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 Dana Alison Levy, author of several acclaimed books for younger readers. Above All Else is her YA debut. She lives in Massachusetts, at sea level, and really likes air with lots of oxygen in it. Dana loves traveling to Nepal and has stood in the shadow of Mount Everest, but she will never ever climb it.

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

I was lucky in that I worked for a literary agent in my twenties, and also have family members who are authors, so I went into the process with open eyes. My path to publication was pretty straightforward and typical: I queried one book that went nowhere, queried a second book and got an agent, she sold that book in a decent but not major one-book sale, and then I kept writing and selling middle grade books. But then I got to my YA… 

Did anything about the process surprise you?

After writing a selling a few MG novels, I felt moderately confident that I knew how to write, and how publishing worked. But then this book damn near killed me. My 2020 book, Above All Else, is my debut YA, and it took over five years of revising and shredding and sewing it back together, sometimes with my agent’s help, often with my (incredibly patient) critique partners’ help.

When we went out on submission I got a lot of really wonderful rejections, most with a very optimistic frame (“I’m sure another editor will snap this up and I can’t wait to see it on shelves.”). But no takers. I kept revising, and kept feeling unsure that I had reached “the end” of the revision, and the rejections I got didn’t help me articulate what I wanted.

(It’s worth noting that sometimes rejections can be really helpful. If you get five rejections from editors who all say some variation of “I liked it except for XX” then you have some good feedback and something to work with!). In this case, however, there was no clear line. So I kept going back to the drawing board, fussing and revising and trying to figure out what the heck I was missing. I wrote and sold a few other books, but couldn’t quit this one. 

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

Usually when my agent and I talked editors, I would ask what they’d published recently, or check Publisher’s Weekly to see recent sales. There were a few times I asked my agent about a certain editor, because I knew another writer who worked with them, but mostly I trust her to find a good match and try to stay out of the way. I definitely think authors can and should do a little research, but the specifics probably depend a lot on your relationship with your agent and how much you trust their judgement.

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

Hah! Too long for a neurotic writer to wait! Honestly I think wait times have been increasing, and it’s more common for editors to semi-ghost, where they don’t reject something but don’t pursue it. Then if another editor bites they can still engage. Editors really vary; some respond within weeks and others let things hang out for months. 

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

I try really hard to forget all about a project that’s on sub. The truth is that while some books sell in fast and furious auctions, the vast majority take a long time to sell, and there’s no point in staring at the phone, hoping your agent will call with news. A long wait doesn’t mean it won’t sell. It’s a cliche, but I do try to immerse myself in something brand new, something that’s hopefully in an early stage so it can be weird and messy and ugly and I don’t even have to think about anyone reading and judging it. Basically I try to stay away from publishing (reading about book deals, marketing campaigns, sales, etc.), and instead focus on writing. 

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

Rejections always suck, but I’m also always super-curious, so typically I’ll ask my agent to forward them along as she gets them. That way I can see where we are and what kind of feedback we’re getting. But there are times I’ll ask her to hold off, because I know it will derail me. It feels better to practice a little intentional avoidance.

With both submission rejections and query rejections, I think it helps to remember that this is a business, and that not everyone needs to fall in love with my book. Someone needs to fall in love with it, but not everyone! In some ways it’s easier once you have an agent, because you’ve received that first major validation, but on the other hand…yeah. Rejection is always going to suck a little bit.

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?

As I said above, editorial feedback on a rejection can be really useful, or, in some cases, can help you feel better. For instance when you get a rejection that says “we already have a similar book but we love this and definitely want to see the next thing!” — that’s a good rejection.

When there’s editorial feedback it can be great, and writers should definitely pay attention, but they should also trust themselves. Unlike algebra, with writing there are a lot of right answers, and while an editor might prefer a certain vision of the story, that doesn’t mean an author has to listen. If the suggestion or critique resonates, that’s great, but it might be that the editor had a different story in mind. (The exception: when you get multiple editors giving similar feedback. Then you should probably pay attention!) 

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

I could not let go of this book. I signed with my agent in October 2012, and I wrote her an email that month (I found it in a file recently) where I mentioned that I was working on a new project, a young adult novel, set on Mount Everest. In June 2018 she called me to tell me we had an offer on the book! And it comes out in October 2020…eight years after I wrote her that email. It was surreal…I was clear-eyed about publishing, and about this project, and knew that not all books get published. But I just couldn’t let go of it, and I am so damn happy it will be in the world.

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

It’s always hard to wait, but I’m oddly superstitious and I was happy to hold off until everything was signed and sealed!