Pursuing Traditional Publication: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Albert Einstein (allegedly)

Welcome to The Crow’s Nest, a monthly newsletter documenting one cheeky debut author’s traditional publishing journey.

Now, there are certain things in life I choose not to know; who’s in my husband’s DM’s; what my body weight is; and the number of literary rejections I’ve received over the years.

I’ve never kept track of my rejections. It’s something I don’t feel I need to know, much like how much I weigh. After all, it’s only going to make me feel bad. I file these things under none of my business, much like the contents of my husband’s phone. And as far as I’m concerned, the purpose of literary rejections is to eliminate agents who aren’t able to best represent the writer, and that’s a good thing.

Now here’s the truth: I could’ve sent the first draft of my manuscript to 700 different agents and publishers, and no one would’ve said yes, no matter the extent of my commitment to the task, or unyielding belief in myself, or my ability to manifest wants. No incantation chanted under a full moon, with a couple of crystals dangling between my tits while I feverously circle a firepit, would have achieved the desired result.

Writing well and getting published took a long time.

The pages of BLOODBIRD have been reshaped and reimagined into several different iterations over the course of at least a decade. I was stuck with one chapter for a stupendously long time before I knew what the story wanted to be (as discussed in my previous post, at some point during the process your story will start writing itself – and you should let it!). This novel has carried several different titles over the years. If you’re interested to know what those were, let me know in the comments.

In 2015 I made a human, and the manuscript was shelved while I focused on new motherhood. Submissions were sent out intermittently over the years that followed. I rewrote it from scratch three times. I changed narration from first to third person. Right now, I have several chapters saved somewhere on a USB stick written in the present tense. The final draft was completed in 2022.

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Rejections

For shits, giggles, and a peek behind the submissions veil, here are some responses I’ve received from literary agents, mostly abroad. Names of agents, agencies and previous book titles, have been redacted. Automated responses are the norm and often as far as it goes. I’ve not included those here.

Hi Erica/Dear Author/No Greeting,

Thank you for sending this material, but it isn't suitable for us. We are sorry to disappoint, and wish you luck with your future writing.

Thank you for your query! I so appreciate the opportunity to review your work, but I’m afraid that it’s just not the best fit for my list at this time. Don’t be discouraged, though. Publishing is a marathon, not a sprint, and you just need one person to catch that shared vision. Best of luck to you!

Thank you for thinking of me with your project. The concept sounds intriguing, but I'm afraid it feels outside my wheelhouse, and so, I would not be the best agent for the work. I do appreciate you thinking of me with this project and I wish you every success. 

Thank you for sending me your query. Unfortunately, this particular work is just not right for me. I wish you the best in your literary endeavors. 

We're sorry, but your project is not a fit for our agency at this time, so we will have to pass. Thank you for considering us and best of luck with your future queries. 

Thank you for giving the XXX Agency a chance to consider XXX. Unfortunately, this is not right for us. We are replying as soon as possible to give you the best chance of finding the right agent. We specialise in commercial fiction and non-fiction tailor made for the mass market and therefore we have to be confident of substantial sales quantities before taking on a new project. We receive over 600 manuscripts a week and can only take on a handful of new writers every year. The result is that we have to be incredibly selective, so please do not be too disheartened. Another agent may well feel differently. We wish you the very best of luck. 

Thank you for your email and material but I'm afraid we're going to pass. We wish you the best of luck for the future. 

Thanks so much for your query. While I was intrigued by the premise, I didn't quite connect with the voice. This is totally subjective, of course, and I hope you find your right agent match soon. 

Thank you for your query. Unfortunately, this is not quite the right fit for me. 

Thank you so much for sending us BLOODBIRD and apologies for the delay in getting back to you. We've now had a chance to look at your work, and though XXX was very impressed by your writing she absolutely has to love a new project before taking it on and unfortunately didn't feel quite strongly enough in this case. However, she's keen to let you know that this is one of the stronger submissions she's received recently and so wishes you the very best in finding the perfect home for your work. This is not for me, but thank you for the look. 

Thank you for thinking of the XXX agency. Unfortunately due to the pressures on our existing client list we are not currently taking on new clients, and so must politely decline your invitation to read. However, we're thrilled to hear of your work and encourage you to continue honing your craft. Wishing you all the very best for your writing.

And so it goes.

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A Timeline

[2012] After hearing Lana del Rey’s Born To Die for the first time, I was reminded of a past breakup, one which involved denial, delayed trauma, and the struggle with both physical and mental afflictions. I wrote the first chapter in one night.

[2015] The title BLOODBIRD came to me in a voila! moment, the winner out of four.

[2022] I made a website and completed the final draft.

[2024] 24/7 – Submitted a query to Mirari Press (the excitement of an SA publisher dedicated to speculative fiction made me giddy with joy). 28/7 – Received a confirmation of receipt.

[2025] 27/1 – Mirari Press requested the full MS. I went into a flat spin for two weeks straight speed-reading the thing, fixing errors, and adding a whole new opening paragraph to the first chapter (after having just finished reading Fay Weldon’s Why Will No-One Publish My Novel?). 21/2 – Received a notification that BB is under consideration, effectively shoving me into my nail-biting era. 28/3 – Received an acquisition proposal. 1/4 – Received the publishing contract and spent the next day reading Step 13: Understand How Publishing Contracts Works in Basil Van Rooyen’s Get Your Book Published in 30 (relatively) Easy Steps. 2/4 – Contract signed by the author. 3/4 – Contract signed by the publisher. 4/4 – Author onboarding. 17/4 – Official book deal announcement on socials and on the Mirari Press website.

28/5 – Editor and author introduction.

TBC

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What’s next?

In my next post I’ll be doing a deep dive into influences. We’re talking all the things – books (fiction, non-fiction, and poetry), music, movies, and, of course, magic.

Bye for now.