You’re a talented writer, but
we’ve done stories like these before.
Your story doesn’t quite fit our
line.
Jamaica is a hard sell.
All of the above are responses
I received to various queries I sent out when I was first seeking publication.
Of course, there were other queries that got no response, and then there were
the letters sent to agents.
However, it was the hard sell comment from a relatively well-known publisher that made me sit up and pay attention.
However, it was the hard sell comment from a relatively well-known publisher that made me sit up and pay attention.
In my arrogance, I figured that
Jamaica was an easy sell based on the
fact that so many people seem to see the island as exotic. I figured that I
needed to go back to the drawing board, if this publisher was correct, and find
another way around the mountain.
I did a search of black
publishers because maybe they’d have a better understanding of the experience
of people of the same colour. The only barrier would be the cultural
differences of people living on an island in the Caribbean Sea.
In the back of my mind was also
the thought that Jamaicans travel so far and wide that many people would have
come in contact with a Jamaican at some time or another.
I did my search and came up
with a publisher I thought I’d work well with. They seemed to like the premise
of the story I sent and asked for the entire manuscript. I heard nothing for
maybe six months and decided to send a follow-up email. I was offered a
contract for Contraband and submitted a second book (Dissolution), which also
accepted for publication.
And as if to prove that Jamaica
wasn’t such a hard sell, another publisher offered me a contract on another
book (Hardware). It’s interesting to note that the owner of that house is a Caucasian
female who accepted the book on its own merit—cultural differences and all—for
which I’m grateful.
I know there are many other
writers who have gotten hundreds of rejections
in comparison to the few I’ve received, but my lessons learned include believing
in my writing and listening to the opinion of experienced writers, solid
critique partners and readers.
I remember how discouraged I felt
when I realized that no matter how well written a book, it won’t find a publisher
unless they think they can do well with it in the market place. That said, self-publishing has opened the door
to many writers who have great stories but can’t find a publisher. I have taken
that route as well because of the control it gives me over my own work, but the
best part is that I’ve seen way more on the Amazon checks than I’ve received in
royalty payments to date.
My best advice to writers?
Learn the craft. Never give up. Never give in. Your day will come. Just write.
The above reflection was my entry for the Overcoming Adversity Bloghop. The aim of the blogfest is to write fact, fiction or poetry around the theme of overcoming adversity. The hop is hosted by Nick Wilford at Scattergun Scribblings.
Blogfest Update.- I’ve shifted my blogfest for Retribution down to February 14. The theme is Love...The Second Time Around.
- Write a fact or fiction piece of up to 500 words.
- We’ll vote on our favourite entries and the best fact/fiction will earn a $10.00 Amazon Gift Card. The linky list is here.
- Hope you'll participate and try your hand at writing a little romance!!!
