If there's one thing that many aspiring writers have few clues about, it's the submission process. There are good reasons for that; authors aren't exactly encouraged to talk in detail about our own submission experiences, and - just like agent hunting - everyone's story is different. I managed to cobble together a few non-specific questions that some debut authors have agreed to answer (bless them). And so I bring you the submission interview series - Submission Hell - It's True. Yes, it's the SHIT.

Today’s guest for the SHIT is Falon Ballard, author of Lease on Love, a warmly funny and delightfully sharp debut rom-com about a down-on-her-luck young woman who turns an innocent mix-up between a dating app and a roommate app into a new chance at love.

How much did you know about the submission process before you were out on subs yourself?

Honestly, I didn’t know much! Because I was a Pitch Wars mentee, my mentors gave me a brief rundown, but the overall impression I had about going on sub before going on sub was that it’s really, really stressful going on sub (and it was!). 

Did anything about the process surprise you?

The first time I went on submission, I was surprised by how long it took before we started getting responses. Granted, the first time I went on submission was the first week of March in 2020 so the world was definitely not functioning as “normal”. The second time I went on submission, I was surprised by how fast it went. Overall, my two experiences really show that you gotta expect the unexpected. 

Did you research the editors you knew had your ms? Do you recommend doing that? 

The first time on sub I researched most of them. Some I knew from Twitter, some I knew from reading their authors’ books, some I stalked a fair amount. I don’t think it hurt to research them, but I will say that I did not research editors my second time around. So maybe my subconscious does not recommend editor research!

What was the average amount of time it took to hear back from editors?

It could not be more varied! Some took more than six months, some never responded at all. And then with my second submission, we got our first response in I think three days.

What do you think is the best way for an author out on submission to deal with the anxiety?

I know this is the cliché advice, but write the wait! While my first book was dying its slow death on sub during the beginning months of the pandemic, I was writing what will become my first published book. In a lot of ways, knowing I had something else in the works that I really loved made those rejections for submission one much easier to handle.

If you had any rejections, how did you deal with that emotionally? How did this kind of rejection compare to query rejections?

I actually think submission rejections were easier to handle than query rejections. Most of the ones I received came with really positive feedback. A lot of editors had nice to things to say about my writing, they just didn’t love the premise of the book. A few asked to see my next work. So there was a lot of good tidbits I was able to focus on in those rejections. That didn’t make it easy, obviously, but I tried to find little ways to treat myself on rejection days. Even if it was something simple like buying a new book, “rewarding” myself for those rejections made it easier. Also, having an agent who really believes in me and my work was priceless during the submission rejection process because she would pump me up before sending them to me! 

If you got feedback on a rejection, how did you process it? How do you compare processing an editor’s feedback as compared to a beta reader’s?

Most of the feedback I received in my rejections was not something I could easily implement. It was a lot of “I love you voice and your style, I just don’t like this premise/character/set up”. So unless I was going to rewrite the whole book and change the concept, there wasn’t much I could do. But it did give me a boost of confidence knowing that editors were responding to my voice and style and I definitely used that boost to help me write my next book. I think with beta readers, the feedback is a lot more specific and easier to apply to your manuscript. 

When you got your YES! how did that feel? How did you find out – email, telephone, smoke signal?

Well, as with all good news in my life, my first reaction was to burst into tears! I was in the car with my son, we had just gone through the Starbucks drive thru and I had pulled into a parking spot to disinfect our cups and hand sanitize (#PandemicLife). I saw that my agent emailed and I swiped it open without a second thought—we’d just sent submissions out so I wasn’t expecting any news. I had to read her email like three times before it sunk in and then I immediately started crying and totally freaked my kid out because he thought something was wrong. That Starbucks is my good luck charm—I was sitting in the drive thru of the same Starbucks a year earlier when I got my first agent offer email!

Did you have to wait a period of time before sharing your big news, because of details being ironed out? Was that difficult?

I had a relatively short wait, just a couple of weeks I think, and it still felt interminable! I’ve had friends who have had to wait months to announce and I don’t know how they did it! It was hard to wait because I was so excited and already working on edits, but I was able to do a lot of screeching and flailing with my husband and best friends so that made it easier!