Me and Bobby McForm Rejection: Why are We Such Good Friends?Author: Jody Wallace
Original Publication Date in Love Notes: April 2006

Ok, so maybe it is me.  Maybe I’m writing stuff that isn’t publishable.  Maybe I’m doing something that’s “wrong” when I submit and my rejections aren’t always due to marketability or editorial preference.  And maybe I need to get a clue.   

This month I officially moved into a second 3-inch binder to organize my rejections.  I figure it’s a hallmark moment, and not of the greeting card variety, unless they make greeting cards that say, “Sorry to hear you’re so sucky.  Keep at it, kiddo!”  To “celebrate” my hallmark moment, and to combat this form rejection virus that has beset my career, I’ve decided to go in search of that clue and tell everyone all about it in excruciating detail.  Aren’t you pleased? 

First some background on me.  Normally I don’t talk about myself because, how boring!  Plus I’m not exactly role model material.  But for this intro to my clue quest, you need to know where I’m coming from so you can assess how my subsequent blather applies to your situation. 

I paid through the nose for an MFA in poetry that toughened me up for critiques.  I taught college English for four years, which toughened me up for everything else.  In 2001, I joined RWA and began my official attempt to get published in romance or a related genre.  I’m active in my local chapter and maintain their website, as well as several friends’ sites, gratis, because I groove on that stuff.  I’ve completed three novels, several novellas, and several short stories, and I attended two RWA National Conferences and two smaller ones.  2001-2005, I edited a monthly e-zine called “Science Fiction Romance”, which I ceded to a really nice sucker, I mean, lady.  Under a pen name taken from my cat, I have an erotic romance short story with a small press and sold an erotic romance novella to Red Sage Publishing in 2005.  I’ve had fulls requested of all my novels at some point, which I’ve been pretending means they aren’t cringe-worthy, and last year I traveled to another chapter and gave a presentation on contest judging.  Speaking of which, my work is as likely to be pummeled in contests as it is to final, so I try to resist since funds are limited. 

My critique partners claim to adore my writing, though they don’t hesitate to whack me around when I deserve it.  My mom and sister do not adore my writing, and my husband just looks at me with a pained expression whenever I suggest he read something I wrote.  I have a preschooler and a baby on the way, and I have the great good fortune to stay home with them, hence no other job to suck up my energies.  Just my family, random volunteer projects, and my pursuit of a writing career.  I would say, pursuit of a clean house and healthy lifestyle, but those would be untruths, and I’m not a memoirist looking for my big break.   

In my favor:

* I am quite the grammarian, and I write “clean”. 
* I study the industry analytically and read a lot.
* I’m not afraid to revise or try new things.
* I’m good at shrugging off rejection.  It would be sad at this point if I were not.
* I’ve always got something out there.  Somewhere.  Awaiting its form rejection.  

Not in my favor:

* My productivity is nothing to crow about, due to familial demands and my own laggardly habits. 
* I tend to write cross-genre stories instead of easily marketed ones.
* I’m negative as crap.  (In case you hadn’t noticed.)
* I volunteer for too many things since I “have no job”. 

So that’s where I’m coming from, and this is how I see it.  The publishing field is competitive, but it’s not a competition.  Your success--go you!--doesn’t mean I won’t succeed.  What prevents my success are things I personally am doing, or not doing, and maybe some bad luck, oh please let it be at least a little bad luck!   

I don’t intend for this series to be a protracted whine-fest.  I get a lot of form rejections.  I get frustrated.  Don’t we all?  What I want to know is if there’s anything else I can do to decrease my percentage of form rejections besides write something good and send it the right place.  Because I swear, I thought I was doing that!  If, in the course of my investigations, I discover I’m not doing that, or I’m doing other things that hinder my career, then I’ll be wiser.  In short, I’ll have a clue. 

Some might recommend I spend my free time writing and forget the industry research, obsessing over query letter format and so on, but I think for now I’ll do both.  I realize I’m not going to stumble across some secret, handshake or otherwise, besides the obvious preparation/ perspiration/luck” ratio, but a clue?  If I find one of those, it’s worth dividing my attention, don’t you think?   

Next month, let’s head straight for the horses’ mouths, yet beyond what you can find on publisher and agency websites.  I’ll review some recent RWA National Conference Workshops where industry professionals describe what they want and don’t want to see.  And then maybe, if I’m not too embarrassed, I’ll reflect on whether or not I’ve committed any obvious blunders.  If I am too embarrassed, or our newsletter editor says I have to reduce my word count, imagine that, at least you’ll have the benefit of my summaries.   

Oh, and don’t tell the agents and editors I called them horses, okay?  

*** 

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