It’s Querying season again, the season when agents open up to submissions and thousands of hopeful authors and writers inundate inboxes in hopes that their manuscript will be selected as one of the few gems that the agent will fall in love with, champion, promote, and make famous.

This is also, inevitably, the same season where most of that multitude is going to receive something dreaded….

Let’s face it, most of us will not receive the golden ticket of acceptance, most of us will instead face rejection, either in the form of an all-purpose form letter, or a nice custom message, or no message at all, leaving us wondering if they ever received our manuscript in the first place.

“NOOOOOOOOOOooooo!” You scream, until your lungs ache, your eyes burn, and you are consumed by the strongest of desires to burn your manuscript and give up on a literary career forever.

Sadly, this is the reality. I’m certain we’ve all heard of someone who started a band, has played in bars, pubs, various social events, practices in their garage and has made sacrifices their whole lives, but never broke out into a luxurious album deal…

Music and writing share a lot in common.

There are so many of us who are looking for representation, and getting an agent requires not just skill, but also relies on the work being in a style that the agent likes, being something that they’re willing to devote their lives to, and, let’s face it, a ^#%#%! ton of luck.

Most of us are not just going to face rejection, MOST of us are never going to land an agent, it’s just statistically impossible.

BUT, DO NOT PANIC, Do not Despair, do not torch your manuscript, pack your belonging, and flee into the wilderness…

Because an agent is not the only way to get published.

It took me a long time to get there, lots of sleepless nights, lots of agony, and yeah, I’m not famous, but I am have multiple stories out there, ranging in size from flash fiction, all the way up to an entire trilogy.

And I had to learn most of this the hard way.

My Sorry Story:

I wrote my first full MS (Manuscript) when I was 18. I’d already been writing for a few years to impress my girlfriend-at-the-time, and it would be a few more years before the love of the written word would outlast the relationship.

By the time I was 22, I’d written 7 full length manuscripts, and I sucked up the energy and courage to submit to agencies, publishing houses, and independent presses. I didn’t care who I signed with, I just wanted to be published.

With 7 full manuscripts being sent out, I was certain I could make a name for myself, right?

Well…

I didn’t sign a single contract until 12 years after I started.

It was only then, after hundreds of rejections, lots of rewriting, learning the craft, a few attempts at short stories, lots of screaming into pillows, AND ACCEPTING THAT I AND MY WORKS WEREN’T PERFECT, that I tentatively signed with a small indie house, and that was only with the condition that I would work with their in-house editor to clean up my disastrous writing style.

I agreed, and working with the editor proved to be a real eye-opener. I had lots to learn.

I can touch on that another time, but my writing was, and still is, RAW and imperfect, and is one of the reasons why I am not confident enough to self publish.

However, I am published now, and find it a lot easier to get works published because I have changed and evolved both as a person and an author.

WHAT can YOU do?

Getting published isn’t always about landing a big deal with a dream agent. Getting published is about finding a place for your work to shine with. Some, and I stress, SOME agents will read the bio part of a submission, in hopes of seeing that the writer whose piece they are reviewing is famous or established enough already, or has won accolades for their works in the past.

PROMOTE:

So, something you can do is, promote yourself to get noticed.

For most of us, myself included, this is the suckiest part, promoting.

But, you have a persona to maintain, and an audience that may want to read a book from an author or writer who shares their views and promotes safety for their readers.

Get on social media, share your views, BLOG, build a website, post updates of your wips and projects, and you may, MAY, find that others join you, uplift you, and sometimes, guide you to places to sign.

WRITE small, dream BIG

Not everyone can land a full manuscript, and not everyone’s manuscripts are right or perfect, or whatever excuse they want to make.

Sometimes, we have to learn to walk before we can run.

This is where flash-fiction and short story writing is really helpful. I personally LOVE writing short stories and novellas and novelettes because they help ME to improve. For some of us, shorts are the gateway into the big things.

Publish for free

Let’s say you write a short story, post it to a reading site, and… you get horrible reviews, what does that mean?

Well, you may have pissed someone off, or become targeted by trolls, or maybe your writing needs some improvement. THIS can be a real eye-opener.

Publish to an Anthology

There are also ANTHOLOGIES you can write for. Like mixtapes in the music industry, these let readers enjoy a selection of stories in one theme, and maybe, just maybe, they will find an author whom they fall in love with.

But, that’s not the only point of an anthology. Anthologies are generally created by smaller houses, and smaller houses are often more willing to work with an aspiring writer and help them edit their work. Sure, big houses and big names also publish anthologies, but they can be harder to get into.

So, you write a small story, it gets accepted, what does that mean for you? It means that your work is now going to be reviewed by the in-house editor, and they are going to show you the flaws you need to polish to turn your story into a work-of-art. This is a chance to learn from someone (hopefully) experienced, and a chance to be peer reviewed.

It will also be something you can put in your bio the next time you write a query, and it will show to whomever you are writing to, that you are now published.

It’s also a great way to build relationships with a house, and editor, and those in the anthology itself. That alone, can lead to many wonderful opportunities.

ACCEPT that YOU aren’t perfect.

Maybe, you’re not as perfect a writer as you think you are, or maybe your manuscript might not work for the masses.

It might be time to look for BETA readers and Critique Partners who you can trust to give you HONEST advice and feedback.

I cannot stress THIS enough. I WAS NOT A GOOD WRITER when I was 18, and I’m still FAR from perfect although my ego let me think that I was.

Oh yeah, my ego got in my way. I selected beta readers who praised me, and sent my manuscripts to friends who were afraid to be honest with me about HOW bad my writing was.

It wasn’t until my wife, the most honest person I know, tore the first chapter of my first full MS a new one, that I swallowed my pride, researched, rewrote, until it made sense to her.

That edit from her, was the introductory chapter that landed me my first signature.

Shoot for the stars, but land on the moon.

So, you’ve submitted and queries and wept and etc. etc. WITH THE BIG FISH.

Well, maybe it’s time to look for a less grandiose home than one of the big houses. There are lots of smaller presses out there, and they are more willing to take chances with works than those big name brands.

As always, there is some Caveat Emptor when signing with a smaller press. Most are great, some, not so much. Do your research, ask around, contact the house if they let you, and establish if that house will work for you.

You might sign with them in the end, and don’t think that by signing small you gave up the chance to be part of the big leagues, because there are success stories where small presses get little names big attention.

Take matters into your own Hands

Confession: I DO NOT HAVE THE COURAGE NOR DESIRE to self-publish, but some people do. If you believe your work is ready, there are options out there to self-publish.

Good for you if you chose this route, but I cannot stress this enough, GET EDITORS WHO ARE TRUSTED TO REVIEW YOUR WORK!

JUST keep Swimming

Okay, you may have a brilliant work, a fantastic plot, perfect prose, and still get shot down. It happens. As said, you have to find someone who has the time, energy, desire, and ability to showcase your work to others, and that in itself is a one-in-a-million shot.

Suck it up, and sub again, and again and again.

One day, you might just find someone to represent your work. Accept that today is not that day, smile, and move on.

After all, those who give up, will never succeed.

In Conclusion:

Just because you didn’t land your dream agent and a multi-billion dollar advance doesn’t mean it’s the end of your literary career. There are many avenues to get your work into the world.

You can do it. yes, it can be a struggle, but if I can do it, so can you.

I believe in you.

Keep going, you got this.