Rejection Day
Double whammy today. The CBC producer called me to say no to all my pitches and I heard from my agent that Scholastic passed on A Close Shave.
But the great thing about both rejections is that I got some feedback. I had a chance to talk to the CBC producer about what he liked and what he didn't like. Most important of all, I heard him say what he was looking for. In this business, that kind of marketing information is like gold. Now I'm going to tailor my next radio pitches to suit his tastes and try to inject the ideas with my own take on the world. While this doesn't guarantee that my next set of pitches makes the cut, it does mean the door is still open to CBC Radio.
As for the Scholastic rejection, I'm over the moon. The editor had very specific notes about how the premise was hilarious and the writing was solid, but the novel lost steam halfway through and Barnabas stopped being a Sasquatch and started to act too human. This set of notes is like gold too. I can now do some revisions to the manuscript over the next couple of months to address the concerns and get my agent to send to another publisher. The really cool news about the Scholastic rejection is the fact that the editor said they'd be happy to see more submissions from me. It's not much, but it's a foot in the door.
Rejections like this I can handle any day of the week. It feels like I'm hovering close to something. I just need the time to flesh out my ideas for CBC and revamp A Close Shave.
Comments
I had the opportunity to be in audience for your GETA speach. Wow, it could've been me up there relating my history of growing up in Edmonton as a young immigrant. Of course, you're a much more elequent speaker, and you should be. I specially liked the part about your mom's "I yaa!" when told of your involvement with a white girl. Good for you, to bridge the gap of cultural difference. The part about your grandmother - a definitely tear jerker. I shared the same history as my grandparents met the same fate. Small world, eh? I've always been a fan of yours, now I can call you my "Bro". Keep up the good work and continue to make Chinese proud!
Posted by Leon Woo on March 05, 2008
Thanks so much for attending my presentation. I'm glad that you were able to connect with the stories, and I'm sorry to hear about your grandparents. See you later, "Bro."
Posted by Marty on March 05, 2008