Rejection and being an author
go hand in hand. Fiction is very subjective so what one person may like,
another may hate. I have had two novels published, one by the indie press, New
Pulp Press, and the other by Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s; but before that,
I had three novels rejected over the course of a few years and a lot of
rejections from agents before I landed with Sam Hiyate of The Rights Factory.
There were many times I thought I wouldn’t make it as an author, but I’m
stubbornly determined and driven, and I used the rejections to make my writing
better so I wouldn’t be rejected the next time.
The first set of rejections
came from literary magazines until a few finally hit. Lit mags are a very smart
way to start as a career as an author, since agents and editors and publishers
will want to see some type of publications on your Writing Resume. It is
guaranteed that more magazines will say no as opposed to yes. However, once one
magazine accepts your work, you have a greater chance of getting another to
bite, since you are beginning to establish yourself. The idea that you will be
published in The New Yorker automatically will not happen, so
forget about that. Begin with online journals and don’t worry about not getting
paid, the exposure, even if it’s small, is better than a check.
The same goes for agents. Most
agents will reject you because they are flooded with submissions. They also
want to shape a writer’s career so they want to believe in you rather than just
your one book. Have a follow up ready. More importantly, take the advice that
they give if you’re lucky to get notes. My agent liked the book I initially
sent him, but had a lot of revisions before he could sign me on. I listened to
everything he said.
Editors are even trickier. An
editor can love the book that an agent sends and then try to pitch it within
his imprint and no one else bites. This had happened to me many times. They
want to fall in love with your characters so other editors and their boss will
fall in love with them too. There were moments I wanted to give up, but with
every rejection I rewrote and edited the manuscript and also moved on to other
projects as well. If you are writing a book and trying to sell it for ten years
without any interest, it’s time to write a new one.
Finally, don’t let rejection
get you down. I look at all the no’s I got now as evidence that I wasn’t ready
to be published at the time and I needed to hone my work more. You only need
one yes, so even though one day might deliver a flood of rejections to your
inbox, the next day could bring that acceptance you’ve been waiting for.
About the Author
Lee Matthew Goldberg’s novel THE
MENTOR is forthcoming from Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press in June
2017 and has been acquired by Macmillan Entertainment. The French edition will
be published by Editions Hugo. His debut novel SLOW DOWN is out now. His pilot
JOIN US was a finalist in Script Pipeline’s TV Writing Competition. After graduating
with an MFA from the New School,
his fiction has also appeared in The Montreal Review, The Adirondack Review, Essays & Fictions, The New Plains Review, Verdad Magazine, BlazeVOX, and
others. He is the co-curator of The
Guerrilla Lit Reading Series. He lives in New York
City.
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About the Book:
Title:
THE MENTOR
Author: Lee Matthew Goldberg
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books / St. Martin’s
Press
Pages: 336
Genre: Thriller / Suspense / Mystery
Kyle
Broder has achieved his lifelong dream and is an editor at a major publishing
house.
When
Kyle is contacted by his favorite college professor, William Lansing, Kyle
couldn’t be happier. Kyle has his mentor over for dinner to catch up and
introduce him to his girlfriend, Jamie, and the three have a great time. When
William mentions that he’s been writing a novel, Kyle is overjoyed. He would
love to read the opus his mentor has toiled over.
Until
the novel turns out to be not only horribly written, but the most depraved
story Kyle has read.
After
Kyle politely rejects the novel, William becomes obsessed, causing trouble
between Kyle and Jamie, threatening Kyle’s career, and even his life. As Kyle
delves into more of this psychopath’s work, it begins to resemble a cold case
from his college town, when a girl went missing. William’s work is looking
increasingly like a true crime confession.
Lee
Matthew Goldberg's The Mentor is a twisty, nail-biting thriller that
explores how the love of words can lead to a deadly obsession with the fate of
all those connected and hanging in the balance.
PRAISE FOR THE MENTOR:
From Booklist - A junior editor at a Manhattan publisher reunites with his college mentor with
disastrous results in Goldberg's second thriller (after Slow Down, 2015).
Kyle Broder has just acquired a probable best-seller for Burke & Burke
publishing when he hears from his former literature professor, William Lansing,
who pitches the still-unfinished opus he’s been working on for 10 years. Lansing’s book is not only badly written, it’s also
disturbing, featuring a narrator literally eating the heart of the woman he
loves. Lansing turns vengeful when his "masterpiece" is
rejected, but Broder’s concerns about his mentor are dismissed both at home and
at work: Broder’s girlfriend considers Lansing charming, and a rival editor feigns interest in Lansing’s book. Broder revisits his college and delves more
deeply into the cold case of a missing ex-girlfriend, and as the plot darkens
and spirals downward, it’s unclear who will be left standing. The compelling
plot is likely to carry readers with a high enough tolerance for gore to the
final twist at the end.
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