They tell you there are rejections, and then there are rejections. They tell you that publishers, at first, just plain reject you, and then one day they start rejecting you but. And that’s a sign: you are about to make it.

Yes, well.

I won’t say it can’t happen, but let me tell you a small cautionary tale.

Back in the day, when I was young and naïve, I sent Out There a novel. Out There was a local small publisher, and the novel was a mammoth, 250k word historical – and the first volume in a trilogy…

You won’t be surprised to hear that the answer was “No, thanks”, but it was a qualified “No, thanks”. Why, the Small Publisher even had me over for a cup of coffee and a good chat. Remarkable novel, he said – just impossibly huge for such a small house… Why not try something shorter? Continue reading →