response from publisher

Balloo

Major publisher liked the premise of my story, but said my writing "needed more work", suggested I approach agents for help. As far as I'm aware agents are not there for aspiring writers that need help, and I've already had rejections from two of them. Any ideas what I should do? I don't know what is wrong with my writing (or how to improve it further) and I don't want to send out dozens of manuscripts to these agents and wait months on end for a standard letter. I'm 42 in six weeks and feeling very depressed. I've put a huge effort into this book for nothing or so it seems.

louise

Don't feel despressed this is brilliant! photo copy that letter and send it with a submission of your book to agents.

You're my age. We're in our prime. You've had a leg up the ladder, but can't see it, but please, this is good. All I get is "we're not taking anymore writers at present, blah..."

Stirling

That's great news. If a publisher likes the premise then it most certainly isn't for nothing.

If you don't want to go to agents yet, there are a few options:

1. Join a Writing Group.

2. Join an online critique group (Absolute Write have an excellent one).

3. Pay for a critique from a 'book doctor' like Cornerstones.

Balloo

[quote=louise]Don't feel despressed this is brilliant! photo copy that letter and send it with a submission of your book to agents.

You're my age. We're in our prime. You've had a leg up the ladder, but can't see it, but please, this is good. All I get is "we're not taking anymore writers at present, blah..." [/quote]

Thanks, but I think your over egging my pudding here, it was an email they sent anyway. This is the best bit, before they listed why they weren't taking it further: "It’s a lovely premise and we liked the idea very much". The problem is I can't make it any better, that was my best shot.

Jay Mandal

What about Hilary Johnson (think that's the name)? She advertises in the writing magazines. Or someone similar. Obviously you'd have to pay, though, for her opinion.

Stirling

I don't think he/she meant the actual idea. It could be the writing itself.

Most writers are too close to their work to see the problems. You would benefit from letting a reader take a look - they are more likely to see what is wrong.

dorothyd

I agree - we are too close to our writing. I wrote a book for Bodley Head, had it accepted, they then dropped it and I sent it to Cornerstones who went through it and showed me all the places where it could have been better. It was, after I rewrote it to include their suggestions. It is with my publisher at the moment. You are too close to your work and you are Not Old! I sold the first of my historical series to a publisher last September, you will know, if you check the Who Is the Youngest/Oldest thread that I am 65.
The second thing is, don't bank everything on one novel. Do the very best you can with it, send it out for critique and advice or join a group or use an online group to help you better it but start planning the second book. Every publisher needs to know you have more than one book in you before they are seriously interested in taking something on. You need to show you are not a 'one hit wonder' as it were. Think about that as well.

BarryHutchison

Balloo,

How many publishers did you send it to?

No writing is ever "for nothing". Everything I have ever written has been improved by whatever came before it. What draft of your manuscript did you submit? I just had approval on the final draft of the first manuscript in my children's horror series. It was officially draft 5, but if I was to count up all the times I've opened the document and made some kind of change it'd be more like draft 200. It's still not perfect, and it never will be, but it improved with every draft.

You say you gave that draft your best shot, and I have no doubt you did. Give the next draft your best shot, too, and it'll improve further.

Above all, please, please, please don't be disheartened by this rejection letter. 99 times out of 100 publishers don't single anything out for praise in something they reject. They've praised your concept, which means you're thinking along the right lines. Keep at it and you'll get there.

Baz

Liz

You're ten years younger than me balloo -despite being already published, no-one wants poetry, so 2006/7 I went and did an MA in writing -it was brilliant and I learned loads -thing is no matter how old or how good you are, there are people out there who can teach you more -sign up for open university, go to a critique service, there's loads you can do to improve that little bit you need to before getting published -sounds to me like you're nearly there -they don't tell you things like that unless you are. Well done!

Neph

Balloo I thought my first novel was amazing, the best I could do, publishers would love it, strangly enough they didn't. Reading it now I cringe at how it reads, it isn't terrible but I have improved, the more you do the better you get. Don't give up, I'm a couple of years older than you and have not got published yet, but I'm still working on it.

Balloo

Thanks for all your kind words and encourgament, I'm slightly less depressed than I was an hour ago. I've asked the publisher in question to put on letter headed paper what they said in the email to make it look more official. I don't know if they will do this or not, just have to wait and see. I feel like a tired climber whose spent an age on a climb only to find the summit is a lot higher than he thought. I put the opening chapters through a critique service a good while ago, it's now radically different from that period (or at least I thought it was), which is why I am so downcast.

HPRW

My agent helps her clients develop and edit their work before she submits it anywhere.

I'm with the publisher: find yourself an agent who cares, and let them submit it for you once you've revised it further. And if you don't think you can get it any better, you're wrong: all books can be improved! If a publisher takes it on you'll have to work with their editors to refine and polish it, so if you've had enough of it now, just think how you're going to feel then!

Carol

Can't add anything else than has already been said.
Put it away for a month while you start working on something else. Then look at it again and see if you pick up things.
Consider getting the whole manuscript critiqued.

Verica

Balloo, you're 36 years younger than me and I still have a lot of writing left to do and publish, so cheer up and look forward to receiving an acceptance from a publisher!

Dwight

I agree with Dorothy and Carol, Balloo. Get a full critique done - Cornerstones would be good, at about £300 for 40,000 - 50,000 I think - and meanwhile get on with your next book. Both are probably essential steps towards being accepted for publication.

caro

Don't give up. I almost got an agent but then they dropped me because my novel needed more work, and they didn't have the time to help me with it. Robert Hale liked the first 3 chapters and are now looking at the rest. If they don't take it I will send it to H Johnson or Cornerstones to see if someone can show me where I'm going wrong. Best of luck!

Lou Treleaven

Even if you don't get the quote on headed paper, I'm sure it would be okay to quote them in your covering letter when you send the book elsewhere. You ARE going to keep on sending it out, aren't you? Remember, it was only one publisher's opinion. Make a list of publishers and work your way through them. While you wait for responses, you can redraft if you feel you need to. Keep the ball rolling and don't give up - you have had a bite and that is VERY positive.

Maya

What is the risk that someone (agents/publishers) might copy your idea of the story and the title of the book? How does one minimise the risk?

Carol

A title cannot be copyrighted Maya.
And no idea is copyright either. It is how you write it, and the sentences that makes it unique- it is very likely another writer could come up with a similar idea as you, it happens all the time.
No reputable agent/publisher will do that.

Liz

You don't and you can't - agents are professional people and they don't do that. It would be considered in very bad taste if you tried minimise the risk in some way. even if they did it, they'd soon get found out anyway.

Titles are not copyrightable and can be used more than once anyway, and ideas are uncopyrightable and anyone can use the same idea... BUT if you gave the same idea to a class of writers, the resultant stories would be completely different anyway.

You just have to send it off and trust.

posts crossed Carol!

Stirling

Put it this way Maya; why would an agent/editor risk stealing your idea (you have your computer files to prove this should it come to Court) and pay a lot of money for someone else to write it; when they can pay you a lot less?

Maya

It will be years before I come to this bridge I just wondered!! Who would you recommend as an agent and a publisher apart from the ones mentioned above?

Stirling

Depends on what you're writing. I'm writing a psychological crime novel so my first targets are LBA and David Higham; and Ian Rankin and Val McDermid's agents (but their names escape me.) Based on what happens with them I will decide whether to use Cornersones or HJ.

Maya

I am researching into a book to do with sci-fiction/history/fantasy. Not sure where it will go and how it will develop. It is a thick soup of words yet that need to simmer...

Stirling

My advice is take a look at which editors/agents deal with your favourite authors; then the ones that deal with books that you think are similar to yours.