Good novel rejection

[Winin]

So, back in June I pitched my fantasy/mystery novel to a senior editor at Tor at a conference. She asked me to send the whole thing (which is rare). I just got a rejection letter from her, but it was an encouraging one. It said:

There is some good stuff here, but unfortunately, I will have to pass at this time.

From my understanding of things, that means she thinks my writing is good, but that she can't make the business case to buy it. Since it is pretty non-traditional, I kinda expected that to be the problem. But, the writing is good, so I just need to find the right publisher or agent who falls in love with it/wants to take a risk on a new sub-genre. And, I have a few leads on just those sorts of people.

I'd be much more disappointed if she and a couple of agents hadn't specifically said they liked something about my writing.

So, wish me luck. I'm going to go on a blitz and send out lots of queries.

And FYI my writing website is: toddcedwards.com

[Zeli]

Woot! Winin, you take rejections better than anyone I've ever heard of! It's great that you can take things constructively and find the good in it and get encouragement to take it further. That's what you gotta have in that biz... or so I hear. I'm not the biz.

[Winin]

Well, it sounds like 90% of the time, people get form letter rejections so the rule of thumb is that any personal comment is really good.

[Aberrant]

Well that's cool and a bummer at the same time. ;D

[Wrasse]

Winin,

Not sure if you have considered this (probably have) but a friend of mine (http://www.andarim.com/) wrote a book and had it published here:

www.lulu.com/

Just an idea...then we can all get a copy of your book and give you some support there.

Here is Mike's book: www.lulu.com/feyderin

Good luck!

[Winin]

I've thought about that, Wrasse. I'm going the regular route first, then try the smaller publishers that are more willing to take a risk on a non-standard book, then I'll go the free podcast and Ebook with lulu printed copy to back them up. That route means doing _all_ the marketing yourself and never getting into the bookstores, so it is tough. It could work though, especially if I can get the book to become a hit with the online gaming crowd. We are good at viral marketing.

How is lulu working out for your friend? Why did he choose that route? The description of his book looked interesting. Does he have any excepts out there?

[Wrasse]

Mal will have to answer that one...I haven't talked to Mike in a while but I think it's going fairly well.

As for excerpts...not sure either...Mal, where are you??!?

[Aberrant]

As for excerpts...not sure either...Mal, where are you??!?

Ya, and what do you think of the Wii!?!?!?!

I need some friend codes to add so my Mii's can go off and par-tay.

[Malsirian]

How is lulu working out for your friend? Why did he choose that route? The description of his book looked interesting. Does he have any excepts out there?

From what I understand, Lulu is working out great for him. His is the number one seller on the site in the epic fantasy category. The quality of the printing and binding of the book is excellent, the best way I can think to describe it is that it looks like a regular book you would pick up at the bookstore.

Additionally, self publishing has actually helped create interest in the book from traditional publishers. Based on how well his book sold on Lulu and at a couple local stores in Canada, I think the traditional publisher is more confident about taking a chance on a new author. Should be some news on that very soon.

Unfortunately, as far as I know there aren't any excerpts available on the web.

Btw, book two should be out by the end of the year.

Ya, and what do you think of the Wii!?!?!?!

I need some friend codes to add so my Mii's can go off and par-tay.

The Wii is GREAT! Athene and I are not disappointed IN ANY way. I picked it up last Saturday at midnight, got home set everything up and we played until 4am, slept a bit got up an played all day Sunday and every evening since.

I think the biggest surprise is Wii Sports, that game is a blast, we bowled all night last night. Of course, it is a little frustrating that Athene kicks my ass at every sport.... I'll beat her eventually dammit!

Rayman is hilarious - the mini games are a blast! We have also had a great time with Trauma Center, really like it a lot. Surprisingly, the two games we've spent the least amount of time with is Zelda and Excite Truck - Zelda is terrific, (and we played most of the day Sunday) but we've both been kinda tired this week and needed the energy of the faster paced games to keep us awake. =) Saturday and Sunday will be Zelda days for sure! Wrasse and Talia are coming down tomorrow so hopefully we can spend some time Excite Truck racing - the tracks I've played are really fun and the control rocks. Actually, I'm very impressed with the controllers. All the games control flawlessly. Very intuitive and natural. It makes you wonder how we've gone this long without em.

I would love for our Mii's to be able to visit but we'll have to grab a wireless router first.... Maybe we can find a deal on Black Friday. Yeah right, like I'm goin anywhere near a store on Friday.

[Winin]

Congrats to your friend on his success! I've been looking at Lulu for a while now and wondered if it traditional publishers would see it as a liability. They aren't known for being fast to embrace new paradigms.

re Wii, I want one. Not sure what store is best to stake out. We have Best Buy and CompUSA in town, but only BB has a parking lot. CompUSA means public transport and walking a half mile. Not a bad thing, except when busy and they probably won't have what you want. And they never answer the phone.