Rejection Remix by Patrick Flores-Scott

My first novel, JUMPED IN, was published in 2013. I had begun writing it in 2005. The most difficult part of the eight years was the stretch where I was waiting for rejection letters from editors.

The best thing an artist can do to deal with rejection and waiting (and success too), is to make more art. So I tried to get going on my next book. But as months turned into years and the process dragged on and the rejection letters stacked up, waiting and rejection combined into a toxic tornado of stress that got in the way of my art-making.

I needed help to get through the waiting—a little something to inflate my sagging confidence and give me some faith in the idea that I belonged in the world of legit writers.

Somewhere along the line, I re-read my rejection letters. In many of these letters, editors took time to point out something worthy about my manuscript. These comments turned out to be freaking gems that I had allowed to get lost in the mountainous rock pile of rejection.

On a silly whim, I decided to cut-and-paste these gems and compile them into a single letter that would add up to an amazing praise-fest of Jumped In. Then I allowed myself to imagine the letter was sent to my agent from one classy editor named Carol Lombardozzi-O’Callaghan. Carol worked in a Manhattan high rise for the teen imprint of a MAJOR publisher. Carol was a real pro. No patience for shoddy work. And she knew a good thing when she saw it. Carol loved my book. Loved it. She loved the exact same stuff about Jumped In as the editors who had rejected it. Only Carol never typed the words but or however or I’m sorry to say in her letter.

Carol’s letter gave me a boost, and I did get to work on my next project. But in the end, what that letter really helped me to see was that I shouldn’t have needed it. I realized that the positive comments those editors wrote in their rejections sounded a lot like comments beta readers had told me about my manuscript years before. They sounded like stuff I had once believed about my manuscript and my writing.

There might be some folks in your life who will tell you your writing is great just to avoid discussing the very real parts of your writing that are not so great. However, most beta readers who give you positive feedback and compliments mean what they’re saying. Listen to that awesomeness. Positive notes are a legitimate part of critical feedback—as legitimate as the negative stuff we find so easy to accept and hold onto.

Use the not-so-positive constructive criticism to improve your manuscript. Then make note of the compliments. Collect those gems. List them. Put them on a poster. Write them into a letter from Carol Lombardozzi-O’Callaghan, if you need to. Use the gems to create a well of positivity to help steel yourself for the waiting that is to come. More importantly, use the well of positivity as inspiration and get moving on that new project. That thing is worth it. And so is all the time and energy you will spend to make it great.

Dear Steven,

Thanks so much for sending Jumped In. I read it this weekend, and I thought that much of it was pretty great. Great concept, good writing.

I have to say, Sam is a relatable, misunderstood protagonist with a very lot of heart, and I was especially impressed by the construction of this novel. I love the idea of the loners/slackers being redeemed through poetry, of course. And I found the story extremely moving.

I cried when Luis died, and I was blown away by his poems.  The humor was terrific too.  I loved Sam’s assessment of Julisa on page 203 (As smart as my friend Julisa Mendez may seem, she has some serious holes in her vocabulary. Somehow she never learned words like, “never,” or “no,” or “I can’t.”). I love the moment when Sam decides to teach the parrot to say, “Hello, Sam.” I loved the scene when he throws his mother’s letter away. And I loved the way this text plays with stereotypes and gives us a view into Luis’s mind that makes life itself—each tiny little moment and detail—seem precious and beautiful. 

I agree that Patrick Flores-Scott has an exciting new voice, and I was certainly glad to read this. I do think this has a great deal of merit. Thanks so much for thinking of me.

All the best,

Carol Lombardozzi-O’Callaghan
Most Executive Senior Editor
Phenomenal Teen Books, an imprint of Seriously Major Publishing, Inc.
1 Broadway, Manhattan, New York, NY 10000

Patrick Flores-Scott is a former public school teacher and current stay-at-home dad and early morning writer in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Patrick’s goal for his first novel, JUMPED IN, was to write a story that would engage struggling readers. JUMPED IN has been named to the 2014 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults list, a Walden Award finalist, a Washington Book Award winner, an NCSS/CBC Notable Book for the Social Studies, and a Bank Street College Best Books of 2014. Look for his second book, AMERICAN ROAD TRIP (Christy Ottaviano Books/Henry Holt Books for Young Readers) in bookstores now. 


Learn more at http://patrickfloresscott.com
Did you see Patrick's Book Birthday interview?




Coming up on the Mitten Blog: A new fall blog banner created by our new Featured Illustrator and another round of Hugs and Hurrahs! Please send your good news about writing, illustrating, or publishing to Patti Richards by October 8th to be included. Plus, Writer Spotlights, Book Birthdays, and a new ongoing feature: Tips for Painless Self-Promotion. 

See you next Friday!

Kristin Lenz

YA Success Story: An Interview with Author Patrick Flores-Scott

At the back of your novel Jumped In, your bio says you live in Seattle. What brought you to Ann Arbor? 
My wife got a job at the University of Michigan in the Rackham Graduate School, and I went from being a public school teacher to being a stay-at-home dad to our two toddlers. 

Tell us about your book and your journey to publication. 
I started writing in 2005. I got my agent in 2009. The book sold in 2011 and came out in the summer of 2013. It was a long process. My agent believed in me as a writer, but he wasn't sure about my draft. He decided to just send it out to a couple editors at a time. When the rejections came in, we'd look at the feedback and he'd say, "Whattaya think?" I'd tell him what I thought I should work on next and then I'd go do rewrites. It was a slow, but positive way of dealing with rejections. When Christy Ottaviano bought the book, it was way better than it had been after that first round of rejections. 

How did you get your agent? 
When I thought my draft was ready, I went to the library in search of a book that looked and felt like Jumped In. I thought, "If an agent liked this, they might be into my book." I picked up S.A. Harazin's Blood Brothers, and found out that her agent was Steven Chudney. I sent him a query letter and pages of the novel. He liked it. It happened really fast and I consider myself extremely lucky. 

What has been surprising or challenging about your experience? 
I think the most challenging thing has been how long everything takes. In terms of surprises, I'd say just selling the book and the smoothness of the editorial process and the fact that the final product has been pretty well received... a series of happy surprises.

What's next for you?
I just had a short story published in the MacMillan collection, I See Reality, Twelve Short Stories About Real Life. And my second novel, (tentatively titled) American Road Trip, which I started in 2009 (!), is finally scheduled to be released January of 2017. 

Patrick is a stay-at-home dad and early morning writer. His short story, The Good Brother, appears in I See Reality (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), and his second YA novel (Henry Holt/Christy Ottaviano Books) is scheduled for a 2017 release.









Patrick kept his answers short at my request, but here's a little more: he was a theater major in college, his debut YA novel Jumped In is full of poetry, and when he says he's an early morning writer, he means he sets his alarm for 4:30am!

Jumped In was named to the 2014 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults list, a Walden Award finalist, a Washington Book Award winner, an NCSS/CBC Notable Book for the Social Studies, and a Bank Street College Best Books of 2014. Learn more at:
 http://patrickfloresscott.com/index.html. 

Coming up on the Mitten blog: On the Scene in 2016 - support for debut picture book authors and illustrators, take-aways from the SCBWI New York conference, and another round of Hugs and Hurrahs. To be included, please send your good news to Patti Richards at pgwrites5@gmail.com by March 20th.

Have a great weekend!
Kristin