Aibu to give up?

[Iloveanimals]

I am aware I've got another thread going at the moment as well, but please be gentle.
I'm distraught.
My children's book has been rejected 86 times.
I feel like I'm rubbish and will never make it as a writer. Is it not meant to be? Should I give up? Please be kind. I feel so overwhelmed.
Xx

Have you ever had any feedback from someone independent (ie not friend or family?)

Any feed back with the rejections? Have you made tweaks and resubmitted to same publishers?

To be honest it is a very saturated market.

I am all for living a dream but 86 rejections is a lot.

It's because I write about talking animals. They say they like my writing, but not my characters. It just hurts a little that's all. Pride probebly.

Probably* stupid auto

Is self publishing an option, there are a few different routes you could take that way? Either way I hope it works out for you Op

I was told (by publishers) that if I self publish it would make it even harder to get published traditionally in the future.

Keep on trying I have honestly read some ridiculous children's books. I have also read many books with talking animals! Infact most of them have talking animals so I wouldn't worry about that

Could you not ask mumsnet advise about charachters they would like to see in childrens books and tweek your book to suit what charachters the majority of mumsnet would like to see iyswim?
Like perhaps a hippopotamus who doesn't like the water.
or a pigeon called Geoff who hates bread.
or a tortoise who is really fast.

Sorry for the crap ideas,I don't have much of an imagination.but if everybody could give you a c harachter and people vote on it and you tweak the book to match the majority of likes,the publishers shouldn't turn you down.say you have done some research and that's what the majority of people would like to see.

I think they are being ridiculous. I would have loved to read books about talking animals as a kid. Would Charlottes web have been rejected by these people? Babe? Fantastic Mr Fox? all of the Beatrix Potter "peter rabbit" series books?

What about Percy the Park keeper, ffs!!!

I wouldn't self-publish a children's book. It's OK to do that with an adult novel as so many are read on Kindles, but to get the quality of images, paper etc at the right price would be impossible.

Okay, let me put it this way - if the book called "poo and spring" got published and became popular (in Estonia), so will your book about talking animals.

What age group are you aiming at, OP?

A lot of aspiring children's authors can come unstuck when there is a mismatch between subject matter & age group.

So - talking animals. Largely OK for the under-5 picture book market. May be OK for 5-8 (Magic Kitten, Holly Webb type stuff), but storyline & concept is then key. Over 8 you are in seriously tricky territory and would need to be very talented writer with a very strong concept - Douglas Adams Watership Down or E B White Charlotte's Web level talented.

Publishers do know their market...

As someone with some familiarity with the industry, it could be rejected for a number of reasons, being pants is just one of them.

The novel Dune by frank Herbert was rejected twenty times before being picked up by a publisher who previously had only published car maintenance manuals.

Frank Hebert took the rejection, kept faith in his work and tried and tried again.

Dune was named the best selling science fiction book ever a few years back so, even if twenty is a lot less than eighty six keep the faith and you never know :)

That said, if I had a penny for every parent who thought they just wrote the best children's book ever in the history of the world I would have made two pounds seventy four extra this year

Write another one OP. Nobody makes a career out of one book and your second one will probably be better than your first. All writers get rejected - it is part of the process. If they like your writing then maybe you will have more success with another book.
If you can afford it, get a professional editorial report to pin down where you need to improve.

Watership Down, Richard Adams

Why not shelve it for 3 months and start writing something else?
Look at it again after 3 months and you might find you can see things that need to be tweaked a bit.

Good luck.

OP - Thought about doing readers for educational publishing? There are lots with animal characters...

Mister Richard Adams!! Not Douglas Adams!! Yesterday's Towel Day on the brain obviously... but imagine Watership Down by Douglas Adams... that would have been a brilliant mash-up.

What age group are you aiming for?

Thank you so much for your replies. Means a lot. The book is written for children aged between 4-8. Maybe it is time to write something else.

You sound incredibly determined and resilient OP, I'm really impressed. You also sound as if you love your characters

You've had praise for your writing so keep at it. Good luck!

OK, 4-8 is tricky because it's neither one thing or the other. Go into bookshops & look at the banding, e.g Waterstones.

You'll see younger readers 0-3, 3-5.

Then 5-8, which is shorter chapter books, but does cover a pretty wide range. If this is where you're aiming it needs to be say, a "typical" 7 year old reader you're aiming at. Year 2-3 of primary. Boy or girl? At this age, rightly or wrongdifferent debate there are clear divisions in what appeals. Be clear in your head who your reader is.

Then 9-12, then teen & YA.

So you could just be falling within stalls on concept, word count & age banding. See if you can either rethink one of these - should it be a bit older, a bit younger? - or go back to the drawing board with a new idea.

Don't give up if you're committed to it.

And read, read, read. As much as possible in your chosen age banding. Note the patterns ... and then think about how you can break the mound.

Could be a talking animal book revival is due - or not. But you have to read loads to find out!

Sorry if this advice is sucking eggs...

You're all being wonderful. Thank you so much. Everyone who has rejected has just said they don't want to take on talking animal adventure books.