tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post6659647147769782128..comments2023-10-31T10:59:03.023-04:00Comments on INKSPOT Crime Fiction Blog | A Place for Mystery, Mayhem, Writing and Life: Infamous RejectionsLinda O. Johnstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01512430135042480450noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-21437106649531444842009-09-23T22:45:29.678-04:002009-09-23T22:45:29.678-04:00I once got an e-mail rejection letter addressed to...I once got an e-mail rejection letter addressed to someone else. I had to write back and ask if it was really meant for me, or the person whose name was on it.<br /><br />Then the shamefaced editor had to say, "Oh, that one was sent in error, but the next one was for you."<br /><br />And by the way, even though lots of great writers eventually got their acclaim, it wasn't always IN THEIR LIFETIME, and that's a bummer. F. Scott Fitzgerald died seeing himself as a has-been and a failure.<br /><br />Sue Ann, it is shocking to me that any agent would tell someone, much less his or her OWN CLIENT, that something was crap. Serves them right.Julia Buckleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10270211923343731659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-37866700711329763562009-09-23T11:06:37.840-04:002009-09-23T11:06:37.840-04:00Jess and GIn,
At least we can gloat (just a littl...Jess and GIn,<br /><br />At least we can gloat (just a little) over those letters we've saved.jbstanleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05839153589205692508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-85699792108731503332009-09-23T11:05:33.501-04:002009-09-23T11:05:33.501-04:00Sue Ann,
You should totally mail that woman a sig...Sue Ann,<br /><br />You should totally mail that woman a signed copy! (With a very choice inscription. How about just, "Nah, Nah" ?)jbstanleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05839153589205692508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-11854238637199094982009-09-23T11:04:16.311-04:002009-09-23T11:04:16.311-04:00Lisa,
Re: your rejection letter: What drivel! Th...Lisa, <br /><br />Re: your rejection letter: What drivel! That agent is off the mark. Some of the best mysteries have messy endings. Good thing you made a better match!jbstanleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05839153589205692508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-65631188523620286332009-09-23T09:06:03.660-04:002009-09-23T09:06:03.660-04:00Thank you, thank you, thank you, JB, for this wond...Thank you, thank you, thank you, JB, for this wonderful reminder. The conventional wisdom about what is publishable is so often just that - conventional. <br /><br />I often drag the Harry Potter books into this type of discussion, but so many people failed to see the potential there. Since this is not the type of book I would normally read, I can, to be fair, see how others missed the boat with Rowling. So much of this business is pure luck, isn't it?<br /><br />I always got the "not for us" kind of standard rejection slip (often photocopied onto cheap paper, which was especially irksome, somehow), and I got a ton of those. I still have them and I think now I'll keep them.G.M. Malliethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13805971625496094303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-85341692364945905572009-09-23T08:43:29.431-04:002009-09-23T08:43:29.431-04:00May Day, the first in my series, received over 400...May Day, the first in my series, received over 400 rejection letters before I landed an agent. It's all a matter of perspective. Or denial.Jessica Loureyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11157662092822156124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-9122216414854843242009-09-23T08:26:45.249-04:002009-09-23T08:26:45.249-04:00My favorite rejection came from my former big-ass ...My favorite rejection came from my former big-ass NY agent, who for three years was never able to sell any of my work. Then I wrote Too Big To Miss. After reading it, she said to me over the phone: "No one wants to read this crap." She went on to say she'd be embarrassed to represent it. I fired her. She sent me a follow-up letter saying I'd soon discover she was right (which I've kept). Too Big To Miss launched my successful Odelia Grey series, has won awards, and has been optioned for TV/film - twice. Can anyone say neener, neener, neener?Sue Ann Jaffarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09984054116933714621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-13160811821083164292009-09-23T06:29:52.882-04:002009-09-23T06:29:52.882-04:00Once I got an agent, I threw all my rejection lett...Once I got an agent, I threw all my rejection letters away and now I wish I hadn't. I do remember one snippy letter regarding a standalone book I had written where the "killer" had killed in self-defense and no one was willing to turn him in. This agent said something to the effect of, "We don't represent books like this. The killer must always pay for his crime; otherwise, how will they learn the rules of society?"Lisa Borkhttp://www.lisabork.comnoreply@blogger.com