In November, 2011, after three and a half years, including
research and writing time, I finally ‘finished’ my historical novel, Ragtown. I wrote an amazing query letter
and an equally awesome synopsis and began the process of querying agents. By
the summer of 2012, after approximately forty rejections (and I’m sure I’m
underestimating that), I realized something was definitely wrong.
It’s not that it was a ‘bad’ novel-not at all. It was well
written, rich in historical detail, a great story of one man’s struggle to
overcome his own past while working in the diversion tunnels of the Hoover dam,
a treacherous environment, during one of the worst economic disasters in
American history. It’s timely. It has a wide audience appeal. It’s
American-like baseball and apple pie. But no-one was interested.
So maybe it wasn’t that great?
Rejections are hard to take. Especially when they seem to be
coming at a rate of two a week. However, I’ve never been one to assume that
when it comes to writing, I am always right and all those that don’t like my
work ‘just don’t understand the story (or the concept, or the structure, or the
blah, blah,blah)’. No, not at all. The people that were rejecting me have been
in this business a lot longer than me, so obviously, they were seeing something
that I wasn’t.
 |
| Yes, I kind of ate a rock for Ragtown research |
So last summer, I pulled out all of those rejections and
looked for common concerns. As new rejections came to my email, I started
asking questions, specifics-what wasn’t working? The majority of the concerns seemed to be in
the first fifty pages. That’s where I started.
In October, I began a complete revision that included
cutting almost 20K words, most from the first one hundred pages. I changed POV’s,
I even gave one character a badly needed libido. I sent it through three
editors and an additional twelve readers.
Last month, I again finished Ragtown.
And yesterday, I was notified that Ragtown is a finalist for the Pacific Northwest Writers Association
Zola Award for Historical Fiction.
Rejection is hard. It’s too easy to say to yourself, “they
are right, I am not very good at this” and give up. It’s too easy to be hard
headed about what professionals say about your work and claim that they “just
don’t get it.” But my goal is to have Ragtown
published, and in order to do that, I had to put my ego aside and listen. Rejections
may be hard to swallow, but they are also a good way for a writer to see what
others find difficult about your work. And by taking heed, you might make that
wonderful novel sellable.
Ragtown, a historical novel
Finalist for the Zola Award
Represented by Svetlana Pironko
