What can you do if your manuscript keeps returning to your mailbox instead of the acceptance you've been anticipating? If your faith
remains unshakeable, you should promptly send it off to the next publisher on your list. But what if you have a sneaky suspicion that
something isn't quite right with your manuscript?
Perhaps a fresh perspective on your current rebound is the answer.
"Most authors are predominantly visual learners, who need to see, watch, read and view to learn," observes William Haggart, CEO of
Insights and Innovations.
This busy consultant on Learning Styles adds, "Nonetheless, honing a particular author's auditory skills, such as brainstorming
with peers plus shameless eavesdropping on random conversations, definitely enhances their chances of publication."
Applying Haggart's advice to my own work, I find that by taking another look at my latest reject, I can usually pinpoint the cause, and
with a judicious rewrite, gain a sale. In fact, through trial and error, I've discovered three effective ways to reevaluate a
rebounding piece: author reappraisal; editorial comment and peer consulting.
Author Appraisal
A favorite short story kept bouncing back until I reread it aloud and realized the beginning was too plodding. With a more
briskly-paced opening scene, “A Deathly Chill” sold.
Lesson learned: reread your rebounding manuscript with fresh eyes and fresh ears. Give it a try. Perhaps you'll find a strained
metaphor that needs to be axed or a bit of dialogue that doesn't ring true and needs to be rephrased.
Editorial Comment
Early in my writing career, I wrote an article on amblyopia. One editor penned a note: "Loved your style, but bought an article on s
ubject last week." Her note made me realize that the market brimmed with articles on amblyopia. A decade later, on a rare browse
through my files, I came across my article, which I then mailed out. Baby Talk snapped it up immediately.
When I wrote for the confession market, an editor once returned a story with the comment: "ending too flat, too unsatisfying."
Rereading it, I noted I'd written the entire story in scenes until the ending. Once I changed it from narrative summary to an action
scene, it sold.
Trust me. Paying close attention to those scrawled notes you receive—or, more rarely, a personal letter from the editor explaining why
your manuscript is being returned--can often cinch a future sale.
Consulting Peers
Any reasonably intelligent listener or reader can spot problem areas in any given work. But nine times out of ten, that very same
reader fails to suggest a viable alternative—yet writing peers can and very often do. Moreover, writing peers can help you (and I)
get the bugs out of a work before the submission phase.
Over the years, I've belonged to many writers’ groups. Once, after I'd read a nostalgic piece about a child's view of death, a fellow
writer praised my story. As I beamed with pleasure, she cautioned: "but you'll never sell it in today's market." As I slowly deflated,
she added: "not unless you add an envelope around it."
Spirited group discussion made me realize that most readers aren't interested in the past unless it can be made meaningful to the
present. In the rewrite, I began the story in the present with a scene using an elderly protagonist who had to deal with a child facing
death for the first time—just as she did in her own childhood, in the nostalgic middle—and concluded with a poignant scene in the
present; once again using my elderly protagonist and the child. This story has appeared in National Doll Word,
The Lookout,
Senior Life,
Tyro,
Short Stuff for GrownUps, and
Christian Courier.
In fashioning “Murder Is No Joke”, I attempted to combine a murder with light humor. My writing peers helped me sense which humorous
passages worked, and which either fell flat or didn't dovetail with the plot. After a rewrite, the story sold to a Sunday supplement.
The road to publication is often bumpy. Take a recent rejection. The fiction editor at The Northwoods Journal
recently commented: "If you could rewrite this story deleting or simplifying the purple passages, I will take another look at it. P.S.
This could be a coming of age story, but it reads more like Blanche waiting for the doctor from the funny farm."
True, the editor's assessment is a bit harsh. But after weighing his comments, I chose to accept the challenge. Three weeks later, I'd
managed to shave 400 words, leaving me with an allowance of 140 to alter the thrust to that of a "coming of age" story without
exceeding the maximum wordage permitted. A week after I mailed the revised version, the editor sent word…“Swan In Limbo” was slated
for inclusion in a future issue.
Clearly, the path to turning rejects into checks appears to be pinpointing flaws by employing author reappraisal, editorial comments
and consulting peers. So then, if interested in improving your own track record, why not give it a try?
About The Author:
Phylis Warady is a freelance writer based out of Grass Valley, California.
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