Like all authors seeking validation by gaining acceptance to an exclusive publishing house, I submitted “Unlikely Venture” in hopes of scoring a lucrative contract and promises of making the bestseller lists. Â Fortunately, like a Band-Aid being yanked from a wound, two out of the three I submitted to rejected it right away, for a variety of reasons that were kind of evasive and basically not very constructive. Â Part of this was my error, as I submitted to the wrong imprints with the publishers. Â Oh well. Â That’s when my Type A alter ago stepped in and convinced me to self-publish.
Courtesy of writersontheend.com
But what about the third publisher?
Well, the third one was a little behind the 8-ball. The editors requested the first three chapters after FINALLY approving my query. That was a couple of months ago, when I was on the path toward self-publishng. Â I sent them anyway…couldn’t hurt, right?
Fast forward to this morning. Â I scrolled through my emails to find a reply from the publisher. Here’s what I read:
Kristen,
Thanks for letting us take a look. Unfortunately, we have to pass. There’s something in the tone of the heroine that’s just a little to gritty for our contemporary line. We do wish you the best in placing this work.
Gritty?  According to Dictionary.com, “gritty” means “resolute and courageous; plucky.”
Hell, that kind of rejection is AWESOME! Â I hate pathetic, damsel in distress heroines. Â If that’s the kind of girl they want, yeah they’d be barking up the wrong tree with Jessica Latham. Â It wasn’t meant to be.
But shame on me for not doing the correct research. Â You see, I was embarking on a new business venture, seeking an investor without knowing if our end goals were in sync. Â I assumed an established publisher would be able to reach my target demographic, just because they have deeper pockets and a larger distribution network. Â But that’s not necessarily the case. Â We don’t share the same vision and strategy. Â They are looking for something I don’t offer. Â Their response is very clear on that fact. Â And the submission turned out to be a wasted effort on my part. Â We wouldn’t be compatible business partners because we aren’t aligned in our objectives.
Lesson learned…resources alone do not guarantee an effective business relationship and researching potential business partners will ensure your product or idea gets a fair shot at evaluation.
And as for me, I continue along my path…as a sole proprietor. =)
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