The Next Circle of Hell

Welcome to Hell, Michele! Are you doing the R & R for an agent, or an editor? And are you writing it, or waiting to hear back?

I can think of some people from this thread (and others) who waited a looooong time on an R & R — several months — but eventually got the thumbs-up, and I've seen their books on the shelves!

And two more this morning. One very terse one, and one who said a lot of really nice things about the first 50 or so pages, and then clearly did not read any more.

Really need to start thinking of plan C.

Gah, I'm so sorry, whiporee. That sucks!

Oh no! (((((whiporee)))))

Do more editors still have it? Is feedback consistent so you can revise and go for another round?

We're still out to eight, I think. Four are people who saw it in round one and asked to see it again, so maybe.

(((whiporee))) Hopefully good news come from the others... especially those who've seen it before.

Welcome, Michele. Here's hoping this goes quickly for you. I've known some who've signed deals within that time frame, but I think it's the exception and not the rule.

Just popping in to hope anybody who gets news this week gets good news! Spiced cider for all (and spiked for those who want it, like me).

Just sent shinny, brand new manuscript to agent this morning. Hoping she loves it! She was excited about the concept, so we'll see. One of my betas told me it's the best thing I've ever written.

Annnnd... I really hope this one is the one that'll make editors clamor for it since I found out last week that we hadn't heard from one of the editors on my last submission yet but the other SEVEN rejected it after all the summer radio silence. Talk about brutal! Good news is the new manuscript is a different genre (Y/A) than the one currently out (BDSM erotic romantic suspense...which is a hard sale to the biggies).

(((Mandy))) So sorry to hear that, and I hope you kick ass with the new YA ms.! There's still lots of action in YA sales from what I can tell.

I didn't know BDSM erotic romantic suspense existed, but I'd probably read it. Is it kind of like Anne Stuart with more BDSM?

Thanks, Fuchsia. And yeah, my y/a self pubbed sells like hot cakes (different pen name). Also, at RWA an agent sat beside me at one of the luncheons (I told her straight up I was already represented LOL!) and when someone asked what's hot right now, she said y/a (and she's a hot agent in the romance genre). I was already working on this project at the time, so that made me feel better about continuing it.

I don't write a lot of BDSM (I've done a little light stuff in one other series), but I do write romantic suspense. I like pushing the envelope and stories like that are exhausting to write (but a good exhausting... like after a good workout). It's suspenseful because an FBI agent has to go undercover at a BDSM club to investigate one of the owners. I consider it rom suspense since the focus is on the romance and the investigation, but people either like or don't care for BDSM (I've never read 50 Shades, so I'm not sure how "mainstream" some things have become in books, but "I" read it all the time LOL). The good thing is, I went into this story intending on self pubbing it (since it doesn't fit nicely into one genre mold), but the agent asked to see it and loved it. If it does sell, great. If not, I'll go back to my original plan with it (or go with a good digital-first imprint).

All that being said, I will probably have to narrow my focus once I sell to a large pub (even though different pen names represent the different genres). Until then, I'll continue writing whatever I want.

I went out on submission 4 months ago and still have not heard back from anyone. Is this normal? I understand it can sometimes take a year or more, but to not even have a rejection yet makes me feel like I am in some bizarre state of limbo!

Sapphire135 said:

I went out on submission 4 months ago and still have not heard back from anyone. Is this normal? I understand it can sometimes take a year or more, but to not even have a rejection yet makes me feel like I am in some bizarre state of limbo!

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How many editors have your MS? Has your agent nudged them yet? Have you heard from your agent during this time?

I can't speak for what's normal, but I can tell you my experience. I'm still waiting on a few editors who've had my MS for anywhere from 4-6 months. But most editors from that first round got back to us between 2-6 months. Odds are, if your agent sent your MS to 10 editors, you should have heard something by now. But if your agent only sent your MS to 3, maybe all three haven't gotten to it yet.

BTW, 3 rejects in one day. It's like a punch to the gut.

brs18041 said:

How many editors have your MS? Has your agent nudged them yet? Have you heard from your agent during this time?

I can't speak for what's normal, but I can tell you my experience. I'm still waiting on a few editors who've had my MS for anywhere from 4-6 months. But most editors from that first round got back to us between 2-6 months. Odds are, if your agent sent your MS to 10 editors, you should have heard something by now. But if your agent only sent your MS to 3, maybe all three haven't gotten to it yet.

BTW, 3 rejects in one day. It's like a punch to the gut.

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Thanks for the info! My gosh, I hadn't considered the rejections all coming at once What a nightmare!

I got one today that I had pretty much set my hopes on. She was an R&R from last time, and while she loves the characters and my writing and all that, the first part just doesn't click with her the way she'd need it to, but she's really hoping for a happy ending with this one so keep her posted.

Blah.

Hugs for all the Rs.

I ate a cheeseburger tonight... yes, I'm on a diet. No, I don't care right now.

Sapphire135 said:

I went out on submission 4 months ago and still have not heard back from anyone. Is this normal? I understand it can sometimes take a year or more, but to not even have a rejection yet makes me feel like I am in some bizarre state of limbo!

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Have you asked your agent if there are any updates yet? Might be worth doing that.

In the meantime,

Time has never passed by so slowly as when I was on subs.

Whip - Sorry to hear about the R&R rejection. I hope you're getting lots of hugs and hair stroking!!

Putputt said:

Have you asked your agent if there are any updates yet? Might be worth doing that.

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I have asked, but there is nothing so far Hopefully something will happen soon!

((((((everyone)))))) September has been kind of meh in general. Here's hoping a new month will bring new, exciting things!

Seconding the hugs for all.
That's so frustrating, whiporee. It's like when they love your book but it's just a tiny bit too close to something already on their list... :frown: But what can you do?

Does anybody know how many books the typical big fiction imprint publishes per year? I should know this, because I sometimes get catalogs, but I've never bothered to count.

Sapphire, my impression is that agents typically nudge after one or two months of silence — can anyone confirm this? I'm sure it varies, though. And even after a nudge, those waits can stretch on.

MandyHarbin said:

All that being said, I will probably have to narrow my focus once I sell to a large pub (even though different pen names represent the different genres). Until then, I'll continue writing whatever I want.

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I hear ya! For the first time ever I'm worrying/wondering about "branding" myself. This is the first YA thriller I've ever written; does the next book need to be a YA thriller? Can I switch to adult fic one day, and if so, would I need a pen name? Etc.

Speznas, chocolate, and (((((hugs))))) all around. Let's hope October has better news in store!

I'm feeling so incredibly down about this whole experience. I start to make progress on a WIP, then BAM, bad news knocks me down, and it's hard to stay encouraged. I know the best (and only) way to push past the rejections is to have new material to submit, but the negative thoughts make it hard to move forward on my next project. And even though I'm happy for other authors out there with good news, it's hard to see without thinking, "Why can't that be me? Why aren't I good enough?".

Sorry to be so negative, but you're the only ones I know going through the same thing! What helps you get past this? (other than simply writing; I'm really trying, but this whole thing's so discouraging)

I feel the same way brs. I keep trying to move on but every R brings me back to the old one wondering what I can do differently to make it sell.

I just want to be done with these characters for a while, to move onto other ones, to stop rethinking every damn aspect of something I thought I had finished (at least three times). And yet, we're not.