On Submission with Melissa Landers

It's time for another SHIT (Submission Hell – It’s True) Interview! Today's guest is fellow Lucky 13'er Melissa Landers, an unrepentant escapist who left teaching to write novels. No offense to her former students, but her new career is way more fun! Her YA debut, ALIENATED is set on Earth in the not-too-distant future, and follows the misadventures of valedictorian Cara Sweeny, who gets more than she bargains for when she agrees to host the nation’s first interplanetary exchange student, the alluring Aelyx from planet L’eihr. ALIENATED is slated to release in the fall of 2013 from Disney-Hyperion. In addition to YA, she publishes contemporary romance under the name Macy Beckett. Melissa would love to hear from you on Facebook and Twitter!

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

Not much. I’d heard stories from author friends, but I was blissfully ignorant when it came to the details. I figured the less I knew, the less I’d stress.

Did anything about the process surprise you?

Oh, sure. What surprised me most were the reasons some editors gave for rejecting my manuscript. One editor said she loved my work, but my “tone” was too similar to an author on their list. I remember thinking, Seriously? If they reject people for that, it’s a wonder anyone gets published!

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

Hell to the no! And I wouldn’t recommend it, either. If you trust your agent to submit to the right editors, why torture yourself? Everyone knows that researching editors leads to twitter-stalking, and you’ll drive yourself insane in the membrane by overanalyzing each tweet. Whether or not an editor acquires your manuscript is beyond your control, so put them out of your mind and get to work on your next book.

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

This is tough to answer. Some editors dipped in immediately, and some took months to start reading.

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

Do whatever it takes to keep writing. If you know rejections are going to set you back, ask your agent not to forward them. If you can’t stop checking your email every five minutes, install “Freedom” (Google it) on your computer, and lock yourself off the internet for an hour at a time. You’ll feel better if you can immerse yourself in another manuscript.

If you had any rejections, how did you deal with that emotionally?

Oddly enough, the only rejection that hurt was the first. I actually sat at my computer and cried—no lie. After that, something shifted inside me, and I sort of wrote the project off as a loss and focused on my next book.

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

Surreal. That’s the only way I can describe how it felt. When my agent called, I was sitting in the New Orleans airport with my husband, getting ready to return home from a research trip. I’d known for a week beforehand that I was going to acquisitions at Disney-Hyperion, and I swear on my life, that was the longest and most torturous week EV-ER. So when I heard they’d made an offer (and a very nice one, at that!) I squealed and bounced in my seat, drawing the attention of every passenger in concourse A. My husband hugged and congratulated me, and then I had just enough time to call my mom and one of my crit partners before boarding the plane. I was flying high in more ways than one.

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

YES! The offer came in early November, and I wasn’t allowed to make the announcement until February. I had to keep that SPECTACULAR news inside for THREE MONTHS! Why so long? Because my publisher wanted to wait until we’d agreed on a new title before announcing the deal in Publisher’s Marketplace. And while I agreed that was a good strategy, I felt like exploding. But look—I survived. J

On Submission with Liz Coley

Today's guest for the SHIT (Submission Hell – It’s True) is fellow Lucky 13'er Liz Coley. To make things even cooler, Liz is an Ohioan AND an imprint sister. So really it's like we're the same person. Since she's from Ohio, technically this is a SHIT - Wow! (We're Ohio Writers). Yeah, you like that little acronym, don't you?

Liz has been writing seriously for more than ten years, and is finally feeling the luck! Her novel Pretty Girl-13 is scheduled for release in early 2013 by Katherine Tegen Books of HarperCollins.

When thirteen-year-old Angela Gracie Chapman looks in the mirror, someone else looks back--a thin, pale stranger, a sixteen-year-old with haunted eyes. Angie has no memory of the past three years, years in which she was lost to the authorities, lost to her family and friends, lost even to herself. Where has she been, who has been living her life, and what is she hiding behind the terrible blankness? There are secrets you can't even tell yourself.

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

I had learned a lot about submitting short stories--format and etiquette--before I moved on to novels. Since I had attended a writing conference prior to subbing my first novel in 2005, I knew the formalities. However, when I look back at my early query letters I truly cringe. I’ve learned a lot about improving my pitch in the intervening years.

Did anything about the process surprise you?

The snail’s pace of responses surprised me in the early days. Two of my submissions did not receive replies for a full year, and one of them was a publisher who insists on exclusive submission of a full manuscript. That practice just eats your life away. Two years later, the speed of responses surprised me when we were starting to see queries allowed via internet. Going by the timestamp on the e mails, one of my queries to an agent in California was rejected BEFORE I sent it from Ohio. Explain that one, Einstein!

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

After my first two manuscripts had been roundly rejected by editors and all the major houses had closed to unagented manuscripts for children’s literature, I dedicated myself to finding an agent for my third manuscript. I put myself entirely in her hands for submissions. The only editors I researched were those guest editors at my annual writing conference, and I do recommend that since they will invite submissions at the end of the conference.

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

The only way to deal with the anxiety is to get on with the next writing project and forget the current one exists.

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

Well, the one that broke my heart was a husband-wife agency team who disagreed about whether to represent my first book. But the next manuscript I wrote received a hand-addressed, personal rejection letter from an editor who praised the story, found no faults, but couldn’t use it. I taped that one on the wall for a year as an encouraging “good rejection.” In a way, it is easier to get a manuscript rejection than a query rejection because the reader has the opportunity to see your real work. With a query rejection, you can drive yourself nuts second guessing the way you presented your credentials or your pitch.

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

I got my yes for representation on the phone a week after I’d sent my full manuscript (#3), and I felt like crying and drinking champagne. Such a huge wall had been knocked down and, for the moment, I thought I’d found the end of the rainbow. Actually, I’d found the leprechaun who still had to lead me to the end of the rainbow. It took another four and a half year to sell a manuscript (#7)--the big YES. And that was another cry in your champagne moment.

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

I did have to wait for the contract to be negotiated and the offer announced in PM. The hardest thing was keeping my husband quiet about it. I was so terrified of screwing things up, I didn’t breathe a word, even to my sons at college, until the deal was done. And then we all jumped up and down about it. The funny thing is, a friend of mine saw it in PM before my agency notified me that it was officially out, so lots of people knew before my own kids.

Sophie Perinot Dishes on the Submission Process

Today is an exciting day for me here as I get to pick the brain of our my fellow Agent Query Connect moderator Sophie Perinot about her submission process. 

Sophie Perinot writes historical fiction. Ms. Perinot has both a BA in History and a law degree. She left the practice of law to pursue artistic interests, including writing. As someone who studied French abroad and a devotee of Alexandre Dumas, French history was a logical starting point. Her debut novel, The Sister Queens, will be released by NAL on March 6th 2012. Set in 13th century France and England, The Sister Queens weaves the captivating story of medieval sisters, Marguerite and Eleanor of Provence, who both became queens - their lifelong friendship, their rivalry, and their reigns

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

I felt very well informed up front and for that I am extremely grateful.

First, one of my critique partners was on submission before I was, so I had some idea of the stress involved in the process.

In addition to learning about the general process from my friend, my agent did a very thorough job of explaining his personal process – who he would be calling to talk about my book and why; what he would be sending to them if they responded favorably to his call – before shopping my first manuscript.

Once I was on submission, my agent also did an absolutely marvelous job of keeping me updated on the process. If you are getting the impression that I love my agent, you are right.

Did anything about the process surprise you?

I was surprised that several editors were interested enough in my work and my professional development to have lunch with my agent and I and discuss their likes and reservations about my manuscripts.

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

In several cases I knew who the editors were because I’d attended conferences in my genre and made a substantial effort to find out about the business of publishing as it related to historical fiction. In cases where I was not familiar with the editor, my agent gave me a bit of background. But yes, I did do a little googling and searching of author acknowledgements for the editors on my manuscript’s submission list.

I recommend doing ANYTHING that puts you, as an author, more in touch with the industry. So yes, learn what you can about the editors considering your manuscript. Even if a particular editor doesn’t buy your book he/she is still a piece in the industry-puzzle and you may run into him/her later in your career.

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

I am not trying to cop out here but I honestly don’t remember and I didn’t keep records (as opposed to when I was querying agents and kept elaborate charts).

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

You mean other than binge chocolate eating? Try to do the impossible—not think about it. Writing actually helped me quite a bit. You can’t be in somebody else’s head (your main character’s) and still be thinking “wonder if my agent will hear anything today?”

Hopefully the process of querying agents has already taught you how futile “tea leaf reading” (in the form of trying to figure out what it means the longer you don’t hear) is, and what a waste of energy.  Remind yourself of that (while eating chocolate, and/or writing), and if all else fails a glass of wine works wonders.

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

If I had any rejections? I’ve been on submission twice. The first time did not result in a sale, so I got a full dose of rejection. I am not going to lie, not selling that first manuscript (which my agent and I were both crazy about) was crushing.  It didn’t help that it almost sold – in fact that may have made it worse because I kept thinking, “so close.”

One of the reasons that editor rejections are worse than query rejections is the heightened external pressure. When you sign with an agent the great mass of “uninitiated” (non-writing friends, and even some writer friends who think agent = sale) assume that in just a couple of months your book will be on shelves.  They start asking (pretty much the day you acquire representation), “so when is your book out?” The truth is (and it’s a truth many writers don’t learn until they sign with an agent) getting an agent is like going far enough up a mountain to establish a base-camp. It is not the summit and for the first time you realize just how high that darn summit is and how much climbing you still have to do to get there.

The key to dealing with submission rejection, imo, is viewing yourself as in this business for the long haul. Hey, wait a minute, that’s also the key to dealing with the writing and query process. Each time anyone asked me (and there were many), “what are you going to do if this book doesn’t sell?” I always gave the same answer – “write another one, and another one, until I sell one or I get tired of writing.” Bottom line, if you require instant-self-gratification and you can’t stomach struggle do NOT hire the Sherpa and do not attempt the climb.

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?

Editor’s feedback – at least pre book contract – tends to be more “big picture” and “market focused.” That’s why it is so valuable. Your beta’s (and even your critique partners) can’t place your novel into the context of the market the way an editor can. And often an editor isn’t merely giving you feedback on a particular manuscript, but also on your voice as an author and the potential audience for that voice.

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

When you get a “yes” from an editor – as when you get an offer from an agent – there are still important things to consider. Just because an agent, or later a publisher, offers doesn’t mean you are going to (or should) accept. Think marriage proposal – you don’t accept someone just because he asks.

The great thing about fielding an offer from an editor is that, unlike earlier in the process, you have a veteran at your side (your agent) whose job it is to analyze the situation and advise you.

I am a pretty controlled person. So I was excited to have a “yes,” but I tried not to let myself get silly or irrationally exuberant until I (with my trusty agent) had decided, “this is the right offer for me – the right imprint, the right market position, the right editorial vision.” I believe that choosing the wrong agent or publisher in the flush of “oh my god someone said yes” can be a long-term career disaster. Whereas choosing the right agent and publisher for your particular work provides a solid start towards a successfully and fulfilling publishing experience.

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

I only had to wait a very short time to be able to announce my deal. While I was waiting I was able to tell my immediate family (husband, kids, parents) so I didn’t suffer, lol.