Rejection + Comments = Love
Like a lot of things in my frantic world, this is long overdue.
I got a rejection card from Houghton Mifflin, oh…a month or so ago, but I just didn’t have the heart to talk about it. And it’s not because I had all my last hopes for THE SHORT BUS JOURNAL riding on their thumbs up or thumbs down. It was more like…the official end of the line for my little book that could(n’t).
*sigh*
But here’s the cool thing: The rejection was a decent one. I know it’s poor form to post stuff about your rejections, but dang it, I thought this one was pretty friggin’ sweet as far as big company publishing rejections go. See for yourself.
If you click it, it’ll get all big like.Here’s the low-down :
- First of all, they plugged the name of my book at the very top of the card. Nice!
- Second, the went so far as to call me Dear Mr. Troupe. (For a minute I thought the card was for my dad, then I remembered he doesn’t live at my house, so I knew it was for me. Also, he doesn’t write books about kids who have no disabilities but are forced to ride the short bus with kids who do. Wait a second…he doesn’t write any books.)
- Third, they underlined ‘Thank you’ on the first line. I thought it was a decent touch. Hey, I’m easy like Sunday morning.
- Fourth, they underlined the word ‘sorry.’ You know what? I believe them.
- Fifth, they mention that because they get so many manuscripts, they can’t offer individual comment on people’s work. That’s understandable. Remember this when we get toward the bottom here, okay? Thank you.
- Sixth, they underlined ‘every success’ as in they wish I had some when it comes to finding a home for my book. Also, they added an ‘!’ at the end of the sentence where they hope my material can find a good home!
- Seventh…they left an individual comment!
Here’s what it said for the two people who managed to read this far along:
Not quite right for Houghton at this time, but you give Mitch a great, authentic voice. Best of luck with his story!
(I should mention they underlined the word ‘best’ up there.)
So, considering this is probably the last rejection I’ll get for THE SHORT BUS JOURNAL, I sort of feel good about it. I’m being honest and not being snarky or crappy about the whole thing. It made me feel that I’m sorta CLOSE, you know? Maybe that’s being waaaay too much of an optimist, but in an industry that doles out rejection after rejection and has a tendency to crush your spirit, this ‘rejection’ didn’t.
This one made me believe.
OY–that hurts so much, but what a warm R!! Dang, I want someone else to love this story like I do…it’s so heartwarming and good!!!
Thanks for popping by my blog–I fell off the earth a bit (hah), but things are getting less crazy now. 😀
I want to say that’s amazing, because it really is in a world of form rejections, and it’s a shame that you see it as the end for The Short Bus Journal. Have you tried publishers/agents in the UK???
You’ll get there someday soon… I can feel it in my bones.
RS – Thanks for lovin’ my little book. I still think it was worth writing if a handful of people ‘got’ it.
CG/PR – I wasn’t sure there’d be much of a market for this kind of book in the good ol’ UK. I don’t know if they even have short buses there, do they? I guess I assumed the connotation that comes with the dimunitive little buses might be lost in translation there. Here in the US, they are viewed as the buses ‘retards’ or ‘spastics’ would ride. Horrible, but true.
Thanks for the vote o’ confidence, though. I kind of feel like this year things’ll happen. We’ll see!
That IS pretty sweet, Thomas.
There are days I’d kill to see a form rejection with a little bit of personalized encouragement penned in the margins.
A positive sign indeed.
No, we don’t have those buses here, but… Surely that makes the book original in the UK, nobody else writing about them (just a thought), plus American TV shows and books are very popular in the UK.
After such a good rejection, it seems a shame that you are giving up on your little book.
The story is different, Thomas. And it will find a buyer and an audience. I read what the book was about. Did you character sympathize with the children with disabilities? Just wondering. :*)
Nice rej…hang in there, you keep getting closer.
Wow, on the writing loops I’m part of, this kind of rejection is more like a shot in the arm than a rejection. You have to have TALENT for them to add the personal comments, underlinings, etc. to a form letter. I think this is really cool, Thomtappity!
BTW, your book isn’t here yet. 🙁
Dwight – Yeah, I thought so. But then again, I guess I wanted to make sure I wasn’t being too silver-lining-esqe about the whole thing. Thanks for helping me realize that wasn’t the case.
CG/PR – Hmmm…hadn’t thought of it that way. I tend to sometimes overthink what the market will bear and what-not. Truth be told, I haven’t given up on SHORT BUS, per se, I just think I’ve exhausted a lot of the channels. Mayhap I’ll try some other publisher and see what happens.
DH – Oh yeah. Mitch eventually embraces the kids, but not at first. He reacts to the situation initally as most kids would. Who knows, maybe it’ll resurface and someone will love it years from now.
Steph – Thanks! I hope you’re right.
Sniz – Yeah, it did feel like a shot in the arm! As for the book, I think you should be getting it soon(?) I went on the Amazon page and it says there’s one left. So it’s officially in stock. A woman at my day job bought one and just got an e-mail from Amazon saying it’s on the way. Now, if I could just get my box o’ books…
Rejections are so bitter sweet. That is a fantastic rejection. I don’t think publishing houses go out of their way to underline and exclamation point and offer insight if they don’t have to, so congrats on this, that’s a big deal. Maybe it’s not the right time for TSBJ now, but I’m sure it’s coming.