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 Jumata Emill, author of The Black Queen, which releases January 31, 2023
How much did you know about the submission process before you were out on subs yourself?
Fairly a good amount. One, I had author friends who schooled me on their experiences, what to expect and how best to get through it. And two, my agent and I had a pretty frank conversation about his approach before and him talking me through my expectations and communication needs before things started.
Did anything about the process surprise you?
Not really. Mainly for the above mentioned reasons and I did a lot of research about the process beforehand. Interviews like this one with authors talking about their submission fails and successes shaping much of that.
Did you research the editors you knew had your ms? Do you recommend doing that?
When my agent shared the submission list with me I definitely Googled them. I wanted to understand why he picked those specific individuals and what books they had worked on. I recommend everyone doing this. Ultimately, this is YOUR career. You should be in the driver’s seat of who you’ll work with, or want to work with. At the very least you should ask your agent why he or she is submitting to specific editors and why.
What was the average amount of time it took to hear back from editors?
It was honestly all over the place. Here’s the thing: I went out on submission twice. My first MS with my agent didn’t sell. The Black Queen was our second outing. So, I’ll go with my first. Some editors got back to us in a week. Others took nearly a year. This is one area where you really have to lower your expectations. Nothing is concrete. There are so many factors that determine when editors will read and get back to you. So average? Let’s just say at least a month, or two.
What do you think is the best way for an author out on submission to deal with the anxiety?
Do whatever will get your mind off of it the most. Whether that’s only checking email once a day, writing something new, whatever. Protect your mental health, that’s most important. Because stressing about it isn’t going to move the needle one way or the other. For me, I wrote something new, which turned out to be the book that sold after my first one didn’t.
If you had any rejections, how did you deal with that emotionally? How did this kind of rejection compare to query rejections?
If there was feedback and/or critiques included my agent and I would discuss them, I’d process what was said and then move on. You’re going to hear this A LOT: Publishing is a subjective business so you can’t let the opinions of others destroy your confidence. You got an agent, that’s a MAJOR first step so you know you have the talent. Don’t let a “no” make you second guess yourself. It just wasn’t a right fit. That’s what I told myself. And not every rejection is a complete door slam to the face. My editor now was one who initially rejected my first book, but she saw potential in my writing. So much so she told my agent she wanted to see anything else I wrote. And guess what, she was top of the list when we went back out on submission with my next book and low and behold, she made an offer on it!
I will say the rejections on submission are a little tougher to swallow because this is the last final step toward publication and it sucks to get so, so close and yet be far away. They’re gonna sting a bit more compared to agent rejections. But again, dust yourself off and keep going. No one accomplishes anything in life because they’re afraid of hearing a few “no”s.
When you got your YES! how did that feel? How did you find out – email, telephone, smoke signal?
Like one of the greatest accomplishments in my life. Especially because my YES came after I had done an intense R&R following an initial rejection. I had worked so hard on addressing the weaknesses my editor called attention to, so getting that validation that I had shown her I listened and knew how to incorporate editorial feedback into my work was everything.
The news came in an email, which I opened just as I was getting ready to take my first bite of breakfast that morning. Yeah, I never ate that food. I was too busy crying and jumping up and down.
Did you have to wait a period of time before sharing your big news, because of details being ironed out? Was that difficult?
I was able to announce two weeks after we accepted the offer. I know that varies. There are authors who had to wait almost a year before they could publicly talk about their book sales. That would have killed me. I don’t understand why some publishing houses do this part faster and others don’t. I’m just glad my editor was like, “Let’s tell everyone now about this great book.” Ha!
Jumata is a journalist who has covered crime and local politics in Mississippi and parts of Louisiana. He earned his B.A. in mass communications from Southern University and A&M College. He’s a Pitch Wars alum and member of the Crime Writers of Color. When he’s not writing about murderous teens, he’s watching and obsessively tweeting about every franchise of the Real Housewives. Jumata lives in Baton Rouge, La.
