For those of you wondering why the submission process is so rarely talked about, I think it narrows down to three options.

The first, it’s sad.

The second, it’s ugly.

The third, it’s hard.

In all seriousness, it’s not an incredibly pleasant experience. Although searching for an agent for eight months was also not high on the “fun things to do” list, I felt it was easier and didn’t have so much pressure to it. When I was querying for an agent, I always knew that if I didn’t manage to snag an agent with my current project, I could simply query new ones and then discuss my older one with them.

Submitting to publishing houses feels different than submitting to agents. It feels less certain. Not that I was ever certain I’d get an agent with my project, but it didn’t feel as big.

One of my critique partners and I actually talked about this a few weeks back and why it’s hard to be out on submission. When you’re querying for an agent, you get a lot of rejection, but you also get those small victories of one asking for either a partial or full. There’s the thrill of getting into a contest. If you have a bad day writing wise or you feel like your writing isn’t moving as fast as you want it to, you have the option of sending more queries out into the void. And you do feel better. At least until a rejection hits.

Plus I feel like one of the main reasons it’s so rarely talked about is because people don’t want to go around talking about their rejections. Why would they? It’s hard to put work out there not knowing whether or not an editor will love it. Or if it will ever be in your hands in a physical copy from a publishing house.

The submission process is also a pretty lonely place. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have a critique partner out on sub with me right now. We share a lot of emails about expectations or hopes and fears and it somehow makes the process easier to handle.

I think if I didn’t have my critique partners, my writing friends, it would be a lot harder. So if you’re going out on sub, try not to do it alone. The writing community is full of people in the same position, even if they’re not talking about it on social media.

Some kind of secret trick to staying upbeat on the submission process would be great. But I unfortunately don’t think there is one. I will say that I’ve followed the advice of many writers about the process. Keep working on something new. I don’t think I’ve edited as much in the past few years as I have in the handful of months since my agent and I have been out on sub.

It’s pretty much like anything in life. Sometimes you experience disappointment, sometimes hope. Sometimes more of the former than the latter. But if you’re like me, and know for certain you want this, you’ll hang on until you get it. And maybe start offering sacrifices to the writing gods in the hopes of a quicker sell.

If you have any tips you used or are using while on submission, I’d love to hear from you! Either in the comments or on Twitter @judi__lauren.

 

One of the things I feel like isn’t talked about a lot among writers is publishing fears. I’m pretty busy, so I don’t actually have a lot of time to sit and wonder about my book and how it’s doing out in the big submission world, and that’s probably how it is for a lot of writers. But these past couple of weeks I’ve had some serious insomnia and the only thing I can think about while in bed, staring at my ceiling, is things that freak me out about publishing.

Never publishing that first book

I know a lot of writers whose book that won them an agent also scored them a book deal. And then I know a few writers who had to write another book after their first one didn’t sell. And that is one of my greatest fears about this whole publishing journey. I know in my head I’d take it in stride, because you can’t make any editor love your book. But I’ve put all my blood, sweat, and tears into Still Breathing (or as I call it, Drew) that I can’t imagine it NOT going somewhere.

Publishing that book and having everyone hate it

I’m not talking about a few bad reviews. Even the big bestsellers have a ton of one-star reviews on them. I’m talking about those books that EVERYONE LITERALLY HATES. The ones that are constantly made fun of and no one ever has anything nice to say about it. This is like very, very rare, I know. But just the thought of it freaks me out.

Not earning out an advance

I’m nowhere near close to believing I’ll get a huge advance for my book, but it freaks me out to think that I might even get a low or mid-figure one and I won’t be able to earn it out.

Publishing that book and never publishing another

I read this story once about a writer who had a really popular first book, and then he couldn’t get another house to buy his next books. Or magazines to buy his articles or essays. The major reason why this one really freaks me out is because I love to write. And I can’t really imagine doing anything else with my life.

The book signing where no one shows up

So this is like a really, really long way off and not every publishing company deals in book signings. But the thought of having one and just sitting at that table for a couple of hours where no one shows up REALLY makes me cringe. There was a scene like this on a show that aired a few years ago, One Tree Hill, and I felt second-hand embarrassment for that character.

I know I’m not the only one, I’ve spoken with other writers and even one of my CPs about publishing fears. If you have any that I didn’t mention, comment below or join a discussion with me on Twitter at @judi__Lauren. I’d love to hear from you!