rejection

Shocked By Rejection?

    As you might imagine, some of the self-published authors whose books were rejected by indieBRAG readers are not happy. Fortunately, I am pleased to report that only a few of them have taken the time to berate us! The brutal fact is that many indie books have no chance at all of getting through our initial screening process, let alone being read by our reading team - they have poorly conceived stories and/or are badly written. These books are invariably rejected by most, if not all, of the readers who review them. However, occasionally we must reject a book with regret. These are books with really good stories but are in desperate need of professional editing- either content or copy editing or both. To have a book that is worth a reader's time and money, an indie author needs to do everything they can to fine tune and perfect their work. A great story poorly edited is a real shame. We recently rejected a book that the author said was going to be made into a film. This is wonderful news for the author but having a book made into a screenplay doesn't change the basic facts about…

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Rejection!

Rejection is part of the literary experience- we've all been there. Whether it is rejection by publishers, agents, contests, or reviewers, it is never easy. I suppose that rejections by publishers and agents for self-publishers aren't even that hurtful today since it has become expected! We certainly can appreciate how difficult this is for everyone who has been "rejected" by indieBRAG. Although we do not ever mention books not honored, we do get some very wounded and angry authors who strike out at us. We just let this pass over us without response. Many times I believe these authors regret their angry words upon reflection - perhaps not. Although there is a lot to be learned from rejection – does anyone realy believe  that? - there are many reasons to just plow ahead and have faith in your work. That is not to say you do not accept and consider constructive review, but rejection is often from publishers and agents who have never read a single word of you writing and that is frustrating. I am sure we have all heard some great stories about literary rejection but, those of us who have experienced it first hand,  can never get…

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