So, I had to send a couple of rejections to authors whose manuscripts weren't quite right for Carina for various reasons. One author was amazingly gracious about it and I wouldn't hesitate to read future submissions from her. The other well, mentioned our name in a blog post and made snippy comments about us passing on the story. What's funny is, the ONLY reason that latter manuscript was rejected was because we aren't publishing that genre anymore. No commentary at all on the quality of the writing (which was amazing and totally moved me). Just a matter of the publisher changing scope.
Things like this happen ALL. THE. TIME. And it sucks--oh GOD, do I know how much it sucks. A couple of years ago I'd written a proposal for the Simon Pulse romantic comedy line. They loved it (naturally, because it was utterly brilliant, haha)...except they decided to put that line on hold and not publish anything for a while. So my proposal was rejected.
No fault of mine. No commentary on my writing. I nursed my wounds for a day or two, ate copious amounts of chocolate and moved on to the next idea.
It happens to all of us. ALL of us. I know a number of authors, myself included, who have been rejected post-publication. And from our own publishers, even.
Rejection isn't just the badge of the unpublished.
There are a number of reasons why manuscripts get rejected when being considering for acquisition:
--your manuscript is good, but needs too much work. This one's a judgment call the editor has to make. How much editing time do we put into helping the author craft this story into what it needs to be? Do we even HAVE that time to spare? Is this something we'll run into with every manuscript by this author, where it needs to be heavily massaged into salable condition?
--your manuscript isn't marketable. Editors can love a manuscript--LOVE--but not be able to acquire it. Publishing is a business. Yes, we want to share with the world all those manuscripts we fall for, but we need to know they're going to sell too. A lot of money gets spent on editorial, covers, marketing, etc. Manuscripts that are a little too niche (like superheroes *sob*), that don't have a strong hook, that are in a sluggish genre can get rejected.
--not everyone in the acquisitions team meeting loves the manuscript. The editor obviously loves it, but that doesn't mean everyone else will. In this case, it's hard for the editor not to feel like he/she's been rejected too. I've been there. It sucks. *reaches for candy bar*
--marketing issues regarding the author. For example, the author has no website/facebook/twitter/blog, no notable desire to self-promote, etc (and NO, this won't make or break an acquisition, but it is a factor, let's be honest). Or another example: the author wants to write too many various genres with us, so we can't market that person effectively. Do we "brand" you as an urban fantasy author if your first novel is urban fantasy but your follow-up is historical, and your third is erotic romance?
There are other reasons, of course. But note that none of the reasons above said you suck. Or that we hate you. Or that you should quit writing and go drink cheap vodka in the back of a van and spend the rest of your days making tacos or hemming pants or whatever.
When you're publicly rude about rejection, you're possibly making that editor feel like he/she just dodged a bullet with you and maaaaaaybe it was better that you weren't acquired. See, it's not just about the story, you guys--it's about relationships, about us working together on this project and future ones. If you can't be professional, if you rip on publishers all over the interwebs (even if it's not us but another publisher), why would I want to work with you? I get plenty of submissions from gracious, professional authors. My ultimate goal in life is to reduce drama. haha
Authors get rejected. I know it sucks. And yes, feel free to vent--to your friend, your critique partner, your spouse, your kid, your dog, your priest, your kid's teacher. But please, please, please remember that publishing is a lot smaller industry than you may think, and editors do check you out. It's the same with any job: no one wants to work with coworkers who smile to your face and say bad things about you when you're gone. We're looking to build relationships, not just acquire/publish one book and that's it, good luck to ya, don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya.
Another thing: there are LOTS of authors who have been rejected by a publisher but then were acquired with another manuscript (or sometimes, even the SAME story after being heavily revised).
So why burn bridges because you have a moment of anger? Take a breath, take two, take a few days to think about things before posting.
This has been a public service announcement. Thank you. lol
(note: naturally, any editorial posts I make here or elsewhere represent my feelings/thoughts only, not Carina Press or anyone else's)
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