What I Learned After Receiving 60+ Rejections from Book Agents
I’d be lying if I said being rejected by every single agent I sent my novel to wasn’t a deep slice to my self esteem. My confidence was slowly but surely experiencing death by a thousand rejections. But it’s not in my nature to give up. So, after receiving over 60 rejections for my chick-lit novel The Manhattan Mishap, I decided to take things into my own hands.
A few agents asked me to send the first couple of chapters over to them. However, the majority of people either said no right away or didn’t respond at all. It was exhausting and discouraging. It made me start to question my book and all of the many months I had spent writing it. Had I written 81,000+ words of pure trash? Is there even room for chick lit on the book market these days? Would my novel ever see anything other than my own computer screen?
Luckily, I was able to turn all of that debilitating rejection into positive energy. (When I was a kid, one of my mom’s friends told me that I live in “a fantasy world” and meant it as an insult, but I think it can come in handy sometimes—like when I need a boost towards my seemingly unrealistic hopes and dreams.)
3 Things I Learned After Being Rejected by Over 60 Book Agents & Publishers
Opinions are subjective.
This is something I heard over and over and over again. When agents would reject me, they’d often say something like, “This material isn’t right for me, but I encourage you to keep sending your manuscript around because publishing is very subjective!” Perhaps out of the 60+ agents I sent my book to, I just didn’t happen to find the right one. Who knows.
If you want something done right, do it yourself.
Good thing I believed in my book, or it might not be currently on the path to publishing. When nobody else saw its potential, I decided to take matters into my own hands and strut down the self-publishing runway. I love having control over every little detail of my book. Although, it can also be stressful beyond belief. I’ve been doing copious amounts of yin yoga lately.
Keep trying.
Like Aaliyah said, if at first you don’t succeed, try again! I haven’t lost hope that I’ll be represented by an agent one day. Maybe right now just wasn’t the right time. It doesn’t mean that it’s not going to happen in the future, if it’s something that I really want and work for. And oh baby do I want it. I currently have my second manuscript completed and am plotting out three more.
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