Maybe I Have Three Legs... and There's a Foot Attached to Each One?

This past week, I got another rejection email. This publisher had received a partial manuscript, and requested a full. I was thrilled.

They had it for well over 6 months, not long by industry standards, I know, but long enough to keep me alternately hopeful and despondent which meant I was alternately gorging on mashed potatoes and milk chocolate. (I'm an equal opportunity overeater. I eat when I'm sad and I eat to pre celebrate.)

image by Pixabay

Here's the email I got. A nice, encouraging rejection, but a big fat "no" nonetheless.

Good Morning,

     Thank you for your patience in awaiting a response, and we apologize or the long, long delay. We have carefully considered your story and think that your writing is promising. However, we simply could not engage with the story.

      Because we are not fully vested in it, we can’t guarantee you the level of marketing support that you should expect and deserve. It would not be fair to you to accept this novel until we are ready to zealously market Middle Grade.

     Please keep in mind that this is a very subjective industry, and what does not work for ______ Press may certainly work for another press.  Your writing is certainly good enough for it. We encourage you to continue submitting to other publishers.  If a future project better fits our guidelines, we invite you to submit to _______ Press again.

     We wish you the very best in your writing career.  Good Luck!

Were they a perfect fit? No. One of the press' partners is partial to erotica. I don't read it, nor do I write it. My idea of getting sensual is using my new Flawless, a tiny appliance that makes my mustache magically (and painlessly) disappear. This press hasn't published any middle grade books yet, although they are open to middle grade submissions. I thought I'd be their first. As far as I can tell, they've only published three books, all authored by one of the partners. I hoped my book would be their fourth.

But alas, no.

Not too long ago, I got another rejection. Same manuscript. Same process. I'd sent in a sample, they'd requested a full manuscript, then after six months or so, they said no. Thanks, but no thanks.

That publisher wasn't an exact perfect match either... Or is it a case of sour grapes on my part? They were not headquartered in the U.S., although I daydreamed about having to travel abroad as part of the publishing process when I was still hanging onto hope. However, my story is very American. Having my book published in a different country didn't seem ideal.

My writing accountability group (who are trying but are having little success at holding me accountable) advise to make a final push. Submit to a bunch of agents and publishers before going another route.

I Googled "author rejection" and found this list of books that had been rejected many times until they were finally published. Tears welled up when I got to The Help. That is one of my favorite books and movies. If she continued after 60 rejections (61 was the magic number), why can't I? (I only have 16 rejections... along with countless "No news is bad news" nonresponses.)

I had all my eggs in three baskets. Two baskets are now a smashed-up mess. One is still intact.

I'm just waiting for the third shoe to drop...

Sioux is a teacher, a freelance writer and a dog rescuer. In her spare time, she naps on the couch at odd times and reads--she's currently reading American Dirt and is almost finished with it. (It's reallyreallyreally good.) If you'd like to read more of her writing, check out her blog.