise your optimism quotient, try the following ten affirmations. Meditate on them, speak them, and copy them down in your own hand until you are convinced of their truth. Once you own these concepts, your writing will be less about the absolutes of success and failure, and more about gleaning the benefits of every step on your path. And who knows—you may end up appreciating the process of getting published as much as you enjoy the writing. 1. Agents, editors, and...

This is the conclusion of my interview with independent writing and publishing consultant Anne Dubuisson Anderson , a former literary agent. (Check out Part 1 here.) Kathryn Craft: You once told me that you are an editor, not a writing teacher. How do you perceive the difference, and how much "education" do you think a writer should expect from a developmental editor? Anne Dubuisson Anderson: A good piece of writing is the result of talent, both learned and instinctual, an intelligent (and perhaps unusual) read of people and the world, hard work, and the desire to always write better. While I am confident in giving direction in the art of revision (and yes, it is an art) which requires the latter two attributes, I think writers who need to nurture their talent or develop a different understanding of humanity should look to writing coaches (or experience life more fully!). Kathryn: Have you ever had to turn away an editing client because the work simply wasn't re...

Today I'm interviewing the independent editor I hired to evaluate the novel I’m currently shopping around to agents, THE SPARROW THAT FELL FROM THE SKY. Yes, we Blood-Red Pencil editors walk the walk: knowing how difficult it is to fully assess one’s own work, we too have been known to hire independent editors. I was getting a lot of “beautifully written but not for me” feedback from agents who’d been intrigued enough to request my full manuscript, so when I was ready for fresh editorial eyes, I sought perspective from former literary agent Anne Dubuisson Anderson ( left ). From the mid-1980’s to the mid-1990’s, Anne was a literary agent for the Georges Borchardt and Ellen Levine agencies, where she represented numerous fiction and nonfiction writers, including mystery writers, first novelists, memoirists, and journalists. In 1998, she applied her insider’s understanding of the industry to a new role as an independent publishing and writing consultant. Since then, she has worked...

Nobody likes rejections, but we all get them. If you're a writer, you get them by the truckload. You get them from your critique group. Readers and judges of contests give you low scores or write mean-spirited or positive, but disheartening comments. When you start querying out your manuscript, you get rejected by agents. If you finally get an agent, then you get the pleasure of being rejected by editors. Your book gets published, and then it seems like the critics are out for blood. Even with good reviews, readers reject you, sometimes on world-wide bulletin boards or chat services, sometimes when you're sitting at a table in a store and hardly anyone even makes eye contact, let alone comes over. Book stores reject you--they don't want you for a signing, or you show up for a signing and they forgot to order copies of your book. And on and on. Constant, never-ending rejection. Why Do We Do This To Ourselves? Excuse me. Did I say that aloud? What I meant to say was: Reje...

Early on, I realised if I was to be a success at this writing game I needed to find a way to deal with rejection. The easiest is a rant. I read the rejection and shout back at it. Then I throw it away and move on. It works for me; I suggest you find a similar method. I’ve never trusted this collecting of them; the growing pile can’t bode well for future self confidence, but then again that may be my own psychosis. All writers get rejections. I like reminding myself of the list of rejections Stephen King’s Carrie received or the bitter rejection of Rudyard Kipling’s writing by the The San Francisco Examiner who advised Mr Kipling he was clueless regarding the English language. Sylvia Plath, George Orwell, Mary Higgins Clark, Jack Kerouac, Ayn Rand- all rejected at one time or another, some quite bitterly. If nothing else, when that rejection arrives know that you are in excellent company. Rejections are sent for many reasons. Here are a few. 1. You’re a crappy writer Most writers jump ...