Rachel Mans McKenny On The Helplessness Of Submission

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 Rachel Mans McKenny. A Midwesterner born and raised, Rachel is a writer and humorist. Her work has been published in The New York Times, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Electric Literature, The Rumpus, and other outlets (clips here). Her debut novel, The Butterfly Effect, is forthcoming from Alcove Press in December 2020. She is represented by Veronica Park at Fuse Literary.

How much did you know about the submission process before you were out on subs yourself?

So little! I thought I understood what it was going to be like after querying, but it really surprised me. I read all the SHIT interviews I could get my hands on from this series and saw the variety of experiences, and that helped me feel better.

I’ve been on sub twice, but didn’t sell with the first manuscript, so this time around I felt a little older and wiser-- and more pessimistic? I think, strangely, that pessimism helped me from getting as anxious. I don’t know if I recommend more negative thoughts in the year 2020 [woah boy, it’s been awful], but it does help to remember that you wrote a whole dang book and that, in itself, is incredible. 

Did anything about the process surprise you?

I didn’t realize how helpless I would feel! If you’re a bit type A [cough like me cough], it can be hard to let go of the reins. At least with querying, you’re in charge of the process and you can always just query a few more agents if you’re seeing good fits, but you have to trust your agent’s expertise, understanding of the market, and knowledge of editor taste when you’re on submission… which is why you take them on as an agent to begin with! My agent, Veronica Park, knew exactly how to hold my hand through submission of THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT.  

Did you research the editors you knew had your ms? Do you recommend doing that?

I’ve been on sub twice, and my agents have never informed me of the editors’ names ahead of time, only the imprints or houses. I seriously recommend this, or it can be tempting to spend time looking for subtweets or reading too deeply into their current authors. When things got serious, my agent let me know more background on each.

What was the average amount of time it took to hear back from editors?

It varied, but a few weeks was pretty average. The first round of subs went out over the summer, which supposedly was a slower time, but we didn’t have issues hearing back in a timely manner.

What do you think is the best way for an author out on submission to deal with the anxiety?

Everyone says work on the next thing, and really, do that if you can. The project I wrote while on sub the first time because the book I’m debuting with this December. I know some people don’t have the headspace for that, which is completely understandable!  

A few other suggestions: find a group of people at the same spot as you, if you can. I found a group of friends through an online forum who were all on sub at the same time, and it really helped to have a safe space to share our concerns and celebrations.

Finally, install a browser locker like Freedom or Forest to help block out your email and social media when you need to work. It’s easy to watch your inbox like it’s a toddler playing with scissors, but it doesn’t help.

If you had any rejections, how did you deal with that emotionally? How did this kind of rejection compare to query rejections?

Rejections were so, so kind both times I was on sub. Unlike query rejections, usually they had a comment about the work directly, rather than saying simply, “Thanks but no thanks!” You can ask your agent to send rejections to you or just summarize what they say, and I’ve had it both ways. Honestly, if you and your agent know that you’ve sent out your best, rejections are usually just about fit for the list, which feels less personal. Being able to commiserate with an agent also really helps if any sting a bit more.

When you got your YES! how did that feel? How did you find out – email, telephone, smoke signal?

A few months into sub, I got a text from my agent that an editor had a few questions for me and did I have time to chat on the phone the next day? Of course, I said yes! I was teaching a class during the scheduled time, so a friend stepped in to sub for me for the first half of the period. I sat in my car with my laptop open on my lap, my hands shaking as I answered the call. It took maybe thirty seconds for me to completely relax while chatting with the editor. She was warm and complementary, answered some questions and offered a direction she could see the book going in. It wasn’t until about twenty minutes into the conversation that my agent asked, “Just to be clear, you are offering on the book?” We all laughed, but honestly, if she hadn’t said it, I am too Midwest-polite to actually come right out and make sure. She was offering. I got to go back to my class and try to focus after that! After reviewing the other options on the table, we accepted the offer two weeks later.

Did you have to wait a period of time before sharing your big news, because of details being ironed out? Was that difficult?

I had to wait a few months! It was really hard, but I shared the information with a few close friends and family ahead of time. I think it was harder for my parents not to be able to tell everyone than it was for me!  

Charise Harper On Her Graphic Novel To Help Middle Graders With Embarrassment

Today's guest on the podcast is Charise Harper whose new release, So Embarrassing: Awkward Moments and How to Get Through Them, a graphic novel for middle graders) releases in November. Charise joined me to talk about how to handle embarrassing situations (even as an adult) and how to help others cope in the moment.

Listen to the Episode Now

 

From Entrepreneur to Novelist: A Second Career Allows a Second Chance at Life

By Bill Thompson

It’s never too late, as a wise person once said. At seventy-three, I’m proving it every day. 

Fresh out of university and armed with a degree in journalism, I did a short stint as a writer for a metropolitan newspaper before joining my family’s insurance business. That led to a forty-year career as an entrepreneur -- building, buying and selling companies, and traveling worldwide promoting them. 

Then life got in the way. My wife of forty-two years became terminally ill, I began working from home and had time to finish a novel I’d started decades earlier. After her death, I realized that writing was far more enjoyable than the business world, and I changed paths. In my mind, I wasn’t an author at that point. I was a guy who had written a couple of books. Not until my third title was released and a book series was firmly established did I embrace the concept that this was my newfound career. 

Many aspiring authors lack two critical things – time and money. I was fortunate that neither was a problem when I started writing. First, I was “retired”, which meant I had as much time as I wanted to devote. Second, I had investment and retirement income sufficient to fund the inevitable losses as a writer builds a base of loyal readers.

Upon learning what I do, people sometimes conclude that writing is my hobby, that I have self-published “a” book and I have a hundred copies in my garage in case they want to buy a copy. Nothing could be further from the truth. Writing is my job, one that’s demanding and requires discipline and effort. At this point in my life, some friends think I should be having a ball being retired and just enjoy life. But I have seen too many people retire with nothing to do. They don’t golf or fish, go camping or RVing, and they end up binge-watching television or starting cocktail hour at four p.m. instead of five. (That part isn’t all bad, by the way.  I’ve been known to adjust cocktail hour a little myself.)

Without purpose, one’s life can become a routine of remembering what used to be. The meetings in conference rooms, the hiring and firing and promoting, the thrill of landing a big account and the despair of losing one that meant a great deal to the company – these things which should be wistful memories sometimes turn into regrets. If a person dwells in the past and has no reason to hop out of bed each morning, life can become an endless tedium of days on a calendar. Think pandemic – I’ll admit there were weeks when I forgot what day it was because every day was exactly the same as the others. I don’t want my post-COVID life to be like that, because I have a purpose. 

To tell the truth, I am having a ball. I am enjoying life – in normal times, my wife and I travel a lot, spend time with grandkids, go to concerts and the symphony and dine out with friends. I love that we do things together, even if it’s just going to The Home Depot or Sam’s. 

I have plenty of time for personal things because writing is in my daily schedule. There’s time carved out for it, just as if I were going to a doctor’s appointment or getting a haircut. I try to start early because I’m a morning person. Most days I write from around 6:30 until 11, although that can easily be amended if something else interferes. I know how long it takes me to write a book and I know the estimated word count before I begin. With the daily word counts I get from my writing software, it’s easy to stay on target. If I’m short at the end of a day or a week, I just have to write more hours to make up the time. 

Sheltering in place was a blessing for us authors. There was nothing outside the house to take my attention off writing, and so I wrote more. Likewise, readers with extra time on their hands bought more books. All things considered, it was the perfect vocation during a lockdown.

My career as a novelist has been immensely fulfilling and rewarding. Achievements in the business world are exciting, but the reviews I get on Amazon and Goodreads are something truly special. When people say they stayed up late to finish my book, or they love the words I write – that’s instant gratification at its finest. My nineteen books have won twenty-three awards so far, twelve of them gold medals, which makes all this even more worthwhile. 

Some people might consider it exciting to dive into a new career after working years to reach retirement. Others would think it overwhelming, and there are yet others who would consider it sheer lunacy. But I learned that doing something you love sometimes can also create income, which is a perfect blend. It can give your senior years purpose and structure, allow you to work at your own pace, and become immensely satisfying, especially if your new vocation is something other people enjoy having you do.

Many people who learn I’m an author confess that they’ve always wanted to write a book. I tell them to step out and do it, although I know ninety-nine percent won’t. Being an independent author is hard work. It’s running a small business with just one employee – you. If you do well, you can branch out and hire assistants for the stuff you’d rather someone else do, but for a long time you’ll be doing it all yourself. That’s hard for writers, because we want to write. The drudgery of self-publishing involves tasks like social media, proofing draft after draft, picking cover art and registering copyrights. It’s not difficult once you learn it, but it takes time away from what authors would rather do – write books.

Then again, if this stuff was easy, everyone would do it. Like all things in life, doing something well requires a lot of time, trials and errors, and getting the occasional one-star review sandwiched in between (hopefully) lots of fours and fives.

Do you think you have it in you to be an author? There are several excellent books to help you understand the challenges you’ll face. There are great websites too. My advice is to take that first step. You’ll never know if you can write books people enjoy until you put one out there and find out.

BILL THOMPSON is an award-winning author of The Bayou Hauntings series, along with The Brian Sadler Series, The Crypt Trilogy, and The Outcasts. His latest installment in The Bayou Hauntings series, The Proctor Hall Horror, is available now. Learn more about Thompson and subscribe to his mailing list by visiting www.billthompsonbooks.com, or connect with the author on Facebook and Twitter.