“I didn’t connect with the character’s voice” - Demystifying rejections

One of the most common rejections is due to not connecting with the voice. What to do next…

Happy Saturday everyone!!!

Let’s talk about rejections.

Writing came to me in a surprisingly wonderful way. I was so enamored by it, I had no idea about the slew of rejections that came next.

Now that I have a bit of experience, I have come to a definitive conclusion. And that is that the publishing journey is littered with rejections.

Lots of them.

Just lounging right around the corner waiting for the right moment to light the fire and awake the imposter syndrome monster yet again.

One of the most common rejections that I received far more than others during my querying journey was that “I didn’t connect with the character/voice.”

As an author we tend to be overthinkers and overcritical of our own work. Especially when we receive a rejection, it’s hard not to dissect every little detail that could have been wrong. I did that too. Over and over again to the brink of pulling my hair out.

But here’s the fact —

Someone not connecting with your character or voice is completely subjective.

Only you know the character and you know their backstory and every backstory is gonna be different. Having someone connect with it without much context is absolutely wonderful. But the odds of that happening may not be always promising.

Every agent is first a reader, and a book lover. And just like you don’t like every book even when it’s a bestseller or one that’s recommended by multiple friends, the same applies to agents as well.

I understand the frustration behind this. As authors we just want others to love our books. But it doesn’t always happen and because there are only so many agents that represent in your genre, it’s harder than ever to get that foot in the door.

Rejections due to not connecting with character or voice say nothing about your book or your writing ability.

It’s just a perspective.

And it’s in our best interest to just leave it at that. Throw it out of the head. As hard as that sounds, that’s what we all need to do.

To support all the querying authors, I am hosting the wonderful pitch event for feel-good books in all age categories #JoyPit on June 7, 2024. It would be a great opportunity if you want to get your work out there, connect with others in the writing community, and just practice pitching your work.

I hope my little rambling newsletter will help you with your querying and publishing journey. Know that I am always rooting for you.

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~Toodle-oo~