Emily Layne On The Waiting Game of Submission

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 Emily Layne, author of These Wicked Waters, coming in the fall of 2019 from Owl Hollow Press.

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

Not much. I thought book deals happened overnight. Or at least within a month. Because those are the deals you hear about. The ones that went to auction and the author had a contract in a matter of days. Boy, did I learn…

Did anything about the process surprise you?

How long it takes! I went into the submission process with some pretty false expectations. I assumed my book would sell and sell fast. But months went by. And months. And months. Being on submission is almost exactly like querying except you’re usually guaranteed to get a full request and you’re not alone in rejection disappointment—your agent is right there with you.

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

I did a little bit. I would check out their Twitter occasionally, hoping for a teaser about what they were reading or about what kinds of books they were interested in. But as time went on, I stopped checking.

If you’re the kind of writer who can obsess over checking editors’ social media, I don’t recommend researching them. But if you have a gentle curiosity and just want to see what they’re about… go for it!

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

It varies so much! But average… I’d probably say at the 3-6 month mark. I had one editor who responded after only a few days with a rejection. Others took a year. Some we didn’t hear back from at all, despite my agent’s gentle nudges.

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

I don’t think there’s a way to totally forget that you’re on submission and the anxiety that goes with it. A lot of people say “start a new project!” Which is absolutely good advice. You want to have something to sell next!

But sometimes the last thing you want to do is write. And that’s okay for a little while! One thing that really helped me handle the anxiety was time. The more time passed, the less excited and nervous I became. Once the three month mark hit, I was ready to start a new story. My advice is to understand the process, realize it will take a while (usually) to hear back, and take a well-deserved break before starting a new project—you got an agent and have editors reading your book! You’ve earned a writerly vacation!

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

Rejections are never fun. The first few I got on These Wicked Waters were a big disappointment, but I quickly accepted the fact an editor didn’t think it was a right fit and moved on. After all, I had other subs out.

When I got to the end of my subs… That’s when I got nervous. Because unlike querying, there is a smaller pool of publishers. If they weren’t interested, then I had nowhere else to go (except self-publishing. And while that’s a great opportunity for writers, I wanted to be traditionally published).

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?

I never got much detailed feedback on any of my rejections. Like agents, editors get a bunch of subs and look for reasons to say no. Many rejections were generic. A popular line I read over and over was, “I just didn’t fall in love with it.”

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

I never expected to get a “yes.” I’d been on submission for two years (yep, TWO YEARS. You read that right.). My agent and I had officially shelved my book back in March 2018, but she met an author at a conference who raved about her publisher. So my agent asked if I’d like her to send These Wicked Waters their way. I O.K.’ed it, feeling very pessimistic. I was done with TWW. We’d even started going out on submission with another book of mine!

Then in June 2018 I got a call from my agent. I didn’t recognize the number so (like the introvert I am) didn’t answer it. She left a message. I started listening to it, got a few seconds in and heard “Hi, this is Becky. Owl Hollow is interested…” And then I squealed, closed my voicemail, and ran in circles around my room. Eventually I calmed down long enough to listen to the rest of the voicemail and call my agent back.

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

Between when the publisher expressed interest in publishing These Wicked Waters and I accepted, I had to wait about a month and a half before sharing the news. We had to go through contract negotiations which took about four to five weeks. The wait time would’ve been much harder if I hadn’t been getting married three days after Owl Hollow offered publication. The whirlwind of a husband, new apartment, new state, and new job kept me from being too antsy. But I still couldn’t wait to share the news! I had a newsletter written, ready to send as soon as I got the OK. I’m pretty sure it sat around for about a week before it went out!

S. Gonzales On The Emotional Roller Coaster of Being On Submission

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 S. Gonzales, author of Only Mostly Devastated and The Law of Inertia. Gonzales writes Young Adult contemporary books with twisty plots and a generous dose of romance, featuring witty but vulnerable characters.

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

I’m one of those people who researches *everything* before I make any moves, so I would say I knew a fair bit. If a blog post covering the submission process exists I have read it, bookmarked it, and memorized it. Actually, one of my favorite things to do as I went on submission was read and re-read the S.H.I.T series!

Did anything about the process surprise you?

I was mostly surprised by how vague things could feel at times. Most sub stories I read followed the formula of “agent gets email that editor liked the book, agent gets email that book is going to acquisitions on x date, author waits anxiously on x date for news." But for me, even in three sub rounds, I never heard once that I was going to acquisitions. Sometimes there would be vague hints from editors that we’d have more news shortly, several times the first time we heard of acquisitions / second reads / editorial meetings occurring at all was in the rejection email.

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

My agent refuses to let me know which specific editors have my manuscript (Boo! Hiss!), probably because she’s worried I’ll end up perched in a tee outside one of their houses. Which I feel is unfair, because I’ve only ever been caught doing that once, but I digress. The few times I did figure out the identity of an editor who had my submission (writers on sub can be mighty resourceful), I have to admit that it wasn’t that helpful for me. Maybe my agent knows more about my tendency towards anxiety and obsessing than I give her credit for. . .

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

According to my trusty spreadsheet, most responses came in around the 4-7 week mark. The quickest response came back after a day, and the longest response took 29 weeks. Once, I went to acquisitions after 21 weeks of not hearing from the editor. It’s honestly so varied.

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

Find something else to obsess over. Set yourself a goal that doesn’t involve the book on submission, and work towards it! One useful goal might involve a WIP, which is advice I’m sure most writers have heard (because it’s great advice). For me, it helped to set an exercise goal, because it let me burn up a lot of nervous energy and helped me feel in control at a time where I had very little control. And it cancelled out multiple rejection pints of ice cream.

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

I have been on sub three times now—once with a book that didn’t sell, once with a book that sold after 8 months (The Law of Inertia, Amberjack Publishing), and once with a book that sold in a pre-empt super quickly (Only Mostly Devastated, Wednesday Books). So I’ve seen most of what sub has to offer! Honestly, I found sub rejections initially harder to deal with, because when querying I got over rejection by sending out a new query, and you don’t have that option on sub. But in saying that, after a while I stopped being so hyper-aware that I was on sub, and it got easier as time went on. Was I zen and accepting, or just numb to pain by then? I . . . am not sure.

Also, I think the hard truth is that once you have an agent, a part of you believes that you’ll sell. You hear the stories about agented authors who don’t sell, but for you, the main character in the story that is Your Life, that won’t be the case. You’ll be the exception. Then, when I wasn’t the exception, it was a real case of having to shift expectations and let go of a book that I loved, while also trying not to lose confidence in myself. Believing you’ll succeed but accepting that you might not is a tricky tightrope to cross.

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?

One of the great things about sub rejections is most editors took time out of their day to give some constructive feedback on why they passed, which I was so grateful for! The important thing was to differentiate between the more subjective feedback and story issues. Feedback related to pacing, technique, stakes etc. I take pretty seriously. On the other hand, lots of editors would pass because they didn’t love a certain character, and the next day another editor would pass saying they adored that character but didn’t like one of the other characters. And in those cases, it was more of a “not for me” than constructive feedback.

I wouldn’t say I treated editor feedback differently to a beta reader. For both sources, I’d apply the rules: “Did more than one person say this?” “Do you see where they’re coming from?” and “Is this something you’re willing to change?” There aren’t many hills I’ll die on when it comes to content if I’m getting feedback that something isn’t working. I’ve made some huge, hard changes, but in hindsight it was always for the better.

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

For The Law of Inertia, there wasn’t a ‘yes’ moment, it was more of a series of moments that grew closer to a ‘yes’ until the ‘yes’ was established. But that’s so often the case in publishing - lots of small wins that snowball into something huge that you can only see in hindsight. I mostly just celebrated every few days through the whole process, floating around in an ecstatic bubble.

Only Mostly Devastated was more of a surprise! We were only newly on sub, so I was settling in for the long haul—I wasn’t even going to think about responses until we got closer to the four week mark when they’d usually start rolling in.

It was Valentine’s Day, and the night before, I’d read The Dangerous Art of Blending In in one sitting, so I was on the bus to work and messaging Angelo Surmelis, the author, telling him how much I loved his book. Then halfway through the conversation I got a call from Moe, my agent. She has never called without messaging me first, but I didn’t even have time to get my hopes up, because she opened the call with the fact that we had a pre-empt offer. Then I screamed on the bus for ages while the other passengers gave me alarmed looks out of the corners of their eyes. Once the call was finished I had to keep responding to Angelo—with shaking fingers—casually and with maximum chill, because I couldn’t say to him hey, hold that thought, I just got an offer on my latest book.

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

For The Law of Inertia it was a 2.5 month wait before sharing. I told a couple of close friends and went out for some celebratory dinners, but I was hanging out for that moment when I could finally announce on social media. It didn’t disappoint, either!

And for Only Mostly Devastated, luckily I didn’t have to wait long before sharing at all—it was only about two weeks between the offer and the Publisher’s Weekly announcement. That was nice, because I was still riding my own personal wave of excitement when I got to share it with the world.

Having experienced both, I would have to say it was more difficult to have to wait, because you don’t really know when to celebrate. Do you celebrate when you go to acquisitions? When you have a verbal offer? When you get the formal offer? When you accept the offer? When you sign the contract? When you announce on social media? All of them? (I’m a keen supporter of ‘all of them’, because celebrating is lots of fun!). But I’ve learned that this is the nature of publishing. There is no moment when you’re done. It’s just an ongoing rollercoaster of highs and lows that, let’s be honest, lots of us wouldn’t get off for anything.

Jennifer Brody On Keeping the Faith in Yourself and Your Work While on Submission

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 (Submission Hell, It's True) is Jennifer Brody, the award-winning author of the The 13th Continuum. Her book is a Gold Medal Winner from the Independent Publisher‘s Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards. She is a graduate of Harvard University, a creative writing instructor at the Writing Pad, and a volunteer mentor for the Young Storytellers Foundation. She’s also a board member for the non-profit writing competitions the Roswell Award and the Tomorrow Prize. She lives and writes in LA, where she’s hard at work on her next book.

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

Only a little. I knew the basics—that my agent would submit my manuscript to editors at publishing houses, hoping that they’d want to offer on my book and give me a publishing contract. I also knew that the best case scenario would be to sell at auction with more than one publisher wanting the MS, but I also knew that was rare and kind of like winning the lottery. My debut which sold—THE 13TH CONTINUUM—was the second book I wrote and the second book to go on submission to publishers.

Did anything about the process surprise you?

Yes—how long it took! My background is working in Hollywood, where I read submissions (scripts, books, comics, etc.) and then passed or optioned them. And I thought Hollywood was slow! Turns out, we’re much faster than the big publishing houses. We’re talking months and months and months dragging on without a response. Now I know that the editors at these houses are inundated with submissions. I also know that they often only read a small bit of the manuscripts they’re submitted (while in Hollywood, we utilize professional readers so everything gets read in its entirety by at least one person). It’s a very slow process and industry at times. Of course, some lucky authors sell their debuts quickly. There can be a lot of variation.

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

Actually, I didn’t research them. I was so green in the industry when my first book when on submission that I didn’t know anything about the editors or many of the publishing houses, plus my agent was very experienced. I trusted her to know who to approach with my book. I also knew my book would be a tough sell given the current market at the time, where nobody wanted YA science fiction.

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

Some editors responded quickly in the first few weeks, but others took upwards of six months or longer. Some we never heard back from, which was surprising. My first book didn’t sell after months and months on sub, then my next book THE 13TH CONTINUUM was out on sub for more than a year before we landed a book contract. It goes to show you that you have to keep trying and keep the faith in your book.

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

I always recommend that you start writing a brand new project. That helps take your mind off the MS on submission. It also helps not to feel like that MS is your only shot to ever publish a book. Many MS don’t sell, which was the case for me. My first book landed me a great agent, but didn’t get a publishing offer.

I’m glad I started writing THE 13TH CONTINUUM while that one was on submission because that one went on to sell and become my debut. Also, talking to other writers going through similar experiences helps. That way you don’t feel so alone in the process. I run a large author group called BookPod, and right now there’s a thread called THE WAIT about … waiting for agents and editors to get back to writers about their work.

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

The rejections were the toughest part. My agent would forward me the pass emails … and it hurt to read that editors didn’t love my book. In the beginning, I would take to my bed and just lay there feeling the worst emotions. Now, it still hurts, but I try to remember that it’s better not to publish with someone who doesn’t get what you’re doing or love your writing. That would be like being in a bad relationship. I also try to remember that I’m going to keep writing no matter what and find a way to get my books out into the world.

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?

A lot of the feedback wasn’t helpful for THE 13TH CONTINUUM because it had more to do with the market, which was saturated with YA science fiction after HUNGER GAMES, etc. That’s just bad luck and timing. With books you can’t write to market, since they take so long to draft and go on submission. Now SF is hot again, even though I’m still writing the same things. Also, sometimes the rejection was all over the place. One editor loved my protagonist, but had other issues. Another editor didn’t connect with my protagonist. So that’s not very helpful in the end. I listen to my agent and trusted beta readers more than editor responses. Most of them don’t even read the whole book anyway, so the feedback isn’t that helpful.

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

The YES was amazing and felt so unreal. It had been such a long and demoralizing process in many ways, but I’m glad I kept the faith and kept trying different avenues. Turner Publishing has been amazing to work with on many levels. They’ve been champions for my books and committed to publishing the whole trilogy (that was something that had made the books a harder sell for many of the publishing houses). Everything from the cover design, to the editorial, to the marketing was fantastic. I got really lucky. Now my books are publishing in other territories, so it’s fun to work with foreign publishers. I love my Russian publisher.

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

Actually, the announcement hit Publishers Weekly fairly quickly, so that was nice! My book and publisher also got featured on the cover of the magazine a few months later, so that was fun. Then everything becomes a whirlwind of deadlines, so you have to get back to work. Sharing the news felt validating after so many years of working and struggling in obscurity. Now readers around the world know my characters and books, so I’m really glad I stuck it out through the highs and lows of the submission process.