I give up!

As I mentioned in another post, I sent out a synopsis and three chapters of The Last Word to two agencies and I received the first rejection a few days ago (after they had it for the customary 3 weeks), but the second rejection I received today (after they had it one week). I had submitted to this second agency before (On The Map) - and they sent the same letter of rejection back then as they did now. They say in the letter that they're sending the manuscript back to me double quick time in order for me to go in search of another agent as quickly as possible (how sweet and considerate). Then they write something which I didn't understand the first time they rejected me and now that I've had a bit more experience with rejection - it just infuriates me rather than confuses me.

'We specialise in commercial fiction and non-fiction tailor-made for a mass market'

What the feck does that mean? The Last Word is fiction (what is commercial fiction? it's such a bloody grey area that no one can come up with a decent answer). Tailor-made? Are we meant to write according to a certain formula? If I didn't think that my book would appeal to the mass market - I wouldn't waste my time or theirs submitting it.

What the hell happened to originality? Does the book buying public really want the same plot/story over and over again? Have these agents really done their research? Do they know what they're talking about? And if they don't then who the hell does? Sorry (not really), but I don't want to write the same as anyone else. I don't want to be another 'add famous author's name here'. I want to be Nahed Rashad, I want to have my own style, my own technique and there should be publishers and agents out there who dare to think outside the box.

Is it any wonder that people don't buy books as much as they used to? It's not because of the emergence of the internet where everything can be downloaded, it's not because of the film industry making films out of books deeming it unnecessary for a person to read the book - it's because there's nothing original out there, nothing new or different. It's the same old 'tailormade' stuff. Who's responsible for this decline in book-reading and buying? The very people who should be promoting it, the people who we have to deal with just to get a foot in the door - publishers and agents. It's not about talent, or having a gift for storytelling or wanting to give something to book reading world anymore - it's about money, money, money and of the misguided notion 'if it aint broke don't fix it'. But it is broke! It's very broke and if publishers and agents don't wake up to this and realise that it's time to change/spice up the formula then all those choice/variety starved book buyers who hang on to the vain hope that one day they'll be spending nearly ten pounds on a book that will leave them begging for more will give up buying. It's like eating the same food every day for years on end - you'll get bored and change your diet and you'll never want to taste the old food ever again. Just like that, this rejection letter and the way of business of the publishing world has left a bad taste in my mouth. So I won't be submitting any more work as it's quite evident that nothing I could write or would want to write fits into their current 'tailor-made formula'.

Good luck to all the extremely talented writers out there - and there are many! Clearly, by the constant rejections of not one of my novels but several of them, and from the lack of comments of writing 'experts' on this site on my work - I'm not one of these talented writers so I should just get the message and give up. So there you go...I give up.

WW

You're clearly pissed off and I can't blame you for it, and you make some valid points.Let their rejection fuel your fire.I know it's easy to say but don't never give up.I don't know you but you obviously have a love of writing so don't let no narrow-minded, comfortable crets deprive you of your love.

If a wordsworth writing, it's worth sharing.

(Go get pie-eyed and eat lots of bad food, it's great!)

Best regs

Dave

Hi Wordy,
Dave's right, get it out!

This letter is obviously a standard rejection letter and not a very good one - my advice would be to ignore it. You said they rejected On the Map, so maybe they've got you on file and didn't pay too close attention to the content of The Last Word.

This brings me onto my second point. I have read and followed both and they are completely different. OTM is romantic fiction, TLW is literary (and, I believe, commercial) Agents are well-known for having certain preferences, so I wouldn't be sending these two to the same agent. Did you research the market? Look at similar, edgy 'political' work (even non-fiction), all the Indian fiction writers, who are their agents?
I truely think a lot of people would be interested in TLW, as you have seen from the feedback on the site - we are transformed, taken into another world and you write from the heart because you know this world. This is the reason you are so frustrated: rejection is like a very personal insult in this case.

DON'T GIVE UP.
Elspethx

One has to believe that there are agencies, agents and publishers out there who are prepared to take a chance on new ideas.
We all know how you feel Nahed, but they do say that authors are just writers who never gave up.

I think giving up is a form of selling out, do anything but that.

For what it's worth and from what I've seen, you are an exceptionally talented writer.

Best
Sion

Nahed,

I understand and share in your frustration. I haven't the stamina to submit a piece more than half a dozen times, although it seems that determination is what it takes. The fact of the matter is that, as you said, it's all about money. The days of the gentleman publisher with a passion for the unusual and a private income are over, and the amount of money needed to market a book means that anyone who takes an unknown author on has to be pretty sure of making a decent profit. I've heard it said that first-time authors only rarely sell more than 1,000 copies, (and apparently only one in six first-timers makes any profit for the publisher) so one can understand their reluctance to take on books that they don't see a huge market for. There is apparently no steady middle list these days - that section of authors who write well-crafted readable stories - the best-seller is all.

There are other ways to get into print, and you could investigate these. BeWrite is a good place to start, if you don't want the full burden of self-publishing, but in any case there are many ways with varying amounts of help and services available - although intensive research is advisable. The big hurdle is publicity, marketing and distribution, but a thorough investigation has the effect of making one realize that one is not completely helpless - there are choices here.

I believe that if one is a creative soul then one has no option but to feed that urge, whether the ideal outlet opens or not, and I'm sure that once you rise above this setback then your typing fingers will be flying again. The sun is shining - get away today for a while if you can, walk some footpaths, you'll find that perspective will readjust itself.

Nell x

Nahed, you already know my opinion of your work – especially TLW. You have a great talent – you know that – despite what you’re feeling at the moment.

Sending work to an agent is like entering our babies in a beauty contest. We just can’t believe the bastard judges don’t love them the way we do. It hurts and it’s depressing and it makes us angry. But that, sadly, is the lot of unpublished writers these days.

Try to relax. Get to know your new home. One day – and you’ll probably be surprised how soon - you’ll find yourself writing again.

Hang in there, goil…

Dee
x

Good morning everyone and thanks Dave, Elspeth, Sion, Nell and Dee for your support. I do realise that nearly everyone here on this site who has submitted work and been rejected knows how I feel and can sympathise and do appreciate that.

It's my fault really. I submitted work to these two agencies when I was feeling extremely low. In my naive and foolish natural optimism, which has been swamped by suffocating pessimism lately, I thought I would get a positive reply from the agents. The wonderful comments I got on this site about The Last Word gave me that confidence. I suppose I'm still feeling very fragile, and I'm not as 'up' again as I thought I was (The St John's Wort don't work!). I'm not giving up on writing - I don't think I ever could but I am giving up my dream of being published. I don't know which hurts more - having a dream that statistics/odds/fate (whatever you want to call it) say won't be a reality, or letting go of that dream. I know for sure the former hurts like hell and I don't think I have the mental energy to keep bouncing back - not right now anyway.

Thanks again for all your support and I really do mean it when I wish you all the best of luck with your writing and your own dreams.

Nahed,

Don’t be so quick to throw away a dream, they are so important. I almost did this recently when a dream stopped short against an insurmountable obstacle (it was not related to writing). Instead I’ve let the dream retreat into the shadows, so it no longer occupies my waking thoughts, oh it’s still there, but it’s no longer centre stage. I think of it often, but spare it no more energy than that. Who knows, something unforeseen might happen in the future and the dream might get a chance.

I hope it’s the same with the dream of being published, a dream I share. Right now it seems unlikely to come to fruition, but something might change. For now, it’s a neglected ornament sitting on the shelf gathering mental dust, just a little bit hopeful that one day I’ll be able to clean it off and set it on the dining table.

Don’t give up on a dream, just set it aside for a while.

Grinder

Nahed - don’t you dare to even think about giving up!

Like I said before, do you reckon these people even read our submissions? They probably separate them though word count, or how many words per sentence, or whatever. Perhaps sending it to agents isn’t the best route anyway, as making bucks is clearly more important to most, and they must be severely restricted by having tiny client lists and about a million submissions a week!

Anyway, I think you’re right. It is pointless sending stuff out to get rejected by someone who hasn’t read it and sends out a gut wrenching rejection slip, but let’s face it…(cue motivational rant)

This isn’t about getting your stuff noticed by agents, it’s about getting your thoughts and story on the page, about expressing yourself and bringing the characters to life. What you have with The Last Word is far beyond whether some dumb ass agent likes it or not. You need to get it finished and polished before you even consider sending it out. It’s about you and the story and the characters and how is the best way to get all that across. The stuff you have done so far is really, really good and you have to keep sight of that. When it is finished (and I’m talking first draft here) it will be something special, and I’m convinced there will be interest from the industry. After all, these people need the whole thing (story, author etc) to sell to the marketplace, so a half finished project is most unlikely to get interest I reckon. Anyway, I will personally be gutted if you stop now.

I know you won’t be able to give up – you have far too much talent for that, not to mention genuinely funny wit and fantastic ideas. You owe it to Nasser to get it done. I know it’s bleak and depressing when your only readers are us lot, but you never know who’s out there, sifting through our stuff, waiting for people to develop and find their voice. It may not be now, but in a couple of years some entrepeneur may be inspired by this site and start up their own publishing company, and then the first thing they think is “I gotta have the Last Word”. You never know, so you can’t just give up. We all have to rise above this mentality that we are completely subservient to the agents, and it is only coz they are cruel and don’t recognise talent we don’t succeed. The Last Word is like a budding flower, and you can't just lop its head off before it's even begun to bloom – us lot commenting on those 4 (breathtaking) chapters is just a spark at the beginning of something special. But it ain’t finished – it needs love and hard work and inspiration – only you can do that, and unfortunately no-one’s gonna pay for it til its done.

The biggest mistake anyone can make when creating something special is to give up on it too soon.

Besides, I bet 99.9% of unfinished submissions get binned, coz there is so much other stuff to get through, why read 3 chapters of something with no ending (or guarantee of one) on the thin chance you’ll pick up the next Barry Trotter?

Don’t give up – what you have is far too good, and when it’s finished and polished, someone in the industry will be gagging for it.

Besides, the dentist won’t stand a chance…

Luv and Mr Motivator style hot pants



Dav
xx

Grinder,

Your advice of putting the dream aside for now rather than letting it go completely is very sound (even to those of unsound mind ). All the advice that's been given makes sense - but I'm whole mixed bag of powerful 'negative' emotions right now. Saying that, I do still hear a tiny voice in my head telling me 'one day at time and who knows what will be a year down the line' (don't tell the psychiatrist that I'm hearing voices again - but at least it still doesn't sound like Dame Edna Everage). I hope that in time I'll be able to follow your advice. thanks.

Dav,

Wow...I think that if you and I ever met we'd not get a word in edgeways. Your posts are even longer than mine! You made me laugh so until the tears of sadness turned to tears of hilarity. Particularly with the Mr Motivator image...whatever happened to him, and Rusty and Lizzie and Wincey Willows the weatherlady (wasn't she annoying?)from Good Morning Britain? (I feel old now).

Don't worry, I won't stop writing The Last Word (I should at least get Faisal sorted out - poor kid!). You're probably right about finishing it first before submitting it at all, as it would carry more weight as a finished book (but it's going to be a trilogy so...not really finished) but I didn't just send off the first chapters, I sent off a synopsis and letter describing my plans for the trilogy and what they'll contain. I suppose I wanted to test the waters - and I found out that it's very cold and unreceptive. So sod them...as Nell said, there are other avenues to consider when the time comes. I've done PR for others in the past, I can do it for myself - I know journo's and editors (particularly in the Arab/International world), I even know a distributor - but I would have to disagree about it not being about getting noticed by agents. I think I put them on a pedestal of sorts because they're supposed to be the ones who know what they're talking about, and know what the bookbuyers want and to have them notice/want my work well that would've been the ultimate. But clearly they don't know diddly squat and I don't say that just because they've rejected my work, but all the work of the brilliant and truly inspired writers that are here on this site and elsewhere who meet the same mother of a wall whenever they submit their work. Maybe one day I'll be able to prove that they know Jack Shit (he's one of their tailormade authors I believe) - I just need to focus on other things for a while until then...recoup my energy and regain my confidence.

Dentist? Who needs the dentist when I got you, Dav?

Luv and trainee nurse outfits

Nahed x

I got a lovely one from an agent last night. I'd sent the briefest possible query by e mail, as per their submission instructions and received the following reply (by e mail): Thank you for your query and for thinking of this agency. However, on this occasion we are going to pass.

Well,I mean, what? Pass on what? I hadn't sent them any of my writing. I mean, really.

Of course, what they actually mean is this: On this occasion we are going to pass wind in your direction. And don't trouble us again, you non-entity, think-you're-a-writer, scumbag maggot.

Naturally, I shan't be troubling them again. At least they saved me the postage - the arrogant bastards.

Best
Sion

I think the problem is they don't care. I mean why should they - they have their client list. What is the chance of them picking something out on spec, out of thousands of submissions, when ex-barmaid of The Queen Vic Angie walks in with a rough draft of "Me and Den - the Dirty Dirty Truth" or some bloke from the Liverpool Echo strides in with Wayne Rooney's ghost written biography, or whatever. They know its gonna sell x million so everyone's a winner, save the writer.

Agents just care about money. The problem is, like film and music, the more corporate it becomes the more creativity suffers for the money makers. That's why we had Indie music in the late 70's and through the 80's, but by the time Kurt Cobain had blasted his life away the whole thing was a corporate term. Now it is a generic term - "An Indie Band". Indie means independently produced, by people who are passionate about music and the people that make it, and sometimes they get there's too, like Alan McGee/Oasis/Creation Records.

Maybe it's time someone started to thinkabout this approach with books. So come on, whose got enough to cover the first 1000 copies? I have about 2 quid in my pocket at the mo'...

And Nahed, yes we would talk each other into submission, but who cares, I lurve that trainee nurses outfit!

Mind you, do I have to dress like a trainee dentist?

Luv


Dav
xx

Oh Sion,

On this occasion we are going to pass wind in your direction. And don't trouble us again, you non-entity, think-you're-a-writer, scumbag maggot.

That made me laugh until I really did pass wind (sorry if that's vulgar but I'm only human after all...a fact which seems to be forgotten by these worms who dismiss unpublished/aspiring writers without a second thought).

I'm still reeling from my own experience, but I've been consoling myself with visions of Viggo Mortensen atop a horse - another fantasy to add to the list of fantasies/dreams which will never come true! Alas...

I also watched The Passion of the Christ and blubbed it all out. Very good movie, and fantastic that they did it all in Aramaic. I didn't realise how closely linked to Arabic it is - I could've understood most of it without the need for subtitles. Without getting into a religious discussion, although as Muslims we don't believe that Jesus was crucified but that another who God made to look like Jesus to his persecutors was crucified in his place, the fact still remains of the horrors that we would put our fellow humans through in the name of 'God' whatever religion we hail from. It's heartbreaking really. Anyway, in short...I cried ma' eyes out 'til I could cry n'more! I recommend it. The movie that is.

Dav, I'm not a uniform kinda gal...although I did marry a pilot..hmmm..so dentist tunic/overall or whatever it that they wear, is optional! :D

Nahed x

I married a harlot - but that's another story!

Dave

That's cool Nahed. I'll just quietly fold up my uniform collection, and put them back in the draw. Yes, even the full Troy battle gear.

Have to agree about the Passion of the Christ. I thought it woz a terrific film, really well made and freaked the life outta me in the cinema. I had to go alone, coz none of my mates would come with me, Godless bastards that they are. Nah, I'm not religious in an organised sense (I'm not much in the way of organisation), but have a very strong interest in the subject, and that film moved me alot. I thought it was just breathtaking. Like you say, the use of Aramaic, not to mention the Hebrew and kind of rough, street Latin just makes the atmosphere so thick and tense, that by the end, the tears are not just falling from poor old Jesus! Don't like the bit at the end though, where he wakes up. Well unbelievable. I mean who they trying to kid?

Just messing with ya, Jesus fans...

I'm buying the DVD....now!

Take care. I'm off to find my centurion outfit...

Luv


Dav
xxx