Kathryn Craft
Is it possible for “submission” and “empowerment” to sit comfortably together when speaking about traditional publishing? I say yes. Here’s how to set your attitude to survive this rite of passage with your spirit intact.
1. Submission Is an Honor, Not a Chore
Commit to submission whole-heartedly. This is it—you are paving your road to publication! You’ve spent years applying the craft you’ve learned to the story you hope will be your debut novel. Celebrate your efforts by inviting some publishing professionals to the party! Then, use the conventions of submission to make proper introductions between your story and those who can help it meet its readers.
2. A Completed Manuscript Is a Starting Block, Not a Finish Line
Your finished manuscript lets you toe up to the starting line of a different kind of process—and it’s not about your talent. It’s about whether you can find a business partner who sees room for your kind of project in their list and in the marketplace. Setting the expectation that this might be more marathon than sprint will help you conserve energy for the long haul and allow a lovely surprise if the process is short.
3. A Query Letter and Synopsis Deserve the Same Developmental Love as the Novel
Submission materials will still challenge your creative writing skills. The query letter and synopsis must hook the reader, communicate the emotional import of your plot, and represent your voice—only with much fewer words. Expect to adjust and revise to make every word count, just as you did with your manuscript. This, too, must be your best writing.
4. Submission Is a Learning Process, Not a Numbers Game
If you paper the agentverse hoping to make short work of submission, you’ll miss the chance to learn its lessons. Send out small batches. No nibbles in round one? Freshen up your query, synopsis, or opening pages to reinvigorate your efforts. If you’re lucky enough to receive editorial feedback along the way, consider whether this agent might be giving your project a professional boost that can help it on its way.
5. Think “Business Partner,” Not “Gatekeeper.”
Agents and editors are not trying to keep you out—goodness, they need you! Review your query on a day when your energy is high and your positivity will ooze onto the page. Convince them that you can deliver. Entice them with any requested pages so they can envision the drama to come.
6. Think “Pass,” Not “Reject.”
No one wants to feel rejected. So why allow it? Reframe that “no” as a simple “pass.” Accept that for whatever reason, this agent doesn’t know how to sell your manuscript. Be grateful they were honest about that, as they have freed you to find your ideal business partner.
Once you start thinking about querying as a business transaction between story lovers, rolling with the inevitable lows in the query trenches will get easier. You’ve advocated for your manuscript, ruled someone out, and made a connection in the industry—that’s forward movement you can be proud of.
Repeat the six bolded sentences above as a mantra, if needed, to move you beyond any momentary sting, then turn to the future with one optimistic word on your tongue:
Next!
Kathryn Craft is the author of a new guide for writers, Crafting Story Movement: Techniques to Engage Readers and Drive Your Novel Forward, whose perspective of “story as energy” is the result of her long careers in both developmental editing and dance criticism. Her enthusiasm for story knows no bounds. She mentors novelists through her Your Novel Year program, speaks often on story craft, and contributes monthly to top writing blog Writer Unboxed. Kathryn is the award-winning author of two works of upmarket women’s fiction, The Art of Falling and The Far End of Happy (Sourcebooks),and chapters in Author in Progress and The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing (Writers Digest Books). She served as the 2020 Guiding Scribe for WFWA. Find her at her website, on Substack and Facebook.