A lot of wisdom here. There are so many factors at play when we consider what projects we will and won't take on---and they are a little bit different from agent to agent---but rejections don't always reflect a book's quality or market potential. Rejections more or less reflect our lack of vision for it (which, frankly, would not make us a good agent for the project) and lack of belief that we can sell it to a publisher. As an agent, I know that when an author gets a rejection from me, they still have so many great options for publishing available to them. I'm not a gatekeeper to publishing; I'm a wayfinder for one particular particular publishing pathway---and that happens to be the traditional pathway. But there are so many other pathways to publishing, and traditional publishing is not the only pathway that leads to profitable publishing. It's a shame to see a writer's ego (I'm a writer too, so I'm including myself when I say this) value a particular kind of publishing more than they value their own work. (Of note, a third of my current author list are previously self-published authors now pursuing traditional publishing. Just because you go a different route for one project doesn't mean you can't try again on the traditional path for another project.)
"We are all fighting to be heard, and it’s a noisy world out there, with new voices being added to the din daily...You’ve got to be willing to shake up the status quo if you want to cut through the clutter. You have to take a risk." So true, but also so hard. I sometimes feel my blog is like a particle of sand in a vast vast desert.
As usual Jeff thank for the honest coaching wrapped in a gift of reality drenched inspiration that you are providing to us on the Ghost. Thats why I am here. To connect and create meaning in a community where I can create a little ruckus and let my madness flow. I write for myself in the end. As a writer I enjoy weaving poetic expression into a tapestry of many themes that all connect in just "living into the questions". As soon as publishers see "poet", I seem to catch a look at their back side as they hurry away. In the end I just keep on creating and enjoy "Being" a writer. Self publishing has worked just fine for that purpose of setting my words free. How does poetry fit into this world. It doesn't seem well received as it means so many different things to all of us. Any misspelled words are in my fluent Canadian. Thanks Jeff!
Haha. Love this Jamie. And love poetry. I am a big fan of David Whyte and love how he’s set up a life for himself that revolves around the poetic imagination but still finds a way to make a living.
Sweet darkness! I’m also a big fan of David. He certainly found his way, introducing the resilience and magic of poetry to help soften a corporate world mindset in the 90s and has never looked back with his own beautiful wisdom on the wings of words. Everything is definitely waiting for us.
A lot of wisdom here. There are so many factors at play when we consider what projects we will and won't take on---and they are a little bit different from agent to agent---but rejections don't always reflect a book's quality or market potential. Rejections more or less reflect our lack of vision for it (which, frankly, would not make us a good agent for the project) and lack of belief that we can sell it to a publisher. As an agent, I know that when an author gets a rejection from me, they still have so many great options for publishing available to them. I'm not a gatekeeper to publishing; I'm a wayfinder for one particular particular publishing pathway---and that happens to be the traditional pathway. But there are so many other pathways to publishing, and traditional publishing is not the only pathway that leads to profitable publishing. It's a shame to see a writer's ego (I'm a writer too, so I'm including myself when I say this) value a particular kind of publishing more than they value their own work. (Of note, a third of my current author list are previously self-published authors now pursuing traditional publishing. Just because you go a different route for one project doesn't mean you can't try again on the traditional path for another project.)
Thanks for sharing, Morgan.
"We are all fighting to be heard, and it’s a noisy world out there, with new voices being added to the din daily...You’ve got to be willing to shake up the status quo if you want to cut through the clutter. You have to take a risk." So true, but also so hard. I sometimes feel my blog is like a particle of sand in a vast vast desert.
As usual Jeff thank for the honest coaching wrapped in a gift of reality drenched inspiration that you are providing to us on the Ghost. Thats why I am here. To connect and create meaning in a community where I can create a little ruckus and let my madness flow. I write for myself in the end. As a writer I enjoy weaving poetic expression into a tapestry of many themes that all connect in just "living into the questions". As soon as publishers see "poet", I seem to catch a look at their back side as they hurry away. In the end I just keep on creating and enjoy "Being" a writer. Self publishing has worked just fine for that purpose of setting my words free. How does poetry fit into this world. It doesn't seem well received as it means so many different things to all of us. Any misspelled words are in my fluent Canadian. Thanks Jeff!
Haha. Love this Jamie. And love poetry. I am a big fan of David Whyte and love how he’s set up a life for himself that revolves around the poetic imagination but still finds a way to make a living.
Sweet darkness! I’m also a big fan of David. He certainly found his way, introducing the resilience and magic of poetry to help soften a corporate world mindset in the 90s and has never looked back with his own beautiful wisdom on the wings of words. Everything is definitely waiting for us.
Yes!