Welcome to post #3 where I discuss my epic journey to get my novel Kill the Gods published. Congratulations if you've followed along with me so far (if you haven't, don't worry! There's still time to catch up. I'll link my other two blog posts about my journey down below).
I've concluded that the literary agency I sent a query to two months ago is, in fact, not going to email me. The most challenging part about being a modern writer is the phenomenon that I've nicknamed: The Silent Death.
I know what you're thinking: "But Kelsey, what is The Silent Death?"
I'll tell you:
It is not a literary agent's rejection or acceptance of a writer's query but the writer who decides to make the call to stop waiting for any response. With modern advancements in technology, a hopeful author no longer needs to have any sort of actual human interaction with a potential literary agent. I write an email or fill in an automated query form, hit send, and then wait a few weeks. During this time, the literary agent (I assume) will read my query and immediately delete it from their inbox or write me an email back.
Unfortunately, since they do not feel the need to send me any sort of rejection, it is up to me to decide when to assume they have rejected my book. Thus, I have nicknamed it, The Silent Death. Because there are no words to it, and there's technically not even a proper rejection involved.
So, here am I, calling it. Time of Death (or rejection): August 10th, 2022.
If you're a wanna-be author, and you're reading this with a mildly horrified expression while you delete every query you were about to send because the Silent Death isn't anything anyone could ever want to inflict upon themself... stop it! You're wrong.
Actually, it isn't even that bad.
While waiting for my first literary agent to respond, I have already sent out a second query to another agent, and I am currently prepping my third. If you ever want to be professionally published, you have to remember that no one (and I mean no one) ever succeeds on their first try, especially when it comes to authors. So don't feel alone and certainly don't feel discouraged. In fact, I bet all of your favourite authors were rejected at least five times before they even came close to being published!
To prove this point, I've done a little bit of research and compiled a list of famous authors and how many times they were rejected by literary agents/publishers before their books finally saw the light:
1. Still Alice by Lisa Genova
100 rejections (including non-replies)
Lisa Genova never received any positive feedback or acceptance letters for her novel. In fact, she chose to self-publish her book. It was only after she had done so that it was picked up and re-published by Gallery Books. If you've read (or even heard of Still Alice), you'll know that this book has since been on the New York Times bestseller list and has been adapted into its own movie of the same name.
2. The Thomas Berryman Number by James Patterson
31 rejections
Even if this book doesn't sound familiar to you, chances are that the name James Patterson does. The Thomas Berryman (the first in the Alex Cross series) was his first ever novel to be published—after 31 rejections from publishers. Since then, he has written over 200 more novels, including 114 New York Times bestsellers, and has made approximately $70 million.
3. Carrie by Stephen King
30 rejections
Yes, you heard it here first, folks! Stephen King, the master of horror himself, was rejected by publishers 30 times before being accepted by Doubleday and... well, I think we all know how successful he's been since then.
4. And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss.
27 rejections
Here's an example of another great author rejected countless times by publishers. Dr. Seuss was so discouraged that he was about to give up on his dream of being an author entirely until he stumbled into one of his friends on the street, who actually happened to be an editor. Together, they found him a publisher. This just goes to show the benefits of being well-connected.
5. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
26 rejections
Various publishers rejected this beloved book because they claimed it was too complex for children to understand, and that its deep exploration of good and evil wasn't enjoyable to read. Now, it's won several major awards, been turned into a movie twice (once by Disney), and has become a classic read for children worldwide.
6. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
12 rejections
It would have been at least 13 rejections if it weren't for the daughter of a certain literary agent who found J.K. Rowling's manuscript and insisted that her father publish the book so she could read the ending. Even then, the agent warned Rowling to keep her day job since he had very little faith in the books making much money. Now, she's one of the world's richest authors.
7. Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen
140 rejections
Yes! 140 rejections! This book has now been expanded into a series of 275 titles, selling more than 110 million copies between the U.S. and Canada alone.
8. The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
15 rejections
Do I really need to explain anything more?
These authors suffered through years of rejection and defeat before finally finding success. Of course, reading all this might sound more intimidating than inspiring—nobody really wants to have to read 140 letters from 140 different agencies telling you that your book sucks. But the point of this post is not to discourage you; it's to show you that there's really no point in giving up because, for all you know, your next query might be the one that gets you published—and you could be losing out on millions of dollars (not that it's about the money or anything, right? *wink*).
For those of you who have been asking me how I'm dealing with my rejection, there's really only one simple answer:
I'm just gonna keep submitting my work to agents until someone doesn't reject me.
Now I just have to wait another 6-8 weeks for my next rejection. One down, 99 more to go!
Yours truly,
Kelsey Gatis
P.S. Beautiful Endings part 2 is almost finished, I swear! I got COVID recently so I had lots of time to write. GET READY FOR IT!
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