Letter Opener
The rejection letters are now coming in weekly, it seems.
I've now queried 10 agents, and all of them are agents with great resumes in respected agencies. I posted the first rejection letter below. Since that one arrived in my mailbox, I've received two others along with one e-query rejection.
I open my mailbox and pull out the various forms of undesired credit card applications and menus for local pizza joints, to find a letter from one of the agents I sent my query letter to—sometimes having also sent parts of my book to. I walk upstairs, step into my apartment, and use my letter opener to get at the envelope's innards. For some reason, this always seems like I am gutting myself; I know what the contents of the letter say but I have to do it anyway.
The last two have been similar. Their underlying theme is best summed up by one of the agent's quotes:
"Unfortunately, there isn't anyone here that is looking for epic fantasy at this time."
Far be it for me to tell an agent or publisher their business. They reportedly have numbers and sales figures and all sorts of gadgets that help them discover what is selling now and what isn't. According to them, epic fantasy isn't selling.
And, they have a point. There have been a lot of failures in the last five years. But if one looks at those failures, it is easy to see why they did in fact fail. And it has nothing to do with epic fantasy not being viable anymore, but more to do with deux ex machina and poorly designed book covers—in effect, poor editing and poor marketing on the publisher's part.
It is really hard for me to sit here out in the book-buying world, having been a seven-year, veteran manager of an enormous bookstore, and see how sales are doing for epic fantasy. They are great, more than great. Terry Brooks hit and remained on the New York Times bestselling list at #5 for a few weeks and is still on the list after five weeks.
And here I am, Terry's webmaster, an integral part in many of those Brooks-buyers' lives. Name recognition goes a long way, and I have that with those fans.
But can an agent or publisher see that? Do they see the sales just sitting there waiting to be taken? They don't, sadly. And I don't know why.
If I thought there was a chance my book wasn't any good, I'd be of a different opinion. But I've let too many people—two of them published writers, mind you—read Song of the Fell Hammer and love it. The average score out of ten stars is better than an 8. I think I have a book worthy of being published and I have an audience already, waiting for it to buy and read it.
I sit here as one of the fantasy genre's beginning web developers shocked at the emails I get daily asking when my book is going to be published because they loved the first two excerpts I have posted. It's really hard knowing there are people out there actually yearning to read it, but they can't because of an industry-wide held belief that epic fantasy isn't selling.
Well, it might not be. Perhaps what I see is an aberration and I am wrong. But I see a book that will be purchased by thousands of Terry Brooks readers alone, and that immediately makes it a success for a first-time writer. Will I get my shot? I don't know...
... but I hope I get it.
I've now queried 10 agents, and all of them are agents with great resumes in respected agencies. I posted the first rejection letter below. Since that one arrived in my mailbox, I've received two others along with one e-query rejection.
I open my mailbox and pull out the various forms of undesired credit card applications and menus for local pizza joints, to find a letter from one of the agents I sent my query letter to—sometimes having also sent parts of my book to. I walk upstairs, step into my apartment, and use my letter opener to get at the envelope's innards. For some reason, this always seems like I am gutting myself; I know what the contents of the letter say but I have to do it anyway.
The last two have been similar. Their underlying theme is best summed up by one of the agent's quotes:
"Unfortunately, there isn't anyone here that is looking for epic fantasy at this time."
Far be it for me to tell an agent or publisher their business. They reportedly have numbers and sales figures and all sorts of gadgets that help them discover what is selling now and what isn't. According to them, epic fantasy isn't selling.
And, they have a point. There have been a lot of failures in the last five years. But if one looks at those failures, it is easy to see why they did in fact fail. And it has nothing to do with epic fantasy not being viable anymore, but more to do with deux ex machina and poorly designed book covers—in effect, poor editing and poor marketing on the publisher's part.
It is really hard for me to sit here out in the book-buying world, having been a seven-year, veteran manager of an enormous bookstore, and see how sales are doing for epic fantasy. They are great, more than great. Terry Brooks hit and remained on the New York Times bestselling list at #5 for a few weeks and is still on the list after five weeks.
And here I am, Terry's webmaster, an integral part in many of those Brooks-buyers' lives. Name recognition goes a long way, and I have that with those fans.
But can an agent or publisher see that? Do they see the sales just sitting there waiting to be taken? They don't, sadly. And I don't know why.
If I thought there was a chance my book wasn't any good, I'd be of a different opinion. But I've let too many people—two of them published writers, mind you—read Song of the Fell Hammer and love it. The average score out of ten stars is better than an 8. I think I have a book worthy of being published and I have an audience already, waiting for it to buy and read it.
I sit here as one of the fantasy genre's beginning web developers shocked at the emails I get daily asking when my book is going to be published because they loved the first two excerpts I have posted. It's really hard knowing there are people out there actually yearning to read it, but they can't because of an industry-wide held belief that epic fantasy isn't selling.
Well, it might not be. Perhaps what I see is an aberration and I am wrong. But I see a book that will be purchased by thousands of Terry Brooks readers alone, and that immediately makes it a success for a first-time writer. Will I get my shot? I don't know...
... but I hope I get it.
posted by Shawn C. Speakman | 5:39 PM
9 Comments:
I'm glad somebody said it!
Shawn, as a reader of your novel, I believe there's a big place for it in the industry. Hopefully some of these agencies/publishers will give your novel the time it deserves, read it and realize the things that you're doing that make the novel so much more than just-another-epic-fantasy.
Keep doing what you're doing, someone'll catch on soon enough.
~Aidan
A Dribble of Ink
Shawn,
Amen, brother!
You know how similar our situations are -- and the frustration is unbelievable. I also have gotten literally hundreds of comments from folks who have read the first few chapters of my novel and want it out there -- and yet the publishers are in a holding pattern.
We just need to keep believing that maybe they'll actually listen to the buying public. Either that, or start our own publishing house!
JScott
Thank you for the kind words, Aidan. Perhaps you can do a small write-up on your Blog about the book; maybe Graeme will do one as well if I send him the book. Publishers are more and more looking toward blogs like that to get the word out and maybe an editor would find him/herself thinking, "Hmm, I wonder if that Speakman book is any good?" Couldn't hurt, I guess...
And JScott, absolutely. I am starting to lean toward the latter idea, believe it or not... More on that in 2008 if no one picks my book up.
Weather you publish it yourself or you get a publishing house to pick it up I want to read it like I've told you before. I don't care if I have to pay extra for it b/c some moron decided that the genre isn't selling. I wonder how many REALLY GOOD books are out there in the fantasy genre that won't get published just because they are fantasy.
From a frustrated definite reader,
jkdr97
Man, you have me scared to death.
I have begun writing my first novel, well rather the outline for my novel.
I discovered that writing from the get go was going to land me in a heap of trouble in the end. But now it's almost complete.
But wow! Even when I'm done writing I have rejection letters to look forward too. That is if I even produce something worthy of a rejection letter.
Anyway I wish you great luck and I hope to see you on the shelves soon.
Thanks,
Josh
(aka Panik on TB forum)
PS. Did all the people go from the "Sometimes the Magic works" forum?
Hi Josh,
Thanks for stopping by!
Writing is definitely the easiest part of the process. At least it was for me, and many of my author friends have echoed the same sentiment.
When you finish the book, edit it until your fingertips are bleeding red ink, and revise it, then you get to look forward to hours of research, writing a query, editing a query even more than you did your book, and then putting it all in the mail. Sometimes you wait a few weeks; sometimes you wait a year.
The process is long and arduous, but it's also very rewarding. I've learned so much from it all, and I would now be the person I am now without it. I've met some really wonderful people who want to help more than anything -- friends, family, as well as people in New York City.
So it is all fine. Just be prepared to learn ultimate patience. These people work for a living, have more on their plate than you can fathom, and it takes them a while to get at new material.
Shawn
Shawn,
Halfway through the book. Pretty awesome so far. I can't wait for them to publish this so others may find out this work of art.
Pete
Hi there, Pete,
Glad you've enjoyed it thus far. I think the second half—and the following two books—are just one action-packed ride.
Then again, I'm biased.
I am looking forward to hear what you think of the rest of it. Be sure to write me when you finish! And, if you want, post your thoughts here somewhere.
Take it easy!
Shawn
Shawn, what's the deal with the Urban Fantasy you're thinking of writing? Such a bummer about the epic fantasy. I'm looking forward to seeing something from you.
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