I grew up in a churchgoing household, and often had to suffer through Sunday School and Vacation Bible School sessions that were more than a little dumbed down. And when we’d talk about praying to the Big G, our teachers would always tell us that He wouldn’t respond in words, but rather with one of three messages: “Yes,” “No” or “Wait.”

Personally, I never liked that aspect of religion — as far as I was concerned, if God gave me a mouth to speak and ears to hear, why couldn’t He just talk to me directly? It’s a mystery I still don’t have an answer to. But as it happens, “Yes,” “No” and “Wait” are the three types of answers you’ll hear any time you are asking another human being or organization for support of some kind,  especially when it comes to creative works. Sadly, while I’ve seen many articles that tell aspiring writers how to elicit a “yes,” I haven’t seen many talking about what it means to “wait” or receive the all-too-common “no.”

And while this article might not be too helpful to those seeking spiritual answers from the Big Guy in Charge, it should be quite helpful to those seeking practical knowledge about gaining traction in the world of publishing.

I have a lot of friends who are aspiring writers, and I’ve watched many of them devote an incredible number of hours into developing a manuscript that they intend to sell to a publisher one day. Often, they like to talk about the various “tricks” they’ve heard about for getting the attention of a publisher or a literary agent, as if all one really has to do is write a manuscript, manipulate things the right way, and get a story published. Anyone who’s been around the publishing scene knows better — the truth of the matter is that the publishing industry is fairly closed to those who don’t have an “in,” primarily because there is far more supply than there is demand. That’s one of the reasons some writers chase after agents — good literary agents can take a manuscript from an unconnected writer and get it on the desks of otherwise inaccessible editors with very little fuss.

I hate to be hard on the publishing industry, but hang around it long enough and you’ll realize that it’s a cesspool. The big trade publishers like to muscle out the indy companies by cozying up to retailers and buying up successful authors and lines. These same publishers overprint in such large numbers that they wind up destroying 25% or more of each print run just to keep their books from being devalued in the market. Agents often make promises they have no intention of keeping, and they’re well-known for stringing would-be authors along. The few published authors who achieve “bestseller” status tend to choke the market with their pulpy, bland writing, and a lot of really good writing goes unread as a result. And there are tons of “bottom-feeder” authors as well who are out there looking to grave-rob from deceased authors and copy ideas from up-and-coming writers.

In this industry, most would-be authors don’t ever actually finish their manuscripts. And even when they do, they send them off only to get that infamous rejection letter a few weeks later. More often than not, “no” is the only answer they receive, often with very little clarification. It’s an extremely discouraging time for a writer, and it’s caused quite a few writers out there to put down the pen and give up their dreams.

But what they don’t realize is that “No” can mean many things in the world of publishing, such as:

• I didn’t actually take the time to read your manuscript because I’m too busy.
• We don’t accept unsolicited manuscripts, so I didn’t read yours.
• I flipped through it, and it looked boring.
• The title doesn’t grab me.
• The story sounds dumb.
• I read the first few chapters and it didn’t grab me.
• This manuscript’s not right for our market.
• The story’s not genre-specific enough

And what they miss most often is the fact that at least “No” is an answer, even if it’s not the answer desired. But that’s far better than getting no answer at all!

Occasionally, a writer will receive specific feedback from an editor that touches on some of these points, but more often than not, the rejection letter dispatched is a simple form letter that offers very little explanation. And yet the writer is personally crushed. Feeling the sting or rejection, he or she falls into a dark mood, wondering what’s so terrible about the manuscript, and why editors constantly seem to be rejecting it.

But the truth is, no matter how bad a manuscript may be, the writer should never be daunted by a simple “no.” In fact, I advise writers who receive “no” answers to keep submitting, because being told “no” doesn’t mean the manuscript wasn’t good; it just means that particular editor didn’t want it.

Now, of course, there are “no” answers that are qualified with additional information. For example, a statement like, “We cannot publish your manuscript because it contains numerous plot holes, derivative characters, and a plot that a child of eleven would find unrealistic and bland,” offers a pretty good indicator that the manuscript might need some retooling… or outright torching. But it’s rare for a writer to receive such a critical response. Editors just don’t have that sort of time or interest, and it can leave them vulnerable to a lawsuit if they don’t choose their words with care.

More often than not, editors or agents who take an interest in a work will send a “wait” letter — something along the lines of, “this isn’t right for us at this time, but feel free to resubmit this work once you’ve made some revisions.” This letter indicates that they’re not willing to pick up a work, but that they are willing to consider it down the road.

Unfortunately, most writers I’ve known who have received this response take the wrong approach to it. They get giddy and start dreaming of success, acting as if in being told to “wait” they’ve been guaranteed a “yes.” Sadly, this is not how things tend to work out; the world of publishing is very volatile, and the potential an editor or agent might see in a work generally relates to the subject matter of a book, not the writing itself. For example, if an editor senses that Steampunk novels are on their way in, he or she might want to keep in touch with authors who are submitting those kinds of stories just in case the trend emerges. That doesn’t meant that the publisher intends to pick the book up; it just means that they want to keep that author from going elsewhere until the trend either materializes or fades away.

My suggestion to anyone who gets a “wait” letter is to weigh the situation carefully, and to suspend excitement (and bragging) until things work out. And as for that elusive “yes” letter, I’d warn writers to still be cautious about getting their hopes up when their work is picked up. I’ve had a good number of projects that I’ve gotten very excited about, only to have them fall through when it came time to sign the contracts. My wife had a similar experience earlier this year. Had we simply crossed our fingers and waited to get excited, neither of us would have had to deal with the disappointment of seeing the project canceled or assigned to someone else.

Getting a “yes” answer is a great thing for an author, but remember: even a “yes” can become a “no” until the contract is signed, and if the contract isn’t fair to the author, the book can still be dropped. Having an agent negotiate contracts is never a bad idea, but that agent has to be dedicated to the cause of seeing the manuscipt published. With that in mind, I’d like to comment on the different between being picked up by an agent, a vanity publisher, an independent publisher, a mid-range publisher, and a trade publisher.

Being picked up by a literary agent means very little. Some agents have a good reputation, but most acquire far more manuscripts that they can ever actually sell. Agents perform a function that’s not so different from a retail store — they stock themselves up with a variety of products knowing they won’t sell everything, but hoping they’ll sell enough to stay in business. I’ve talked to several writers who have signed with agents who have done nothing for them. That doesn’t mean that agents are bad; they’re quite useful for negotiating terms and contracts, and they often know what’s going on with other writers in the industry. But they are by no means a “sure thing.”

Running your book through a vanity publisher, “print-on-demand” publisher, or anything else of the sort is a shortcut that guarantees that your work won’t go far. Simply put, if your publisher demands money up front or insists that you have to sell a certain number of books for them to take a chance on you, they’re not really a publisher — they’re just providing “printing with added services.” If you have to take all the risk, you might as well get all of the rewards, too. It may be faster and easier to run your books through a vanity publisher than a traditional publisher, but don’t be fooled — your work will never be taken seriously by the publishing industry at large, particularly on the retail end.

Independent publishers are generally small companies that can only afford to sell niche titles. They don’t do a lot of fiction, and they don’t get a lot of exposure. Many, including my own company, don’t accept submissions. Those that do generally don’t pay advances, and your work may never make it beyond their niche audience.

Mid-range publishers are generally established publishers that focus on specific popular genres. They are often lumped in with independent publishers, but they’re really at the top of the category. These publishers generally have good relationships with distributors, wholesalers and retailers and know how to use these channels to sell lots of books. New writers are probably best off starting with these companies since they will be treated better and taken advantage of less… as a general rule, of course.

Trade publishers are the big, established companies that operate out of New York and London. They often have a variety of imprints specializing in genres, and they put out the majority of books that you’ll find in a retail store. These are the companies that pay big money for manuscripts, and these are the companies that tend to drive lesser-known writers crazy, because they stall on contracts, play games with publishing schedules, and cancel titles they’ve already picked up. They’ve very biased towards authors who can sell well or who have built-in marketing ability, and they tend to give little support to writers who can’t. Getting an answer of any sort from a trade publisher seems like a big deal, but remember - they deal in volume, not in quality, and they’re most concerned about what they think will sell.

Personally, I think there are better ways to publish your book than to submit your manuscript to every possible source; I’m a big fan of self-publishing myself, and while it wasn’t feasible even a decade ago, it’s more than possible now to publish your own work and distribute it via the internet directly to customers. It might lack the glitz and glamour of having a major publisher, but it’s a much better deal for the author… and a great way to bypass ever having to hear “yes,” “no” or “wait” from anyone.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS