First responders…
I have some friends who’ve self-published for very valid reasons:
- Susan Derozier wrote Therapeutic Journaling: A Road to Healing from her experience teaching. It’s not a standard course offering, so it doesn’t fit the text book mode. It is, however, brilliant and innovative self-therapy.
- Ronda Adolph gathered a collection of her poems in Eclectic Thoughts, actually a common practice for poetry which is usually confined to anthologies. It’s high time the ordinary had a celebration of its own!
I’d like to work with a publisher, however. My book should fit a genre, and I would like to try that distribution channel! But sending out that fledgling draft into the harsh, cold world of seemingly capricious rejection is a very scary thing to do!
The world of publishing has changed a lot though. It’s commonplace now to send queries via email and agent websites. Paper submissions involving printers and US mail now seem aggravating and cumbersome. Perhaps it’s that public exposure, but the rejection slips I’ve been getting are amazing! It’s not everyday that “no” is actually encouraging!
- Thank you so much for writing me about your project. I read and consider each query carefully and, while yours is not exactly what I am looking for, I would certainly encourage you to keep trying. I know your work is important to you and I am grateful that you wrote to me. All best, The Bent Agency
- Thank you so much for sending the Nelson Literary Agency your query. We’d like to apologize for the impersonal nature of this standard rejection letter. Rest assured that we do read every query letter carefully and, unfortunately, this project is not right for us. Because this business is so subjective and opinions vary widely, we recommend that you pursue other agents. After all, it just takes one “yes” to find the right match. Good luck with all your publishing endeavors. Sincerely, Nelson Literary Agency
kathybryson 