Before I made the decision to start submitting my mystery SECRETS, LIES, AND TRASH to publishers, I did some more revisions. Taking a lesson from past mistakes, I sent it to one publisher and recently submitted it to Red Queen Press as well. They publish e-books. Their response time was listed at four weeks. They responded in two.
Another rejection, though I must say that I do appreciate the promptness of their reply. The editor read my sample chapters and synopsis and decided it wasn't for them. Okay, I can live with that. Publishers reject manuscripts for a wide variety of reasons. The trouble is, the writer is rarely privy to what that reason was. In all the rejections that I have received over the years, only one gave a reason and that reason led me to take a novel writing class which in turn helped me to tighten up my writing.
Now, I understand that it is virtually impossible for editors to respond in detail to the large number of submissions they receive. However, it would be nice because with rejection comes doubt. In order for a manuscript to grab an editor's attention, it needs an intriguing plot with an auspicious beginning and memorable characters. The writing should also be good, especially the mechanics. For the most part, all writers write with these points in mind.
When you are finally ready to submit a piece of you work, you have labored over it for months or sometimes years. It literally is a piece of you. You believe in it and its ability to find an audience. Rejection is and always will be a part of this business. However, when you get one, that seed of doubt always resurfaces and begs the question-does my manuscript have the write stuff?
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