Wednesday, August 18, 2010

My Rejection Love Affair

Ah, rejection. You gotta love it -- if only because it gives you a valid reason to mope about and bemoan your life, then have yet another glass of wine. No matter what stage you're at as a writer, rejection is a part of life.

My first rejection came in 1989. Sadly I was too young to drown my sorrows but I'm sure that didn't stop my adolescent snark when publishers turned down my masterpiece. Inspired by Gordon Korman, a Canadian teen who published best-sellers, when I was eleven I started my novel about a girl who wanted to become a champion diver. She would defeat all the odds -- overcome her half an arm (don't ask) -- and win the gold.

Typing away on the trusty Commodore 64 during the hot summer months, the novel began to take shape. My interest dwindled when school started, though, and the project languished until a year or so later when I got a second wind and decided to finally finish it. Sixty pages later, Glint off the Gold was born.




I have to laugh reading it -- it's quite a morbid tale. Anne ends up dying of cancer and her best friend also gets run over by a car (ironically, a drunk driver, too. I thought that was a nice touch).


Full of enthusiasm to have finished my 'fictional only' story, I was sure it would get published, no problem. Who wouldn't want to read such an uplifting tale (har har!)? I looked in my favourite books and decided to send it away to Tyndale House Publishers (a Christian publisher -- I thought they might be nicer). I printed out the whole thing, shoved it in an envelope and sent it off.

A year or so passed and I'd pretty much forgotten about the whole thing until I got a letter in the post turning down my offering.



It's only now that I actually appreciate the response from the Vice-President and Editor-in-Chief (his assistant, or whoever took pity on me). I had no self-addressed envelope and no covering letter, yet they responded anyway.

And thus, my love of affair with rejections had begun. Now, where's my wine?

65 comments:

  1. Ahh, cute, that was kind of them to reply. Rejection of any kind and any age is hard.

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  2. I'm glad you're not as mean to your characters as you used to be. :)

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  3. Talli, I am admiring your perseverance to write it in the first place and they were nice to reply, I love the phrasing in rejection letters, how they disguise the nasty truth ' We dont want your stuff'.

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  4. That is the cutest thing ever! Haha.
    Don't worry, I was a bit morbid too. When I was twelve I wrote a story about a girl who goes into a coma when a bookshelf full of her favourite books falls onto her head. And then she goes blind.
    Deary me!

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  5. Rejection sucks, till time puts a distance ...and then we can laugh about it....

    That was quite persevering of you to finish the piece against all odds. Ultimately, that's the difference between aspiring and published authors...

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  6. I'm actually quite impressed with your writing skills at 11 Talli.
    You made me laugh with the "Christian publishers must be nicer".

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  7. Talli doll you learned a few lessons and they replied back so all in all you grew up in the right publishing way :) xo

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  8. I have a letter somewhere from George Bush turning down my request for an interview for my school newsletter. The newsletter didn't even exist.

    I love that Anne had twins too. Great story, I'd have bought it!!

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  9. I wish I'd had that sort of ambition at eleven. All I could think of was ponies and when I was going out to the stables.

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  10. That's pretty awesome that they replied. :) In my first story (I won't call it a novel) my characters all faced incredible tragedies as well. I don't know why I was so mean to them. :D
    I haven't sent out queries yet, but I will in the next couple of months - so I'll be getting rejections soon. :)

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  11. that was really sweet of them to reply :) and the story sounds like a hoot. nice and teen angsty

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  12. Blimey, I can't believe you started writing your first novel when you were 11!! That's pretty damn impressive!

    Rejections are awful but I guess it's better that they get back to you and say no than have you hanging in limbo wondering if they are ever going to get back to you!

    C x

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  13. That's great that you had the confidence in yourself, at 11, to send it off! Well done, you! I haven't sent anything off as yet, but I'm sure when I do I will join you with my own Rejection Love Affair!

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  14. Well it's somethign that we all have to deal with isn't it? Though sometimes it's harder than others...

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  15. Je pense que tu as raison. La création passe pratiquement tout le temps par cette phase de rejet. Elle est nécessaire parfois et salutaire, souvent car elle permet de mieux rebondir et de repartir sur de meilleures bases.
    Best wishes

    Roger

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  16. What I love about rejections is the different words and phrases they use. This one says 'lies outside our publishing program'. Others I've had say things like 'not suited to our current list'. My favourite rejection (or maybe least favourite as it seemed so personal) was, 'We can only take those manuscripts we instantly fall in love with, and with yours, we regret to say this wasn't the case.' Boo hoo hoo! Anyway, they're worthy of a linguistic investigation, I reckon.

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  17. I second Sarah Callejo, I think that for age 11 you were already well ahead of the curve.
    At that age I was just learning how to use a knife properly. ; j

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  18. Ah, Fran, that sounds like a horrible rejection letter! Hope you bounced back from it and showed them they were wrong! Good Luck

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  19. Thanks, guys! Rejection is hard no matter the age or the subject - even if it is a one-armed diver who gets cancer and dies. :)

    I got over it pretty fast, though, despite the inability to drink at that age.

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  20. Heh. Some day I'm going to create this art installation consisting of all my rejection letters pasted up as a montage. I'll probably wait until I'm dead rich and famous, though, 'cos otherwise it would be a bit sad ...

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  21. Rejections, I've had a few
    And sadly not too few to mention
    I did what I had to do
    And saw it through, without exemption
    I planned each careful book
    Another step along the highway
    But you see, the trouble was -
    I did it my way!

    Apologies for singing in your comments box, I hope I haven't made everyone else run away screaming. I love your extracts, I threw away all my angsty adolescent writing and sometimes wish I hadn't. And well done for sticking with the writing for so long.

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  22. I admire your creativity and how you had the courage to submit your writing! I would have feared rejection too much to even try.

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  23. So far as rejection letters go (and I'm getting my share) the one from Tyndale was kind, very kind. I find tequila shots work faster then wine. At the rate of rejections I'm getting though, I might become alcoholic!

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  24. Glad you can laugh about it now! I bet the young Ms. Moore would despise you for doing so, though...

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  25. I'm so glad to see that years later it's paid off and you are now happily being published in both worlds of writing!

    This is super special and I'm glad you kept it and shared it with us!!

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  26. Awwwwww!!! :-)

    You had the courage, the self-belief and the guts to do this so YAY for you!!!

    And look at you now, all grown up and published. It really was meant to be!

    :-)

    Now for another bottle of el vino...

    Take care
    x

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  27. You definitely have a good outlook on it.

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress

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  28. OMG. I mean I hear you about rejection, it is a bit like a badge of honor, but what I think is WAY more important in this post is that you were submitting novels at age 11! I mean how freaking awesome is that?

    VERY awesome.

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  29. Very cute and very courageous of you. I'm not sure how I would have taken that at that age. Good for you even though it got rejected.

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  30. wow--thx for sharing! ;--) One glass of wine coming right up!

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  31. Funny how we come to realize later that not all rejections are equal. That's pretty amazing that you actually got a letter addressed to you. My first rejection had a handwritten note on my returned query letter from the agent herself. A very encouraging note which I didn't realize until much later was a positive thing. And rare.

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  32. Oh rejection letters via mail...how I loathe thee...

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  33. That is so cute. Well, you have something I lack - courage. I have to muster up all my courage just to let an agent or a publisher into my writing world but I'm glad you started young. Perhaps if I did, I wouldn't dread it so much now.

    Oh, and about the gunfire in the morning sentence on my blog, I don't live in a terrible neighbourhood, however, down the hill from where I live, I sometimes hear gunfire (the canyon where I live echos) and of course it starts at night when it's dark.

    CD

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  34. Oh man, that's awesome. Definitely made me laugh. I love that they responded at all!

    Thanks for sharing!

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  35. hi! And thanks for finding me, another Canadian writer. lol

    Cute post, and amazing thing for an 11 year old to do!!!!
    :)

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  36. LOL, its funny how things turn out and you can look back on them later. I enjoy my rejection letters, it be nice to see them differ a bit though...hmmm maybe that will be my new quest- to find the "different" rejection letter lol

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  37. What a great story! Love that they responded to you - so kind. And I'm so glad you kept that letter!

    I love Gordon Korman's stuff - I'm sure he's inspired a lot of your authors :)

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  38. That is AWESOME! There must be something about being a young writer and having morbid ideas--I know I had plenty. Murder, death, kill all around, you know?

    That publishing house was really something--and you were right about them being nicer, huh?

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  39. awe, that is SO cute! I wrote my first when I was thirteen or so. It was complete at around 60 pages too! It was basically a fan fiction piece because L.J. Smith's 'secret circle' left me wanting more. So I wrote my own 'girl arrives into town and discovers she's a witch story'. Like THAT hasn't been overdone enough.

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  40. Wow! Quite an accomplishment to get an actual response.

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  41. Talli, this is so cute! It may be a morbid tale, but the title is great! I love that you kept the old rejection. That was really sweet of them to respond to a young girl.

    Now I want to go re-read the stuff I wrote when I was a kid. It's a great ab workout because I laugh so much!

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  42. Oh, Talli--you are cuter than cute! I LOVE that you sent off a novel so young (had the chutzpah to find the publisher and everything!). Do you remember if your cover letter gave an indication of your age? I just think that is precious.

    *ruffles Talli's hair*

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  43. How lovely that you actually submitted your first story and they replied, eventually! I cringe when I think of my first sci-fi novel, started around fifteen years ago. Those were the days. . .

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  44. Umm ... I think I drank all your wine. Sigh. I need more stamps.

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  45. Yay--I can blog hop again! I've missed it so much, and it's posts like this that are why!

    Rejection is a part of writing, and it's so nice to see other writers surviving them. Makes me feel like I can too!

    (An aside: your story concept had me cracking up. I'm thinking that rejection might be one that deserved a rejection) :)

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  46. Thanks everyone! I'm not sure I can take any credit for courage, though - I never even thought about it! I just put it out there. And I think by the time I got the rejection I'd moved on to something else...

    Shannon - I know! I think you're right!

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  47. What a fabulous story! So wonderful you sent it out. I was too afraid to send out any of my stuff at that age. Thanks for sharing. Cheers~

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  48. That's amazing they responded. Most today don't respond even with a SASE.

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  49. I read this early in the morning and forgot to leave a comment. But I'm glad I came back, because your little snippet is so cute, I just love it. I love that they had to amputate her arm! Such dramatic procedures for that poor girl. Surely they could have called in a specialist? Haha.

    And how great is that letter from the publisher? That's really priceless, Talli. Thank you so much for showing this to us!

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  50. That is brilliant, to have the need to write at 11 - I was to busy playing with my ponies on the farm!

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  51. awwwww this is adorable! im so happy you didn't give up :D

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  52. That's quite an achievement writing a book at 11! You killed off two characters? My daughter is always doing that. Either the kid is an orphan or someone dies later in the story. She digs the drama of death, I guess.

    Anyhoo, thanks for sharing!

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  53. OMGosh, you've been writing forever. You're way ahead of me. And Talli, I can't believe I wasn't following you. I know I've visited you before. Ugg. I've just remedied that, following from network blogs.

    Great post!!

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  54. Geez, that was more morbid than what I write! :O

    Christian publishers must be nicer... if only...

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  55. Talli,
    I'm so impressed w/ your natural ability at such a young age. To mail off a manuscript of 60 pages is quite a feat to someone who is still in school. Thank you so much for sharing this -- I think it'll inspire other writers. :)

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  56. I think it takes courage to send out your work, because every writer knows there's always the risk of rejection. I've never met a writer who never got rejected, and I think that that's the one thing writers have in common.

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  57. is it wrong that I can't wait for my first rejection letter? I mean, I really can't wait!! It means I'm halfway there. :)

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  58. My best R was from my first R editor. He led me to RWA--he was kind for sure. I have since lost that letter, but when I am published I will refer to him in my acknowledgments....

    R's are good. They mean you're trying to get out there and get published.

    That's what I call my R file... my "trying to get published" file.

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  59. Very cool that they replied. It's funny how much you've learned when you look back, isn't it. STill rejection is never easy.

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  60. I adore the brio of youth! It is so good - why can't we bottle it?
    I got a rejection letter about twelve years ago for a series of poems. It said 'sorry'. I ran around for ages saying it in different tones of voice. I liked it.

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  61. What an adorable tale! & got to love rejection... and at least they were "nicer" like you thought & responded to it! lol

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  62. That was very nice of them to reply. This blog post made me laugh. A great theme for a post and one which many of us could use for a post of our own.

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  63. Have you heard about this singer/composer Tori Amos? I'm sure you have...Anyway, before finally breaking through she had to go through seven and a half years of rejection letters. Seven and a half YEARS. And she's, like, really brilliant. So I suppose that's impressive - that she didn't break down.

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  64. Ah bless them, that's really a rather nice rejection.

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  65. Eleven!
    Easy to see why you are so good now, you got off to an early start.
    Great post Talli! Thanks for sharing this...

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Coffee and wine for all!