Writing a Novel-Submitting

Your novel is now polished and as pefect as it can be. Congratulations! You’ve now accomplished more than 99%* of the people in the world who say they want to be a writer.

You’re ready for the final step in the process – submitting your novel to someone who will read it, love it, and agree to represent or publish it.

Compared to the other steps in the process – planning, writing, revising – this step is the easiest. All you do is locate some people to send it to and put the manuscript in the mail. That’s a lot less effort than the weeks or months it took you to write the book.

However… while submitting is the physically easiest step in the novel writing process, it’s also the most emotionally difficult for most writers. Why? Because you send your novel out to an agent or an editor and then you wait. And wait. And wait. And then wait some more. And if, by a miracle, you get an answer in a reasonable amount of time (anything less than six months), chances are it is a rejection.

You pour your heart and soul into your book and then someone says, “No thanks, not right for us.” Ack! Stabbed in the heart! Many writers experience anxiety, depression, despair, anger or sadness during the submission process because of the high rate of rejection.

The most important thing you can do for yourself on the submission step is to prepare yourself mentally and emotionally.

Yes, your novel is going to get rejected. Expect it. Prepare for it. And remember one very important thing – rejection of your novel is not a rejection of YOU. It’s not personal. How could it be? The agent or editor doesn’t know you. They have your name and your manuscript, not your life history, not a sense of who you really are.

Rejection is a rather harsh term with a lot of negative associations. It is better for a writer to think of it not as a rejection, but as a “Not right for us” message.

Imagine you’re shopping in an art store. You see a piece of modern art on the wall. A lovely piece, but your taste runs toward Impressionist art, so you pass it by. You reject it. Do you hate the artist? No. Do you feel anything personal toward the artist at all? Hardly. That piece of art just didn’t fit your needs or your tastes at the moment.

It’s the same with a writing rejection. It’s not personal, so read the rejection letter, stick it in a drawer and send the manuscript out again. Somewhere out there is the perfect agent or editor for your novel.

*All statistics are made up by me. Hey, I’m a writer, not a numbers gal.

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