tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3007057266422253608.post2580812029034593343..comments2022-11-07T07:19:05.689-06:00Comments on Christine Benson: Well heck...Rejection...What was your first time like?Christine Bensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05673087957973598523noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3007057266422253608.post-17996280730749316792012-06-18T13:47:51.110-06:002012-06-18T13:47:51.110-06:00Thanks for sharing the experience, I honestly thin...Thanks for sharing the experience, I honestly think that they are a bit picky if you ask me, but they are the publisher so I guess they can be. At least they gave you feedback.<br /><br />I think it was really great that you kept writing! I hope you continue to do so! I hope to read some of your writing too. :)<br /><br />AndreaAndrea Teaganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02050710871603076745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3007057266422253608.post-71187381509179691452012-03-26T22:06:01.201-06:002012-03-26T22:06:01.201-06:00You're very much welcome. I'm definitely ...You're very much welcome. I'm definitely still looking. :-)Jeff Hargetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14198367021884647821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3007057266422253608.post-52591849442204666342012-03-26T21:56:59.154-06:002012-03-26T21:56:59.154-06:00Wow! Thank you so much. This was fun for me to d...Wow! Thank you so much. This was fun for me to do. At the time, I had no idea if it was the sort of thing people did. You know airing out your "dirty laundry" can be uncomfortable and deemed inappropriate. Then I decided, that I didn't care. This is my blog and, well, if it's not what people do, maybe they should. Why not put the ugly out there, examine it. Share our experiences with it. That is how we learn after all. Apparently I made the right choice. This has been, by far, my most popular post. And the feedback I have gotten has been so bonding and therapeutic. Everyone responding and sharing what they have experienced is what pushed me through; what allowed me to retain myself through this process we call writing (although I find it to be synonymous with life). So, I thank you for your kind words and your respect. I was moved by your feedback. And, I checked out your blog. Still looking for another person to share critiquing with? (I promise I am not always this comma happy, I'm tired.) Have a great evening!!Christine Bensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05673087957973598523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3007057266422253608.post-54052016258570437382012-03-26T21:30:22.022-06:002012-03-26T21:30:22.022-06:00Christine, let me say how much I admire you for wh...Christine, let me say how much I admire you for what you've done.<br /><br />1) You've taken disappointment and handled it like a pro. You allowed yourself to fully experience the emotions, but not wallow in them. To me, that's the mark of a mature individual.<br /><br />2) You set yourself to learning everything you could from the rejection and apply it to improving. To me, that's the mark of a wise individual.<br /><br />3) You shared the experience AND the particulars, laid it out there for the world to see. To me, that's the mark of an individual I can respect and admire.<br /><br />What you have done was brave, bold, and very classy.<br /><br />Kudos!Jeff Hargetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14198367021884647821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3007057266422253608.post-57298510820923273572012-03-26T13:15:07.984-06:002012-03-26T13:15:07.984-06:00I haven't got this far yet but it gives me som...I haven't got this far yet but it gives me some idea of what to expect. Great informative post, thanks Christine.<br /><br />By the way I nominated you for the Liebster award on my blog. <br /><br />Morgan xMorgan Princehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11929878897599036944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3007057266422253608.post-9515711468477240702012-03-07T22:40:09.242-06:002012-03-07T22:40:09.242-06:00Thanks, and I completely understand that feeling. ...Thanks, and I completely understand that feeling. I did have that feeling too. I mean, at least someone in the publishing world has looked at my writing and given me feedback. That's a lot closer to being published than I was a year ago when I hadn't considered myself a serious writer nor had I submitted anything for publication. Rome wasn't built in a day!Christine Bensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05673087957973598523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3007057266422253608.post-34147669342720656952012-03-07T22:37:31.025-06:002012-03-07T22:37:31.025-06:00Thanks for the advice and support. You are so rig...Thanks for the advice and support. You are so right, can't please them all. So what was it like, being published? Do you think you will prefer self-publishing over traditional? Why will you do some one way and some the other? I am curious about how one decides these things. I am writing my first novel and will finish by the end of June, so I am very interested in what other authors are doing.Christine Bensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05673087957973598523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3007057266422253608.post-10902779584937138732012-03-07T22:34:33.909-06:002012-03-07T22:34:33.909-06:00I believe it was. I read two actually. I read, N...I believe it was. I read two actually. I read, Never Eighteen, by new YA author, Megan Bostic. An amazing story about reconciliation and courage. I also read The Kite Runner--see my book review on this one. (posted today, 3/7/12) Both phenomenal reads!Christine Bensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05673087957973598523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3007057266422253608.post-35574763089525385832012-03-07T22:32:03.031-06:002012-03-07T22:32:03.031-06:00Thanks for the support Morgan. I think you are ri...Thanks for the support Morgan. I think you are right, a small part of us probably does hear that voice...no matter how we try to deny it. It just means you've worked hard and done your very very best! Keep writing and giving us something to reckon with girl.Christine Bensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05673087957973598523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3007057266422253608.post-1929884660494154172012-03-07T22:29:20.251-06:002012-03-07T22:29:20.251-06:00Ya know, I hope my rejections always hurt a little...Ya know, I hope my rejections always hurt a little. I am not sure that I ever want to feel so good and so arrogant that a rejection is insignificant. I think the rejections validate the acceptance and sweetens them a little bit. If everyone accepted everything I did as if it were gold, then I would wonder if they were being honest or even reading it. LOL! That...or I'm just a masochist. And I agree, reading for fun really is like studying. Plus, it is just simply fun!!Christine Bensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05673087957973598523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3007057266422253608.post-35772824376304656622012-03-07T22:25:34.776-06:002012-03-07T22:25:34.776-06:00Thank you for you amazing sharing! This is why I ...Thank you for you amazing sharing! This is why I love blogging! We can share our experiences and learn from one another. Keep writing! Good luck to you as well.Christine Bensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05673087957973598523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3007057266422253608.post-75006750889206826012012-03-05T21:51:42.306-06:002012-03-05T21:51:42.306-06:00I lost count of how many rejection letters I recei...I lost count of how many rejection letters I received. The first one I got was when I was about 16, and I remember being oddly happy about it. It was as if I'd finally been recognized as a writer - of course I would have loved to be accepted, but it was a good step in the right direction. Rejection is just normal for any and every writer.Summer Lanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09880474107683813163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3007057266422253608.post-10606020148858287402012-03-04T00:33:27.923-06:002012-03-04T00:33:27.923-06:00I've gotten 2, but was just happy that they re...I've gotten 2, but was just happy that they responded, because some of them will tell you, "If you don't hear from us, we just didn't like your work, blah, blah, blah. :-)Or basically, if it's not what we are looking for, we don't have time to send you a reply email.<br />I am still going to query my series, but I went ahead and self published a novella through createspace, because I wanted to see what it was like and to get my name out there. I have another novel that I am almost finished with, that I will self publish also.<br />Just keep working at it. Read a lot of help blogs and other's books and remember you can't please all the people all the time. Good luck and keep writing!khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02039448074178382326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3007057266422253608.post-2982481912212589822012-02-22T18:58:14.003-06:002012-02-22T18:58:14.003-06:00Wasn't Kathryn Stockett's The Help rejecte...Wasn't Kathryn Stockett's The Help rejected 60 times? What was the novel that you read for fun?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3007057266422253608.post-55548297954970699612012-02-22T11:55:43.243-06:002012-02-22T11:55:43.243-06:00Vivi,
Thanks for the perspective. You are so rig...Vivi,<br /><br />Thanks for the perspective. You are so right about the subjectivity. I just wish it was easier to know when and where to send which piece. But then, I guess things wouldn't be so much fun. Thanks for the support! Best of like to you!Christine Bensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05673087957973598523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3007057266422253608.post-61729682913425401302012-02-22T10:29:57.333-06:002012-02-22T10:29:57.333-06:00Oh rejection... I wonder if there's a small pa...Oh rejection... I wonder if there's a small part in all of us that thinks we'll be the exception. I know I thought that. Oh how wrong I was! Rejection has made me such a better person... once you can get over the initial hurt and learn to absorb it, it makes you a stronger writer, person, and force to be reckoned with. It took me awhile though. Such a great post ;)Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15747144518868320969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3007057266422253608.post-32060832426522204562012-02-22T10:05:24.618-06:002012-02-22T10:05:24.618-06:00Hmm, yeah, some of their comments were unnecessari...Hmm, yeah, some of their comments were unnecessarily mean. I think that may come from having to read through so many submissions, it must be hard to maintain a sensitivity to everyone's feelings all the time. And like they said, your submission wasn't what they were looking for, so that doesnt mean your story was 'bad' just wrongly placed. It's important to remember there's a difference.<br /><br />My first rejection came as quite a shock. I started writing Harry Potter fanfiction when I was 16, and I posted it all online, and overall it went down with readers extremely well. I then wrote my first original short story, submitted it to an online mag, and it was accepted! So 17 year old me was thinking 'Wow, this is easy! I must be a brilliant writer!' Then I submitted another story to a different place, thinking they'd surely love it, but actually no, they did not. I received feedback in a similar way as you did, and one editor tore my story apart. It was crushing. But then I did have a long way to fall. Teenage arrogance is rather mountainous.<br /><br />I've since had lots more rejections, some of them hurt more than others, but they all hurt at least a little. Even when I know that the criticism is valid and true. But I've had stories rejected by a few mags, and then had them accepted by someone else. So a lot of it is down to sending your work to the right places. <br /><br />I'm glad to hear you're still writing! :) That's the best way to get over rejections.<br /><br />Oh and by the way, reading novels 'for fun' is one of the best ways to improve your own writing anyway!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3007057266422253608.post-9214724424250630142012-02-22T01:13:50.944-06:002012-02-22T01:13:50.944-06:00I have to admit, I've only received a real rej...I have to admit, I've only received a real rejection letter once. The other times I've submitted my work for various reasons, I've been thoroughly ignored. The rejection letter I got was for a review submission, and in all actuality it was the nicest put-down I've ever had, lol. The lady informed me that my book was simply too long, and that the genre wasn't really her specialty. It would take her too much time to read it, and she simply couldn't do it. She did, however, offer to forward my information to other bloggers who specialized in my genre, and from that, I heard zilch.<br /><br />It taught me to target my requests a little better, and reach out to people who might be more receptive to the product I'm selling. A similar process to the editor's words you described above was the editing of my manuscript (which was 350k words long, and one of the most painful and tedious things I've ever had to go through lol) of The Sentient Fire, my first book. That was painful in ways that just sends imaginary nails into your heart, as the editor rips apart your prose and grammar, making you feel like a complete idiot.<br /><br />But, though I did grumble to myself about it, I went ahead and made the changes that my editor suggested. I realized that two heads are better than one, when it comes to writing anything - but especially a novel - and during the course of smiling to myself at my ingenious use of the English language and heart-pounding scenes I constructed, I did what anyone who was human would do.<br /><br />I made mistakes.<br /><br />I had that exact same rookie feeling you described with some of them, the editor's corrections glaring at me like tiny suns buried in the text. Others I disagreed with, but made the changes anyway. Editors are readers, just like all of us, and they have their own inner voices. The greatest strength of an author, in my opinion, is your ability to capture the "feel" of your inner voice in the text, so that it comes through to the reader exactly how you meant it to. That, as well, is one of the most elusive things to capture as a writer. In the end, though it hurt, it only made my book better. One of the best things about the editing process is that it gets your work in front of someone who isn't familiar with your inner voice. A good editor can really make a good book amazing, and it's a long process. <br /><br />In the end, it all makes you grow.<br /><br />And I've rambled on enough. Great blog, and good luck with your future submissions.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06135190161499516589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3007057266422253608.post-35920172205418709802012-02-21T22:09:41.517-06:002012-02-21T22:09:41.517-06:00Hey there! I certainly know how it goes -- I have ...Hey there! I certainly know how it goes -- I have gotten my fair share of rejection as well as agents wanting to see pages. In fact, i just blogged about rejection myself yesterday! Keep in mind that it's subjective (I received a rejection on query + 5 pages and a request for a partial off of a query + 10 pages within the span of one hour a couple weeks ago!); however, feedback is always a wonderful gift. It was nice that they gave you some good information. Keep going and NEVER give up! You will succeed!Vivi B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05054647527562570624noreply@blogger.com