'With all the rejections I'm receiving for this story' - is this the one you're sending to traditional publishers? (I remember something about you sending something to traditional publishers... can't remember which story you meant, though!)
Okay, so bear in mind that I haven't started approaching traditional publishers yet - but I have a degree in Creative Writing, which included (basic) advice on approaching said publishers.
What I was taught is something that apparently doesn't really change in the industry: it's very, very competitive out there, so writers need to get their work as good as they can ON THEIR OWN (apologies for the capital letters; I am not angry. Oh, if I could just use italics in these comments...).
I can see things here that you are capable of sorting out yourself - punctuation edits, mostly.
On a more personal note, I would like clearer boundaries between the different scenes within your chapters.
Now for the best news: you consistently produce enjoyable reads - even for readers who don't usually read stories in your natural style (er, me. Your style is NSFW compared with what I usually read lol). You've got a fleshed-out setting (including the map - I have been working on my own settings for literally years. It's HARD), interesting characters, and an engaging style.
It's tough out there, but you're on the right track. Keep going :)
Yes, it’s the one, though I’m not submitting it anymore. I’ve received a “no” from nearly the half of the agents/small publishers I sent it to. I presume the those who haven’t answered yet, are not going to to it at all.
The punctuation - yes, that is a problem. A weak excuse, but I’m used to punctuation of my native language (I’m not a native english speaker/writer), that also explains the awkward sentence structures etc. I kind of though that if the story is good, the the technical details would not matter that much, because the trad publishers would have it edited anyway. Guess not.🤷♀️
As I said, I’m not submitting it anymore. I’m re-thinking the whole thing. Punctuation I can fix eventually. I’m trying submit other stories though. We’ll see how that goes.
'those who haven't answered yet, are not going to' -> Probably, yes... but you never know.
'not a native english speaker/writer' -> If I hadn't already read that you're in a different time zone, this would have been a huge shock. It might be worth putting this fact in your query letter, if you haven't already (no idea if this will actually help, though - maybe ask your fellow English-as-a-second-language users for advice).
'trad publishers would have it edited anyway' -> Yes, they will... but they like writers to do as much as possible, first. The submitting stage of the trad publishing process is about making the best impression you can. (Yes, it's tough out there...)
*
'We'll see how that goes' -> Best wishes on your submission journey! Try getting a freelance editor (if you can afford it); a lady approached me on Twitter, once, but I'm not ready to work with her. (Honestly? I... am certainly capable of editing, too, but I'd need to rearrange my own schedule first. I can't do it for free, either.)
If you ever wanted to go down the self-publishing route, I blog alongside a (different) lady who creates e-books from already-edited and -formatted manuscripts :D
Once again, I'm hooked. You've got a talent for writing engaging characters with a lot of hidden layers to them. As if my reading list wasn't big enough, now I've got this to look forward to, also!
Thank you so much.🩶 I loved writing them. Or... they wrote themselves, I was just trying to keep up with them.🙂
Anyway, it won’t be a long read, because the chapters 1 and 2 (I published it on substack simultaneously) will be the only one’s I plan to put on Substack. I don’t know of it’s a good idea, but I’m currently trying to get this trilogy trad published. So far - rejection upon rejection. When I receive 100 rejections, I’ll put in on Substack.😅
'With all the rejections I'm receiving for this story' - is this the one you're sending to traditional publishers? (I remember something about you sending something to traditional publishers... can't remember which story you meant, though!)
Okay, so bear in mind that I haven't started approaching traditional publishers yet - but I have a degree in Creative Writing, which included (basic) advice on approaching said publishers.
What I was taught is something that apparently doesn't really change in the industry: it's very, very competitive out there, so writers need to get their work as good as they can ON THEIR OWN (apologies for the capital letters; I am not angry. Oh, if I could just use italics in these comments...).
I can see things here that you are capable of sorting out yourself - punctuation edits, mostly.
On a more personal note, I would like clearer boundaries between the different scenes within your chapters.
Now for the best news: you consistently produce enjoyable reads - even for readers who don't usually read stories in your natural style (er, me. Your style is NSFW compared with what I usually read lol). You've got a fleshed-out setting (including the map - I have been working on my own settings for literally years. It's HARD), interesting characters, and an engaging style.
It's tough out there, but you're on the right track. Keep going :)
Yes, it’s the one, though I’m not submitting it anymore. I’ve received a “no” from nearly the half of the agents/small publishers I sent it to. I presume the those who haven’t answered yet, are not going to to it at all.
The punctuation - yes, that is a problem. A weak excuse, but I’m used to punctuation of my native language (I’m not a native english speaker/writer), that also explains the awkward sentence structures etc. I kind of though that if the story is good, the the technical details would not matter that much, because the trad publishers would have it edited anyway. Guess not.🤷♀️
As I said, I’m not submitting it anymore. I’m re-thinking the whole thing. Punctuation I can fix eventually. I’m trying submit other stories though. We’ll see how that goes.
Thank you for reading it.🩶
'those who haven't answered yet, are not going to' -> Probably, yes... but you never know.
'not a native english speaker/writer' -> If I hadn't already read that you're in a different time zone, this would have been a huge shock. It might be worth putting this fact in your query letter, if you haven't already (no idea if this will actually help, though - maybe ask your fellow English-as-a-second-language users for advice).
'trad publishers would have it edited anyway' -> Yes, they will... but they like writers to do as much as possible, first. The submitting stage of the trad publishing process is about making the best impression you can. (Yes, it's tough out there...)
*
'We'll see how that goes' -> Best wishes on your submission journey! Try getting a freelance editor (if you can afford it); a lady approached me on Twitter, once, but I'm not ready to work with her. (Honestly? I... am certainly capable of editing, too, but I'd need to rearrange my own schedule first. I can't do it for free, either.)
If you ever wanted to go down the self-publishing route, I blog alongside a (different) lady who creates e-books from already-edited and -formatted manuscripts :D
Once again, I'm hooked. You've got a talent for writing engaging characters with a lot of hidden layers to them. As if my reading list wasn't big enough, now I've got this to look forward to, also!
Thank you so much.🩶 I loved writing them. Or... they wrote themselves, I was just trying to keep up with them.🙂
Anyway, it won’t be a long read, because the chapters 1 and 2 (I published it on substack simultaneously) will be the only one’s I plan to put on Substack. I don’t know of it’s a good idea, but I’m currently trying to get this trilogy trad published. So far - rejection upon rejection. When I receive 100 rejections, I’ll put in on Substack.😅