Hey Guys,
So last Wednesday I received the long-awaited email back from the editors. In May, they sent out my manuscript to two scholarly peer reviewers who then read and returned my manuscript with their feedback. The editors in turn reviewed their comments and reached out to me with their feedback (lots of feedback.) And, the results were mixed, leaving me a lot like this . . .
One of the peer reviews absolutely LOVED my book and while they offered me some critiques on how to improve it, overall, they were quite happy with the manuscript.
The other peer reviewer did not like my book, at all, and offered more criticism than critique.
So, where does that leave me and my book, The Agency Games?
Back at the keyboard!
Yup, criticism hurts, (A LOT) but ultimately, I am going to use it to improve both this book and my overall writing abilities. The editors have offered me a chance to revise and rewrite according to some of the critiques before they send it out to a third peer reviewer who will be a “tie-breaker” of sorts. I believe that this will (unfortunately) push back the publishing date, but I am determined to push forward. Hopefully this delay will ultimately be worth the improvement.
While this certainly did cause my confidence to take a pretty nasty blow, I am lucky to be surrounded by family and friends who encourage me that even J.K. Rowling was rejected numerous times.
Not everyone will love your work, but that does not mean that you stop writing.
Did you know that even after J.K. Rowling was made a billionaire due to her Harry Potter series and considered one of the most accomplished authors in the world, she was rejected by a publishing house in 2013. Publishing under a pen name, J.K. Rowling was rejected and told that “a writers’ group or writing course may help” Galbraith (penname) to get constructive criticism of his debut crime novel.” (You can read the whole article here!)
KaylaAnn 
Rejection is definitely hard! I have an email folder with several. But you’re exactly right! You just keep going and stay true to your story. I read the article about J.K. Rowling’s rejection under her pen name a while back and had a good laugh. Don’t you know when that story came out, that editor was kicking themselves?!? And if JKR can get rejected, that just deepens my belief that writing is incredibly subjective. This was one of the things that drew me into self-publishing. My inner demons start messing with me when I think about sending my work off, and I found that I started to write what I thought people wanted to hear instead of staying true to me. So I found a path I could stay true on. Each writer has to find their path. The important part is staying on the path. You’ve got a great outlook on things and I’ve no doubt your perseverance will pay off!!
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Hey there Heather! Thank you so much for this wonderful comment. Rejection IS hard, and writing IS completely subjective (I was just talking to my students about this actually). Can you imagine being one of the editors who turned down the original Harry Potter series? Just goes to show what floats someone’s boat might not another. Self-publishing definitely has some wonderful pros especially concerning author authenticity. It’s like you said, everyone finds their own path in this writing world.
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I have often wondered how the original rejectors of HP must have felt!! Best of luck to you on your journey!
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Never, ever give up!
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Thank you so much!
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Don’t feel rejected and keep plugging away! Just because one peer reviewer doesn’t like it, doesn’t mean your work is not worthy. Different strokes for different folks!
You know, Go Dog Go Cafe can be a great place to seek help with publishing. Christine Ray just published her first book of poetry – Composition of a Woman, was published in July by Sudden Denouement and has reached out to others wanting to publish their work. Here’s the link where Christine has offered to answer questions that one may have.
https://godoggocafe.com/2018/09/10/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-self-publishing-and-micropublishers-but-were-afraid-to-ask-christine-ray/
Good luck and keep me in the loop!
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Hey there Eugenia, thank you so much! It was a blow but I am moving forward, actually going to start my edits TODAY!
That’s great to know, thank you for sharing that with me and I will for sure keep you in the loop 🙂
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