Skip to main content

ISWG: A Case of The Hum Drums



It's time for the monthly installment of the ISWG hosted by the illustrious Alex J. Cavanaugh 
Click on the link if you'd like to learn more about this fabulous group.


Well, it's been slow going but I'm on chapter six of my new novel and I'm not very excited about it. Seriously, I'm unsure if it's the sunshine or the long days, but I haven't felt much like writing lately.  The mere thought of it seems hum drum.   In fact, I've had to force myself to peck away at my novel.  The results of this are similar to going to the gym--after a dreaded work out I feel like a million bucks. Yet, each day I still struggle to make myself write.

 I'm insecure that if I continue down this road, I might give up writing all together.  Has anyone else felt this way?  If so, I'd welcome any and all advice about how you overcame the writing hum drum's.  Until next time my friends.  Happy writing.  

This month's theme was to post the best compliment I've received on my work.  Short and sweet of it, posted below is a rejection letter from an editor at a small publishing house who read my book PAWN OF THE GODS.  Although the company didn't pick me up, the editor's words inspired me to write-on.  We'll see how the second novel turns out, LOL.

Dear Andrea,
We thank you for considering SkyAzure Publishing for your book. We are very sorry for the delay in responding, this does happen occasionally when we receive high numbers of submissions. We have thoroughly reviewed your work and, although it was very interesting and enjoyable, we feel we are not able to take it any further. As a small independent publishing house, we can only commit to a very small list every year. Due to the demanding level of production we feel is deserved by each and every author we take on, we think it would be inappropriate to accept submissions just because the work is good. Quite often we are already working on similar books, do not have enough expertise in the subject area, or the most suitable editor has already filled their quota. There are a whole host of reasons for rejection and quite often rejection is no indication of quality or talent. We at SkyAzure regret that we are unable to accept this piece on this occasion. We wish you well in placing your work.

On a personal note, I have to say I came close on this one. I am disappointed I am unable to work with you. I do believe some stories should be told and some books have something special to say, this is one of them. Unfortunately, however, this is a very subjective business and quite often we editors make decisions based on what is in the best interests of the company and the goals it has set. Please do not take this rejection as an indication that the quality of your work was not respected. I hope you find an editor who is in a position to offer you the passion you deserve in bringing your book to publication. I would urge you to keep writing and, although we cannot and do not endorse any other company, there are many options available should you not find a traditional publishing house able to commit:

Editorial services are available, these can easily be found by doing a quick internet search. Finding a good editor/agent will help to improve your work and overall proposal, although I’m not really sure that is needed in this case. There are also self-publishing routes like Amazon etc. Also, there are some pay to publish services, such as Copyhouse Press (copyhousepress.co.uk), who seem to offer a very jargon free, cost effective, publishing route which will reach far more prospective buyers/readers than that of self-publishing through Amazon. Again, always do your research.
Best of luck in placing your book.
Regards
Jack
---
Jack Kraster
SkyAure Publishing
Submissions Team

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

You Never Fail Until You Stop Trying

Back in December, I learned about an unpublished novel contest that assessed the following criteria: characterization, setting, plot, dialogue, voice and writing skill.  In addition to all this, the MS would receive feedback from the judges. Not a bad deal, right?  Although my draft was far from complete, I decided to enter it anyway, reasoning that the critique would identify areas of weakness in my writing.  Well, needless to say, I finally heard back last week.  The first forty pages of my draft were returned with the following letter attached:   The judges had mixed reactions to this particular manuscript, with some feeling it was well-    paced and  another saying there was not enough plot movement! One questioned whether the dialogue fit the time/  year/culture, while others felt it did. They all agreed on liking the expository details and descriptions, but   wondered where the story was going.  Consider beginnin...

Insecure Writer's Support Group- Are you a Negative Nelly???

I t's time for another Insecure Writer's Support Group post.  I am always amazed at how easily I can list the things I'm insecure about, but ask me to add something positive, and I'm at a loss for words.  No matter how much I accomplish, I never stop to enjoy the spoils of my hard work. Instead, I tend to focus on the obstacles I've yet to overcome.  After giving this some thought, I concluded that I am a Negative Nelly. For some reason, which is beyond me, I find that it's often easier to see the bad, than to acknowledge the good.  For example, if my son brings home a B on a test, I say, "Next time, lets try for an A."  Wouldn't it be better to acknowledge his effort, and be happy it wasn't a "C"?  If another writer praises my work-in-progress, I immediately think they didn't read it.  Wouldn't it be better to say thank you and enjoy the compliment?  Life's too short to look down on ourselves. How can we e...

Anti-Procrastination Challenge/Giveaway

Hello Everyone and Welcome, Sorry for the delay in posting this thread, but I was busy grilling some shish kabobs for Karen G’s Labor Day barbeque at Coming Down the Mountain . Everyone’s invited so be sure and drop in for some mouth watering eats, and a friendly chat with your fellow bloggers. Hopefully interacting with other writer’s will motivate me to get cracking on my novel. I’ve been quite lax in my authorial duties lately. Yesterday, I headed to inspiration station to catch the Writing train. However, I got lost along the way and wound up at Procrastination place. I must have turned left when I should have gone right, because I wound up in a chat jam, and there was no end in sight. As I lumbered through the writing threads, I realized my plight, I lacked motivation and my mind was wound too tight. So I took another right and stopped for the night to think up a way to turn on my light. Okay, Okay, I’ll refrain from imposing anymore metaphors on you. I’m sure you ge...