Tenacity

I just finished reading an interview with this seasoned author named Mitali Perkins (I actually follow her on Twitter) I found her writing journey inspiring. She let the rejections she received shape her vision as an author and improve her craft. Despite numberous rejections she refused to give up on her novel, letting it sit at the bottom of a desk drawer. She was unwilling to abandon her vocation. That's how I feel about writing, despite rejections I keep writing. Keep honing my craft. I believe in my stories and that there's a better place for them beside my notebook.

In the interview Perkins also stress discipline being vital to a writer if they want to be successful. And that writers should treat their craft as a serious profession not a hobby. Besides that I took to heart when she said, "good books take time to write, edit, get published, and reach the hands and hearts of readers."

Sea of No

I started sending out queries for my middle-grade novel, The Strange World of Neve Rimbel the first week of this month. By the second week, two of the three agents respectfully declined. I've been swimming in the sea of no for so long, I wonder where the shore of yes is. I know rejection is part of the literary game and it's a subjective business. I've worked really hard on my novel. I think it's a very good story. A twelve-year-old girl and her family moves to a cursed town. The girl sees beware, bewarned, be afraid eteched on her window. Thus begans her encounters with strange things from a woman bursting into crows to alien baby imposters.

A lot of the middle-grade/young adult novels I read the protagonist are white. My protagonist Neve Rimbel is black, but of course I like to think that wouldn't be the cause of a no. I would like to believe a fantasy novel with a black protagonist could have a decent number of readers and buyers. Character race shouldn't matter if the story is well-written and compelling and you believe in the story you're telling.

Often when I look at the book sections in Target and Wal-Mart (where I work) I get a wistful look in my eyes. Given a chance I would love to see my story ideas in book form.

Often rejected....but not dejected

Well my middle-grade manuscript, The Strange World of Neve Rimbel has received a slew of rejections. More than 30. Most just are curt (sorry not for us). Or its not right for our list. My most recent rejection had an explanation attached to it. She liked my concept, and opening pages. But she wasn't in love with the writing itself. She found my middle-grade voice uneven and my length a bit short. My novel is 19,037 words. But the Literary Marketplace states that MG fiction lengths can be from 20,000 plus. So I'm not that far off.

I know most books on the market are as thick as the Bible but I've seen a few slimmer ones, like the Spiderwick Chronicles, and the Chronicles of Narnia. I haven't been told before that my MG voice was uneven (but then again all the others just say they'll pass). I have been told by another agent that my concept was original with interesting characters. But of course she passed on it. Maybe it's the character's voice. GREAT. Now I'm questioning Neve Rimbel's voice.