July 2001

How Do I Deal With Rejection?

I'd like some advice on dealing with rejections. What do you do to keep from getting discouraged? I try to keep manuscripts circulating, but some days it just seems too daunting to send a manuscript out one more time. Thanks for your help!

First of all, if you look upon rejection as part of the whole writing process then you understand it's natural to feel bad. But how do you make the bad feelings go away? Action and humor are what get me through. By action, I mean get the manuscript circulating again, just as soon as possible, even the same day the rejection comes in. This helps restore my hopefulness, besides giving me something to do other than sulk, which is what I'd rather do.

You say you're having trouble getting to that point, sending that manuscript out one more time. Then don't send it out one more time. Send it to six publishers. Okay I'm trying to be funny here. Which is the idea. Humor. It's time to lighten up. Cop an attitude. Saul Bellow said, "I discovered that rejections are not altogether a bad thing. They teach a writer to rely on his own judgment and to say in his heart of hearts, 'To hell with you'." You'll find this and more wisdom from a few great writers in my article, "All will be show for its true worth in time."

Did you know there are even web sites all about rejection? Now why didn't I think of that! Check out the Words of Wisdom pages at RejectionSlips.com. At RejectionCollection.com, Catherine Wald publishes a newsletter and invites you to submit your sob stories for Reject of the Month. You'll also find a terrific interview with Moira Allen in the Tales from the Other Side section about why queries and manuscripts are rejected.

Above all keep writing and submitting your work.

How Can I Epublish My Picture Book Manuscript?

How would you suggest I go about getting my 455-word picture story epublished? I am passionately interested in promoting and selling my work, however, at this point, I lack the skilled required to format and illustrate it properly.

Children's picture ebooks are just beginning to gain popularity. There aren't a whole lot of epublishers dabbling with them as yet. However the McQuark Review for e-Books for Kids publishes a list of children's ebook publishers at their web site. Check the online guidelines at the publishers' sites to see if they are considering children's picture book submissions. A brand new children's e-book publisher, ipicturebooks.com is currently looking at queries. You will find guidelines at their web site. Tumble Books is also considering submissions, and provides an email address for contacting the editor at their web site.

This should give you a good start toward understanding the format of picture ebooks and epublishers who are publishing them. I wish you the best of luck with your own picture ebook.

What Can You Tell Me About Graphic Novels?

Are you familiar with the genre called graphic novels? There's lots of talk about these books lately and bringing them more visibility in public libraries to appeal to reluctant readers. My understanding is that these are actual books, transcending comic books. What can you tell me about this growing field? Is it a viable new place for writers or artists to break in?

Librarians are indeed being encouraged to make room for graphic novels and highlight them for reluctant readers. At Booklist's YA Talk column, Berkeley Public Librarian Francesca Goldsmith discusses the pros and cons of graphic novels. For the most part she favors them saying, "Graphic novels require active, critical participation by the reader, who must not only be able to decode text but also follow its flow and grasp essentials of narrative, mood, character, or plot through images. The reader must then be able to meld the parts into a unified whole. Giving teens access to materials that help them develop their critical skills and aesthetic appreciation is part of the charge of adults responsible for young-adult collections." She also offers a list of "Top Choices for Teens," plus resources and web sites for librarians. The Fairrosa Cyber Library of Children's Literature also publishes the list, "Suggested Titles for Young, Mid-range, and Older YAs" compiled by Sean Gagnier, librarian at the Chili Public Library, New York.

I'm not certain how difficult it is to break into this market. Many current authors and/or illustrators are already well established in comic strip or comic book genres. However some publishers do publish submission guidelines at their web sites, which is a good indication they are open to new talent. See submissions/jobs at NBM Publishing, DC Comics, Fantagraphics, Dark Horse Comics, Penny Farthing Press, and Digital Manga, Inc.

*Julie Anne Peters' YA novel, Define Normal, will soon be released in large print from Thorndike Press. Read her Writing-World interview.

For more information:

"All will be shown for its true worth in time," by Peggy Tibbetts

http://www.rumorsofwar.net/About_the_Author/Articles/articles.htm#topAA

RejectionCollection.com

http://www.rejectioncollection.com/

Interview with Moira Allen

http://rejectioncollection.com/rcollection/index.php3?story_id=341

From A to E-book: Creating a Children's Picture E-book by Sharon Martini

http://www.writing-world.com/children/ebook.shtml

E-Publisher listings from McQuark Review of e-Books for Kids

http://www.mcquark.com/epublishers.htm

Submit or suggest to ipicturebooks

http://www.ipicturebooks.com/suggestbook.html

Tumble Books

http://www.tumblebooks.com/asp/home_tumblebooks.asp

Comics: Not Just for Specialty Stores Anymore

http://www.publishersweekly.com/articles/20001016_91770.asp

Graphic Novels by Francesca Goldsmith

http://www.ala.org/booklist/v94/youth/my1/55yatalk.html

YA Graphic Novels in Library Collections: A List of Suggested Titles for Young, Mid-range, and Older YAs compiled by Sean Gagnier

http://www.dalton.org/libraries/fairrosa/lists/graphic.novels.html

DC Comics

http://www.dccomics.com/

Fantagraphics Books

http://www.fantagraphics.com/submissions.html

Dark Horse Comics

http://www.darkhorse.com/help/submissions/index.html

Penny Farthing Press

http://www.pfpress.com

Digital Manga Inc.

http://www.emanga.com/jobs.htm

Her Humor Hits Home: Interview with Julie Anne Peters, by Peggy Tibbetts

http://www.writing-world.com/children/peters.shtml

Books:

Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware

David Boring by Daniel Clowes

Maus by Art Spiegelman

The Big Book of Hell by Matt Groening

Ghost World: The Film Edition by Daniel Clowes

X-Men: Beginnings by Mike Marts

Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi

Define Normal by Julie Anne Peters

MORE RESOURCES FROM WRITING-WORLD.COM:

Check out these books and more in the Writing-World.com Bookstore!

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