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Q: My manuscript has been making the rounds for a year, and still no sale. What now? |
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A: is frustrating when you see books like yours being published and receiving critical acclaim while your 9x12 envelopes keep coming back. There are multitudes of possible factors that are in play. Maybe the idea has been done too often too recently, or it's too trendy or outdated, or the current market is "soft." Perhaps you haven't clicked with the right editor, yet.
However you don't want to make the mistake of spending more energy trying to get published than trying to become a better writer. Perhaps it is time to look at your manuscript again and consider revision, especially if the rejections are all form letters. Maybe it's been a long time since you've even read it and meanwhile, you've read lots of contemporary books of the same type and you've been writing lots of new stories and shared them with your critique group. Look at this returned manuscript with fresh eyes. If you don't know what to do with it, put it away for now and move on. Chances are your newer projects are better than the first. That is what usually happens with time and dedication. You might find that your tenth book will be the first to sell, then you can go back and revise the previous nine and sell them as well.
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