Just a short post today as I’ve been driving some 250 miles today. I suppose this one is just general writing related more so than being LGBT specific but it’s what’s on my mind after getting a rejection yesterday.

To me it was a good one as they told me what they liked and what they thought didn’t work. I find that very useful. I was surprised a few weeks back when I saw a FB post ranting about how that particular author hated that. Which, yes, that’s perfectly fine as we’re all different but I was curious how an author would come to that choice. I didn’t ask because I didn’t know this particular author well and I don’t like to start up stuff on someone else’s page.

Personally I think any and all input I get can be helpful. I would have liked to be able to make changes and resubmit this to that publishing house but they didn’t say that I could and I’m not published with them so I didn’t really ask (as I have other options). As it is, one of their weaknesses was something I had wondered about myself. So I should have listened to my gut.

I know some authors feel that once they submit something it’s ‘done’ and they’re not changing anything. And there is the point that you could send it to three different places and have them feel three different ways about that same piece so making suggested changes in a rejection might not help you. I often see this in my writers group. Two people love something and a third hates that exact same thing.

You just have to use your best judgment when you get these suggestions. Would making the changes turn your story into something other than what you wanted it to be? I’ve faced that too.

But for me, if I have to be rejected then I definitely want to know WHY. I want to know what didn’t work and what did. I appreciate that they took the time to tell me that rather than send me some form letter (god knows I got tons of those in the 90s back when I had to send postage so they could send me those form letters). I find them helpful.

Helpful but still painful. Ah well, such is a writer’s life.