a casual chat about writing, publishing, & grad school 🌱 (while I repot my plants)

TL;DR

Two manuscripts—Honey Vinegar and Holding a Ghost—both failed to sell after going on submission, despite editor enthusiasm in some cases.

Briefing Cornell Notes

Briefing

A long stretch of publishing setbacks has left ShaelinWrites stuck between hope and dread—yet still chasing the next submission, while also wrestling with a new burst of creative momentum during an MFA. After signing with an agent in 2022, she expected her debut to sell quickly; instead, two manuscripts—Honey Vinegar and Holding a Ghost—both died on submission. The emotional cost has been severe: she describes feeling like a failure more intensely than ever, deleting a two-year submission vlog after the second rejection, and struggling to reconcile “detachment” advice with the reality that the outcome still matters deeply.

The publishing timeline is shaped by both industry forces and manuscript-market mismatch. Two weeks after her first submission, Harper Collins went on strike, which she supports as a fairness issue for publishing workers. But even when editors responded with enthusiasm, acquisitions didn’t happen. Honey Vinegar produced rejection emails where editors sounded convinced it could sell—“I love it… but it’s not for me”—leaving her with a painful kind of rejection: no clear reason, just a market that wasn’t right “at the moment.” Holding a Ghost was more divisive. Some editors loved its experimental, fresh approach, while others couldn’t place it in a normal category or figure out how to market it. ShaelinWrites says a pattern emerged: more senior editors tended to block the book, while junior editors—often closer to her age—were more likely to champion it but lacked the power to get it through acquisitions.

Beyond manuscript fit, she also describes agency logistics slowing her next attempt. Her agent switched agencies, forcing a pause while contracts ended, termination periods passed, and she was re-onboarded. That delay feeds a cycle of jaded disbelief (“selling a book feels like an impossibility”) alongside stubborn visualization of success.

While the publishing story weighs on her, plant care becomes a parallel outlet—repotting, rooting cuttings in LEA, and troubleshooting sick plants—mirroring her broader theme: control is limited, but effort continues. She also turns to a second major thread: “shiny new idea syndrome.” In early May, while halfway through a two-year MFA, she suddenly developed a novella concept (a nolla) that arrived fast and felt unusually effortless—complete with themes, characters, and an ending within hours. She’s written about 7,000 words and calls them the best she’s ever written, but the timing creates a crossroads. Her thesis novel is harder to write and may be a “five-year book,” while the novella feels like a two-year project.

Her agent urges her not to force the work into a publishing-ready shape—write what it is, then figure out publishing later. Still, past submission failures have made her feel pressure to write something publishable, which she believes is contributing to thesis burnout. The result is a practical, emotionally honest plan: she’s considering taking a break from the thesis to prioritize the novella for her creative health, while still planning to make thesis progress over the summer. The central tension remains unresolved—she’s excited to go on submission again, but fear has intensified because she now knows how devastating “another no” can be.

Cornell Notes

ShaelinWrites describes two manuscripts dying on submission after signing with an agent in 2022, leaving her caught between hope and deep fear. Honey Vinegar was rejected despite editors sounding enthusiastic, while Holding a Ghost split editors by taste and marketability—often blocked by senior acquisitions even when junior editors championed it. The emotional fallout has been intense enough to delete a two-year submission vlog after the second rejection. While navigating this publishing uncertainty, she also faces an MFA dilemma: a sudden novella idea (“nolla”) is clicking with her in a way her thesis novel doesn’t, forcing a choice between sticking to her thesis or following the new creative momentum.

What happened after signing with an agent in 2022, and why did it take so long to reach “no sales”?

After signing in 2022, ShaelinWrites expected her book to sell soon, especially once her manuscript went on submission. Instead, three years passed without a sale. She notes that Harper Collins went on strike about two weeks after submission began, which she supports as a fairness issue for publishing workers. Even with that delay, she says both Honey Vinegar and Holding a Ghost ultimately failed to sell, leaving her with a long period of vulnerability and uncertainty.

Why was Honey Vinegar especially hard to process when it didn’t sell?

Honey Vinegar generated rejection emails that sounded like acceptances: editors repeatedly said they loved it and were “obsessed,” yet still declined to acquire it. ShaelinWrites describes this as rejection without a clear reason—no obvious fix, just a market timing mismatch. The result was a painful disconnect between editorial enthusiasm and acquisitions decisions.

How did Holding a Ghost’s reception differ from Honey Vinegar’s?

Holding a Ghost was more divisive. Some editors couldn’t understand it or place it into a normal category, and they worried about how to market it. Others praised it as fresh, original, and touching, and those were the editors who tried to acquire it—but ShaelinWrites says they couldn’t get it past acquisitions, especially senior editors. She reports a pattern: senior editors blocked it more often, while junior editors were more supportive but lacked influence.

What role did agency logistics play in her next submission attempt?

Her agent switched agencies, pausing progress because the agent couldn’t have submissions out during the transition. ShaelinWrites had to wait for her contract to end at the old agency, complete a termination period, and then be re-onboarded at the new agency. That delay added to her sense of jadedness and reduced faith that selling is inevitable.

What is “shiny new idea syndrome” in her situation, and what decision does it force during her MFA?

In early May, she developed a novella concept quickly—themes, characters, and an ending in about two hours—and wrote roughly 7,000 words that she calls her best. The conflict is that she’s halfway through a two-year MFA thesis, where she’s expected to write a different book. She’s torn between switching the thesis to the novella, writing both simultaneously (risking thesis polish), or pausing the novella to stay with the thesis—while her agent advises writing the book that’s speaking to her first, then handling publishing later.

How does she reconcile advice like “don’t attach to outcomes” with her lived experience?

She says the standard advice is easy to repeat but hard to feel. After two books died on submission, she describes near-daily feelings of failure and regret over deleting her submission vlog. She can intellectually understand detachment, but emotionally she remains attached because publication is her long-term goal—something she’s pursued since childhood. The mismatch between “optimal feelings” and real feelings is a major reason she struggled to talk publicly about her publishing journey.

Review Questions

Which manuscript had rejection emails that sounded enthusiastic, and what did that ambiguity do to her mindset?
What pattern does she describe between senior and junior editors in the acquisitions process for Holding a Ghost?
During her MFA, what triggers the novella idea, and what are her three main options for handling it alongside her thesis?

Key Points

1
Two manuscripts—Honey Vinegar and Holding a Ghost—both failed to sell after going on submission, despite editor enthusiasm in some cases.
2
A Harper Collins strike began about two weeks after her first submission, adding industry delay to an already uncertain timeline.
3
Honey Vinegar’s rejections were confusing because editors expressed strong admiration while still declining acquisition.
4
Holding a Ghost split editors by taste and marketability, with ShaelinWrites describing senior editors blocking it more often than junior editors could support it.
5
Agency transitions (her agent switching agencies) created a procedural pause before she could submit again.
6
Past submission failures intensified her fear of “another no,” making “don’t attach to outcomes” advice feel emotionally unrealistic.
7
A sudden novella idea (“nolla”) is pulling her attention during her MFA, forcing a choice between thesis commitments and creative momentum.

Highlights

Honey Vinegar was rejected in a way that felt contradictory: editors repeatedly said they loved it and were sure it would sell, yet acquisitions still didn’t happen.

Holding a Ghost revealed a power dynamic in acquisitions—junior editors were more likely to champion the book, while senior editors more often blocked it.

ShaelinWrites deleted a two-year submission vlog after the second manuscript died on submission, calling it one of the toughest days of her writing life.

Her novella idea arrived fast and felt unusually “effortless,” but it collides with MFA thesis requirements and threatens to derail her academic timeline.

Her agent’s guidance—write the book first, figure out publishing later—clashes with her fear-driven pressure to produce something that can sell.

Topics

Publishing Submissions
Agent Transition
MFA Thesis
Novella Development
Editorial Acquisitions
Creative Burnout
Emotional Detachment

Mentioned

Harper Collins