Reasons manuscripts get rejected...

[deborahjross]

Check out Wendy Loggia (editor at Delacorte) 's keynote address at SCBWI on reasons "almost there" manuscripts get rejected. Some are familiar, but this one was new to me:

4. The writer seems like a difficult person to work with. Wendy always Googles an author’s name before offering a contract. She says she may be prompted to change her mind about signing up an author if they share too much information in their blog, if they tend to blog a lot about how hard writing is, if they blog about being rejected many times, if they publicly bash a book she’s worked on, or if they bash a colleague in the business who is her friend.

Comments

[deborahjross.livejournal.com]

Excellent points, particularly how our online presentation of ourselves changes filters over time.

I wonder if decisions about people based on their online posts/blogs aren't skewed toward red flags. (Is it harder to create a negative impression with a single careless comment than to build a portrait as a serious professional?) I think that's what the editor in the article was getting at. She certainly isn't looking for a bosom pal, but she may be asking, "Do I see any indication this writer is a pig-headed amateur?" Is it fair? No. Do we writers have to live with it? I wouldn't bet otherwise.

I've been awed and deeply touched by the behavior of people I've met only online -- their generosity, their humor, their unfailing support. I've also encountered people whose posts were downright vicious, but who in person were kind and gentle.