I Got My First Rejection Email

As faithful readers may recall I recently (well, 13 weeks ago) submitted a manuscript to the Avon Press open submissions. It was a long shot, I knew that when I submitted, so it’s absolutely no surprise that the email I received today finally informed me that unfortunately my book wasn’t quite what they were looking for. It was a little disheartening to get that news, after all no one likes to be rejected – and it’s not something I typically react well to.

But, on this instance I’m chalking it up as a good thing. Yes, it would have been nice to get recognition from a publisher, and some external validation that my story is ‘good enough’. However, after all the webinars I’ve been attending through Jericho Writer’s Summer Festival of Writing, I’m also more confident than ever that I want to take the indie route. I’m growing more and more attached to the idea of being in control of my own writing destiny (to a larger degree at least). But I also know myself well enough to realise that if Avon had offered to publish my book, then I’d most likely have been wooed by the idea, and potentially given my book over freely to someone else. And probably for a paltry sum.

Now, the pragmatic side of me knows that even being an indie author, I’m probably not going to make the mega bucks, but I just really like the idea that I’ll be playing a more active role in my own success or failure. And I get to decide how much effort I put into it, and I personally like that level of control.

So, yes, I got my first rejection letter, and to be honest, I’m super happy about it. Words I never thought I’d write…