I Wrote a Book. What Now?

Ah, the '80s!

August, 1980, I received my first rejection letter.

Here's how naive I was in those days. 

I had written what I thought was a darned good novel. And back in the '70s, a title like The Sword, the Pendant, and the Wizard's Eye hit all the tropes of high fantasy. The novel had the advantages of a kick-ass heroine AND a kick-ass fairy, a handsome wizard, a villain who was half bat, and an epic scope in terms of geography and world building.

To me, that meant only one publishing house would do: Ballantine Books, run by Fantasy Editor Lester del Rey.

So in February of 1979, I sent out an unsolicited manuscript to Lester del Rey. And I heard nothing for 18 months.

I had assumed that meant it sucked, it was tossed in the garbage, and I shouldn't bother writing anymore. I even met a writer who told me any time I spend writing without being paid was THEFT from my family. Still, I couldn't stop writing. I had already moved on to a sequel centered on one of the redeemed villains from book 1. I also had a great idea for a series based on some D&D characters we were playing with at the time and I mapped out 9 novels, and had almost completed the first one.

By the time my rejection letter came, I was too far into writing to let a rejection stop me.

But oh, what a rejection! "Your writing is excellent. Your characters are believable and interesting. Your fantasy world is well developed." On linen paper. Personally typed (including corrected typos), and personally signed. It even included advice on how to improve it, and said it was a difficult decision to reject it.

And here's how even dumber I was: I never wrote back to thank him. 

If you are a writer, heed this advice: ALWAYS write back to thank them, especially for the personal rejections! If an editor personally rejects with specific commentary, it means your writing was good enough to get past thousands of other manuscripts to occupy the time and care of a professional. Go ahead: read your book out loud. THAT'S how much time Lester del Rey took with my book, and more--because he read it through twice.

I give that advice now, but it took me another ten years before I learned it. That's another story for another blog.

My point is, I have 40 years of rejection letters now, and every single one of them tells me I'm an excellent writer with unique, well-drawn characters and complex and believable worlds. It's like being in one of those relationships where, "I like you, you're wonderful, BUT..." or "It's not you, it's me."

As an assistant fiction editor myself, I am now the one to deliver that kind of news to aspiring writers: "You're wonderful, this is great, sorry." 

My first acceptance was for a short story in an online magazine for no pay. My second was also for an online magazine for $30. I began writing flash fiction, publishing pretty regularly with a subscription email magazine with no pay, but great prizes for their contests, which I won a few times.

I never stopped writing, and I never stopped getting rejections. That's what happens when you write a book.

Next up: the '90s, and learning the biz.