You've Been Rejected--Where Do You Go Now?

       This question came in for me, and I figured the answer might be useful to others, so . . . .

       So, I have been rejected by [major publisher]...they said my manuscript was not what they were looking for and gave me the runaround about new authors being hard to break into the market.

       Who should I try next?

       Unfortunately, it's true. It's very hard to break in. Nancy Kress said in a workshop I took from her once that newbies have to be better than the established pros, because they are an unknown quantity, and their names have to be built and it takes time and books to get there. So they have to sparkle.

       But that said. A lot depends on the editor's tastes. Seriously. Every editor has a preference for certain things and the best thing you can do is scour Locus (which publishes a who bought what section and other information) and websites (like Anna Louise Genoese from Tor keeps a blog as do others), and try to get some insight from them about the markets. Also read dedications in books and see if you can pick out editors' names and see what they like. Always better to submit to a specific editor at a company.

       There's one story of one publisher making up a fake name so that they'd know if the writers had done their homework--it establishes whether you're ready to do all the non-writing crud involving promotion and etc. That you're ready to be professional.

       Another place to find a publisher is to look on your shelves and see what you have that matches the sort of story you write. That makes that publisher a better match for you.

       One major thing that differentiates published writers from non-published writers is perseverence. It's easy to get beaten down by this process. It's hard to remember that the rejections aren't personal. They feel personal. But you have to keep trying. Go over again your synopsis and your query and make sure they are the best they can be, reread your chapters to make sure there's nothing amiss, and try again.

       That's the best advice I've got, anyhow.

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