If there's one thing that many aspiring writers have few clues about, it's the submission process. There are good reasons for that; authors aren't exactly encouraged to talk in detail about our own submission experiences, and - just like agent hunting - everyone's story is different. I managed to cobble together a few non-specific questions that some debut authors have agreed to answer (bless them). And so I bring you the submission interview series - Submission Hell - It's True. Yes, it's the SHIT.
Today’s guest for the SHIT is Elizabeth Gonzalez James, author of Mona At Sea. Before becoming a writer Elizabeth was a waitress, a pollster, an Avon lady, and an opera singer. Her short story, Cosmic Blues, was a finalist in Glimmer Train’s 2016 Short Story Award for New Writers, and her stories and essays have received multiple Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominations. She’s an alum of Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Tin House Writers Workshop, and Lit Camp. She is a regular contributor to Ploughshares Blog. Her first novel, MONA AT SEA, was a finalist in the 2019 SFWP Literary Awards judged by Carmen Maria Machado, and is forthcoming, June 2021, from Santa Fe Writers Project. Originally from South Texas, Elizabeth now lives with her family in Oakland, California.
How much did you know about the submission process before you were out on subs yourself?
I should give a little bit of background info first: I went on submission with my novel in 2015 and it was turned down everywhere – something like 40 editors. We got close at a few places but, for one reason or another, things fell through. In 2016 my agent emailed to say that she had run out of places to submit the manuscript, and I was obviously crushed. I put the manuscript in a drawer, occasionally sending it out here and there to small presses. In 2019 I submitted it on a whim to the SFWP Literary Awards, thinking I might get an honorable mention or something. To my utter shock I was named a finalist, and was offered a publishing contract. So my period of submission was 4 years and my path to publication was anything but easy or straight.
Before I went on submission I’d read a few blogs on what to expect, and they all said that I would need to be patient and that I should start working on the next book right away, so I did just that. What I did not know was how common it is for books to fail to find a publisher. And I had no idea my book would take so long to find a publisher. Probably a good thing or I might have quit!
Did anything about the process surprise you?
Mona at Sea is a dark comedy about an acerbic and troubled young woman. A lot of the feedback my agent and I got from editors back in 2015 was that they didn’t know how to market the book. I was surprised by that, both because I felt like there should be space in literature for a character like Mona, but also because I didn’t realize how much hinged on a book’s marketability. I had wanted to believe that a great story was enough, and perhaps it still is sometimes, but publishing is a business and publishers have to understand how to sell your book. Since 2015 however, I think a lot has changed. Fleabag, which features a similar character to mine, was enormously popular, and I think the public is more receptive now to stories about fierce, funny young women.
Did you research the editors you knew had your ms? Do you recommend doing that?
Yeah I did some Googling. I don’t think it particularly helped, though. I think all it did was allow me to have the illusion that I was doing something productive and somehow helping further my book’s chances in the world.
What was the average amount of time it took to hear back from editors?
It was all over the place. Some editors got back in a few weeks while others held onto the MS for months, being noncommittal. Small press editors were all over the map, too. There were some presses that got back to me in a few months and others that never got back to me ever.
What do you think is the best way for an author out on submission to deal with the anxiety?
It’s hard because of course all you want to do is obsess about it. The only thing you can do, though, is try to keep yourself occupied. Start your next book. Write short stories. Mentor someone. Volunteer. Try to keep your wine and Cheeto consumption to the bare minimum. I started writing essays and short stories and submitting them, and that was great because I was learning how to do different kinds of writing while also feeling out the market for submitting shorter pieces, which is a whole other kind of submissions hell!
If you had any rejections, how did you deal with that emotionally? How did this kind of rejection compare to query rejections?
Oy vey, all I had were rejections! Fortunately my agent didn’t tell me about every single one, so I only heard about them in batches, or when an editor had complimentary feedback. I definitely cried, and I felt really bad about myself and my writing. When my agent said we’d come to the end of the road I went out to a bar with my husband and got drunk and ate a bunch of candy and threw myself a big pity party. But you know what? Never at any point did I consider giving up. I told myself that I’d gotten so close with my first book, my very first try, and that it would be foolish not to try again. So I wrote a second book, and meanwhile I kept sending out Mona at Sea. Eventually I got to a place where the rejections didn’t hurt as much. Your biggest fear when you’re on submission is that no one will pick up your book. Well, that happened to me. I fell flat on my face. And I didn’t die. The sun still came up the next morning. And I’m actually thankful for the experience because I now know that I can handle rejection. I’m strong enough to handle anything.
If you got feedback on a rejection, how did you process it? How do you compare processing an editor’s feedback as compared to a beta reader’s?
I did get feedback from one editor who we thought was going to make an offer on the MS. She wanted some things changed and so I went back and made all the changes she wanted, and then her publishing house re-orged and no longer offered literary fiction. The stakes are higher when an editor gives you feedback, because all day long they’re sitting at their desk making manuscripts better. The criticisms cut deeper and the praise lifts you up higher.
When you got your YES! how did that feel? How did you find out – email, telephone, smoke signal?
I got an email from my publisher, just a couple of lines, that he loved my book, and was it still available. I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was a scam. I thought no way did this guy want to publish my book. At that point I’d talked myself into rewriting the entire novel from scratch, and so I actually put him off for a few months and had to slowly, slowly talk myself into signing a contract with him. So the YES! wasn’t like a fist pump in the air, but more like a room slowly filling with beautiful perfume.
Did you have to wait a period of time before sharing your big news, because of details being ironed out? Was that difficult?
Yes, I had to wait a while to publicly announce it, though I was grateful to have a little time. I was filled with utter terror after signing my contract, and so I wasn’t chomping at the bit to blast it on social media. I came around eventually though and the response I got from my writing friends on social media was very sweet and welcoming. I’m very grateful for all the kinship I‘ve found online.