Pre-rejection jitters

JohnDavidPaxton · Jul 18, 2007

The fear of being rejected is starting to creep into my daily habits and thoughts. After I do my writing for the day (2,000 words of rewrite is the goal) I start looking at articles. Reading. Looking at things to do and doing research on what agents, publishers and the like will work for me.

I've recently crossed the threshold on the re-write. I'm looking at 80% complete and my FAVORITE parts of the book are coming up, the scenes that wouldn't stop pestering me until I wrote the damn thing in the first place. The closer I get to the ending the more I want to write because I adore it so.

I've taken ever criticism and critique offered in stride and I don't fear it. None of it was out and out awful and, compared to most, I get a great deal more of it. I landed the editor I wanted. 14/15 Beta's have returned a positive review and routinely pester me for the next chapter. Everything is going great.

So why am I suddenly so afraid?

I don't even want to send a query letter out after all truly wonderful help I've received here has helped me out so much. I feel like I finally have so many things to be proud of and like it's all the more bleak.

When I wake up and put my hands to the keyboard, looking at my outline and relishing the final scenes the inner voice says "1-2% of being published. Of that, being your first novel, it's unlikely to be any kind of success. If you even get that far."

Golly!

I truly never thought this could happen to me, but I guess it's standard issue stuff.

So how did you all get brave enough to put yourself out there in a big way?

DeadlyAccurate · Jul 18, 2007

JohnDavidPaxton said:
So how did you all get brave enough to put yourself out there in a big way?

I'm not brave. Just really, really stubborn.

Just because most people don't get their first novels published doesn't mean you won't. Plenty of people do. It sounds like you have a good book. I wish you the best of luck.

De Lady · Jul 18, 2007

You have to take that first step to get anywhere near the finish line. So don't worry about those no's. Somebody is out there ready to say, yes, the most beautiful single word in the English language.

MelodyO · Jul 18, 2007

Oh my gosh, I am feeling your pain. I love my first novel so much, and I had (have) such high hopes for it.

Twenty five form rejections later...

So, I'm here to tell you that the rejections are not fun -- but they aren't fatal, either. Clichéd but true, this is a marathon, not a sprint. If they don't want that book, I'm going to write another book, and another. If you have talent, don't give up even if your first book becomes a statistic. There are no guarantees, but I guarantee you you'll never get anywhere if you quit.

blacbird · Jul 19, 2007

After a while you stop getting jitters about it, and just become depressed.

caw

Calla Lily · Jul 19, 2007

I'm not brave, either. Just mule-headed. Fear of rejection will not conquer me!

It will send me straight to the chocolate stash, though.

scarletpeaches · Jul 19, 2007

I think the fear comes from thinking, "This is my best...but what if my best isn't good enough?"

ink wench · Jul 19, 2007

I think SP has it right, but it's also that we fear the unknown. We fear getting rejected. But once the unknown happens, it's no longer so scary because we survived it. So we go on.

One of the first agents I queried, was one who, although she accepted my genre, I didn't think would like my story. I wanted to get my first rejection over with. To my surprise, she requested a partial (and rejected that a week later, but that's another thread). You might consider trying something like that - getting it over quickly and expectedly (I'm making up words, time for more coffee).

Then you go on. With red wine and chocolate by your side.

Twizzle · Jul 19, 2007

it's courage. being scared *&^$less and doing it anyway. we're all scared. it just boils down to the who does it anyway. so just do it anyway.

and lots of wine and chocolate do help. a lot.

Soccer Mom · Jul 19, 2007

Write short fiction and submit it. You'll get to experience lot of rejection.

Trust me on this.

Just remember that rejection isn't the end of life as you know it. They can say "no" but they can't take away your birthday, kill your puppy, or make you stop writing.

The only way to get over the fear is to just do it. (Crap I sound like a Nike commercial.)

blacbird · Jul 19, 2007

ink wench said:
I think SP has it right, but it's also that we fear the unknown. We fear getting rejected. But once the unknown happens, it's no longer so scary because we survived it.

Not always true. Sometimes we find out the unknown we fear is worse than we imagined.

caw

scarletpeaches · Jul 19, 2007

We have nothing to fear but fear itself.

Oh, momma, we is f***ed now!

JohnDavidPaxton · Jul 20, 2007

Thank you everyone for you advice and your sympathy.

I sent out my first query letter, 10,000 words and a synopsis about a month ago to The Knight Agency. They said they perferred chick lit and tolerated everything else so I figured they'd be the way to go as far as the first rejection was concerned.

Haven't heard back yet but I wasn't expecting to. I just did it to do it.

I forced myself to make a list of 40 viable agents that would be plausible targets. I've written my query letter to death. It's still not perfect but it's getting there. I'm just going to have to take my big boy pills and begin the spray and pray.

Again, thank you for being so wonderfully open.

Saundra Julian · Jul 20, 2007

Good luck, John and be brave! (Saundra should take her own advice!)

catephoenix · Jul 20, 2007

I think the truth is we are all scared - I know I am. Verging on petrified, in fact. If we weren't concerned about rejection we perhaps would not work so hard on trying to get the query letter and synopsis right.

arkady · Jul 20, 2007

blacbird said:
After a while you stop getting jitters about it, and just become depressed.

caw

Heed these words of wisdom, my child.

Pre-rejection jitters

JohnDavidPaxton

DeadlyAccurate

Absolutely Fazed

De Lady

MelodyO

Waiting for love on the web

blacbird

Calla Lily

On hiatus

scarletpeaches

ink wench

ray of motherf#%&ing sunshine

Twizzle

Cluck that.

Soccer Mom

Crypto-fascist

blacbird

scarletpeaches

JohnDavidPaxton

Saundra Julian

A work in progress

catephoenix

arkady