*sigh* Following my big news of a couple of weeks ago, I have an update for you with regards to ‘Silk Over Razor Blades‘ and Angry Robot.
Though the editor who took on the manuscript was keen enough on the manuscript to take it to the group acquisitions meeting, his enthusiasm was not quite shared. This means that though he might have liked the piece, overall it wasn’t enough to convince Angry Robot as a whole to make an offer.
Because chocolate makes it aaaaaaaaalllllll better.
I saw the email at 11:30pm on Friday night and forced myself not to read it until the following morning. I didn’t want that sort of news in my head when trying to sleep, whether it was good or bad. In hindsight, I’m glad I waited until the cool (and level headed) light of day to read those words.
First, I should mention that it wasn’t a form rejection. Not in the slightest. And there were extremely positive notes within the short message that convince me I’m doing the right thing. That I have an idea worth pursuing. Indeed, it confirmed something I’ve worried about for a long time, which is that the market is still very much saturated with vampire stories. This means that they (or perhaps any publisher) taking on a vampire piece, needs something particularly unusual/different/special about it. At this time, in this instance, that’s not ‘Silk Over Razor Blades.’
But that’s okay!
Now that I’ve had a couple of days to let this sink in and get over the desire to wallow in a box of chocolates, I see all the good from this. If you recall, I intended to publish the book through Little Vamp Press anyway. I was all ready to start selling on 1 December, but held back because the piece was under submission.
Now I know (rather than trusting to my own confidence) that the story I have to tell and the manner in which I tell it, is something marketable. It didn’t tick all the boxes with the team at Angry Robot but it ticked a good number of them and that is all any author can hope for. You can’t please every person, every time with every product. It just doesn’t work that way.
If they told me the story needed to be stripped down and rebuilt from the ground up, this post might well be a farewell post. But they didn’t. They gave me specific instances in which writing could be developed to make the characters and the story stronger.
So that’s what I’m going to do.
Ooooh, yes I do!
At this point, I have no idea when ‘Silk Over Razor Blades’ will be available. I need to take another look at it from beginning to end and pick out those instances that need a little work. But once I’ve done that, it’s on. I’ll kick start my blog tour, I’ll reopen the giveaway and do all the things I had planned at the end of last year.
But not yet. For now… I have some editing to do. ^_^
Getting as far as you did with Angry Robot is still a great achievement that you should be really proud of 🙂
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^_^
Thank you. I am and the rejection won’t stop me. I’m taking it as proof that even within one publisher, speaking with one voice, some people will like my words and others won’t.
I’ll just have to write something that they ALL like! 😉
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Sorry to hear that. I think chocolate could still staunch the wound.
Martin West martin@creative-frontiers.com http://creative-frontiers.com/ @CreativFrontier Where could you go?
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Malteasers and wine gums. Oh, and cider. 😀
Sorted!
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Oh so sorry to hear this. But you did well to get as far as you did. Dust off. Chin up. I know you’ll turn this disappointment into something bigger and better x
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^_^ Thanks Ruth! That’s certainly the plan. I’ll be sure to give updates as and when they come. 🙂
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I agree with the others, you did very well. I love vampires, and as you know have written a vamp novel myself and was also told there is no market for them yaga yaga yaga…but there is, and you are right to go down this new route.
Readers will find your book.
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Thanks so much for the encouragement. ^_^ Now that I’m clear headed again I’m actually quite excited about what I can do flying solo. It’s a completely different market and set of readers to any of Raven’s erotica, so the challenges will be slightly different. But I still thinks it’s a shame that publishers won’t take a risk on something they consider there is ‘no market’ for. I mean, clearly there is, otherwise folk wouldn’t be writing it! After all… writers aren’t just writers, we’re readers too!
Speak soon, chick! x
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If you have to face a “pass” from a publisher, I think this is really the best-case version. And I’m glad you’re still dedicated to your story and will do it and the characters justice. Determination is one of the most important qualities for a writer to have, and you’ve got it in spades. Kudos to you! 🙂
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Too far to quit now… That’s what i say. 😀
Thanks for dropping by. How are things at your end?
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My January word count has topped 5,000. I haven’t seen that many new words in ages. I think the posting break is giving me the chance to get back into a writing groove again. We’ll see if it continues! 🙂
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Brilliant news! ^_^ It seems like it really is working well for you. 🙂 No reason why it shouldn’t continue, either. Woohoo!
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