Rochester Home Network Provides Beneficial Services to Local Homeowners and Contractors

Hello all! I’d like to share with you a little bit about a Rochester-based company called, Rochester Home Network. During the rough economic environment, they continue to provide outstanding services to homeowners in need of repairs. Rochester Home Network does the work of matching homeowners with contractors who match their needs, specifications, and details of project needs.

Did I mention they are the only company in Rochester who does this? Take advantage of what they offer!

Are you a homeowner who is looking to have work done? Are you a contractor who is looking to provide work for homeowners? Read below to learn more…

 

During this economic time and news of foreclosures on homes, one local company continues to provide beneficial services to both home owners and contractors. Rochester Home Network, owned and operated by Tina Servis, provides the homeowner with a piece of mind when looking for qualified contractors and home repair professionals.

Rochester Home Network provides homeowners with contractors by matching their project needs, budget, time lines, specifications and location with the qualified professionals in their database. This ensures that the home owner and contractor are a right fit for one another.

“Rochester Home Network can help home owners when they are ready to make a decision on remodeling their home, by providing them with pre-screened, qualified contractors who are fair, reliable, and professional,” Servis said. “We background check, reference check, and ensure that contractors are carrying the appropriate insurance coverage. All this adds up to time saved for the home owner.”

Laura Paskell, of Brighton, contacted Rochester Home Network for remodeling a room in her home. “I was impressed with the very first contractor, loved his ideas, and felt he really understood my plans,” she said. “RHN made me feel more confident in making a decision knowing that I didn’t have to look through the yellow pages again and I didn’t have to do reference checks.”

Rochester Home Network is also a benefit to contractors, Servis said, because unlike other companies in our area, we provide a warm lead to the contractors, and the contractor only pays if they secure the job.

Rochester Home Network continues to be one of the only companies to provide services like this in Rochester, and continues to thrive through the current economic environment. For more information about Rochester Home Network, please contact Tina Servis at 585-359-4834.

Rejection Letters 6

Hello all! Here are more responses to our discussion of rejection letters. Stay tuned for new up-and-coming topics that we will feature here. Also, feel free to suggest a topic. You can contact us via email, publisher@bettabookpublishing.com, with any questions, comments, or ideas you may have. Let’s start talking! Also, what you’ll find below are responses from both agents and writers. I love to hear what everyone has to say about the publishing industry and the process that everyone goes through, especially when we get to hear from both sides of the coin.

 

“I’m coming at this from a different perspective, that of an agent, and of course I have received rejection letters, dozens and dozens. I think it’s rare that I send out a book that doesn’t receive at least one rejection. That letter might come after an offer from another house, but a rejection nonetheless. One thing that’s really great about being an agent though is that 99% of all editors make some effort to give personal feedback, some more then others. I do share all the letters with my clients, some we laugh over, some we consider carefully, and others we simply toss aside. Rejection letters are part of the process of getting published and if you’ve never received a harsh rejection letter look out, because it’s likely to come in the form of a harsh review. I do keep all of the rejection letters I receive in various files since I find that they’re useful to have down the road when I’m thinking about that author’s career. Editors that have expressed enthusiasm are the ones that will get a second shot.”

Jessica H. Faust

 

“I’ve been turned down (by now) about 100 times. Virtually all of the letters state that my children’s picture book is not a good fit. Strange because according to their websites, it really does fit. Of all those only one took the time to tell me about a ‘lack of emotion.’

The story is a true one so I really knew that particular emotion and wrote as I felt it. I gotta keep trying. On to Canada publishers!”

Jerry Gold

 

“As a literary agent it’s my sad job to send dozens of rejection notes every week. I’m forced to use a form letter due to time constraints, but sometimes I add a handwritten note at the bottom. I occasionally write short critiques, but I cut back on doing that because some authors respond with nasty comments and even stalk me via email. (As if that will help them sell their manuscript). A professional query without errors is most likely to receive a handwritten note and helpful suggestions.

Not only do I send rejections — I receive dozens of them from publishers. I’m happy when editors tell me why they aren’t interested in a particular manuscript. I can pass that information along to the author, and sometimes we adjust the book accordingly.”

Sammie Justesen

 

“Hi Kelly

Every author will have many rejection letters. They’re always polite but still have the same message – they don’t want to publish your book.

Authors have to develop a thick skin and just keep on doing it.”

Merydith Willoughby
http://www.ibcoaching.com.au

 

“I sent all my queries by email so I got rejection emails. They were pretty much like the letters though. Mostly they said, ‘Not for us, but good luck.’ They didn’t elaborate on why it wasn’t for them. Fortunately I was able to find 2 agents who were interested in the book.”

Leslie Truex

 

“I have a physical folder at home stuffed with them and an e-mail folder, also stuffed with them. The overwhelming majority are form responses, which is to be expected — agents and publishers get hundreds of submissions, so they can’t give individual attention to all. I did receive one e-mail from a publisher that was my most encouraging rejection. He liked my synopsis and thought the sample 50 pages read well, but he was swamped with enough material to get him through 2009 (this was last summer). Most rejections (including the one I got from Jessica Faust — see above) are very respectful and encouraging.”

Tim Dodge
Liverpool, NY
www.timdodgestories.com

 

Tune in for later this week, as I’ll share with you more updates of Betta Book Publishing and what we’ve been up to behind the scenes!

Rejection Letters 5

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you’re week is off to a great start. Our conversation about rejection letters continues. I have received more feedback and people sharing their experiences, and I think this, as well as our discussion about advice for first-time authors, has been and will continue to be of help to writers out there. Let’s get started, shall we?
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“Hi, Kelly,
Several years ago I submitted a proposal for a crafts/history book to a number of publishers. Admittedly, my book idea was difficult to classify. As a graphic designer, my submission included a mini-chapter laid out with illustrations so publishers could get an idea of what I was trying to accomplish.

I received about a dozen rejection letters. (No surprise.) Most were photocopies of the standard ‘not right for our market,’ etc. I did receive a couple of handwritten notes telling me they loved the idea and the sample I’d enclosed, and suggested other publishers to try. Not being a professional writer, I found their suggestions very encouraging, and also helped me refine my ideas. By receiving a handwritten note, I knew that some human had actually looked at my manuscript. I counted that as a bonus.

I’m working on another iteration of the book and hope to send it out again.

Thanks, Kelly. Good luck with your blog.”

Cathy Palmer
http://palmerdesigns.home.comcast.net/

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“The classic rejection letter, supposedly sent by a Chinese publisher to a writer early in the last century, goes something like, ‘We regret to say that if we were to publish your book, it would set a standard of excellence above any others we would likely publish in the future. To avoid this embarrassment of our other writers, we must decline your manuscript.’

I’ve had more constructive letters. If it’s a form-like letter, I discount it. We just did not click. If it is a constructive critique, I use it. There’s really no sense in getting upset over rejection letters. Lots of times, it’s a matter of luck and networking. I’ve maintained excellent relationships with agents and publishers who took the time to critique manuscripts — but never quite bought in. They saw some value to the relationship and on a different topic, we might still click.”

Bob Frump

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“I’ve received a number of rejections from science fiction magazines for various short stories. They all appear to be form letters. One magazine says thank you but, we can’t use it at this time. Another is a more terse ‘It didn’t hold my interest.’ The first one I received from that magazine was surprising in that they would be so blunt. By the third I realized it wasn’t me–someone must have had a bad day when they Xeroxed a ream of rejections.

Good Luck!”

Tony Jonick
http://www.RappidRabbit.com

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“Hi

I was an acquisitions editor at a major university press. Our rejection letters / e-mails were personalized but formulaic. Rejection letters for non-fiction fall into two broad classes: (1) Your proposal does not fit our list / profile / market / ability to sell; (2) Your proposal was sent for peer review; unfortunately our reviewers did not support the proposal; their comments are attached, but their names have been removed. Quite often we would add a sentence to the effect that we would be interested in evaluating any further proposals the author might have.”

Simon Mitton
http://www.totalastronomy.com

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“Kelly,
I received about 15 rejection letters for my book for about two years. I had some that were very dry that just said ‘thanks for the submission, but it’s not what we’re looking for…’ Others were just ‘no.’ Two of my favorite ones were that one publisher literally said that the manuscript isn’t funny and people wouldn’t get it and that I should be more verbose. The other said the opposite, that they loved the book and how it was written but they themselves had not been able to do well with creativity books in the past, so they didn’t want to get into the market. That publisher actually called me, we had a nice conversation and he was very encouraging.”

Gary Unger
www.garyunger.com
www.garyunger.com/blog
www.linkedin.com/in/garyunger
www.twitter.com/garyunger

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More to come!

Rejection Letters 4

“Dozens of them. And dozens. And dozens more. (That’s not all I’ve received but it is a significant portion of the responses).

Usually they are just form letters. Something like, ‘Sorry that the work does not fit our needs at this time.’ I’m okay with that. Actually, I prefer it. When editors give advice about what they liked and didn’t like, I always find myself wondering if they even read what I sent them, or if they even can read. Seriously. On the rare occasions when editors give advice, I ALWAYS lose respect for them.

A number of times (with one story in particular) I have received personal notes from the editor that were highly complimentary. I HATE that. There is nothing more frustrating than, ‘This story was very well written and very funny. I’m really sorry I can’t use it.’ When they won’t even buy the stuff they like, it gets very hard to stay optimistic.

Still, even bad rejection letters are better than what seems to be a growing trend: No letter at all. There may be a note in the guidelines saying, ‘Check our blog for submission status.’ Or in some cases, ‘We reply only on acceptance.’ I find theses things unprofessional and annoying. I am beginning to avoid submitting to such markets.”

David Vandervort

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“Gee – nobody who calls themselves a serous writer would claim he never had received a rejection. Actually it is normal to receive many more rejections than acceptance. I have published three e-books and have of course received countless rejections by countless publishers before I got accepted.

Most times you get a standard letter not saying much. It’s like every business project: The other part has to feel comfortable and believe in it, and if they don’t, they’ll reject.”

Eugene Rembor, MBA
http://www.remborpartners.com

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“Gee, no! I’ve had every single thing I’ve ever written accepted…sometimes before I’ve submitted it!! Are you kidding? It just wouldn’t feel like real writing without rejection!

The deal with my agent is this: send me the ones that are so completely off-the-wall that I’ll think they’re funny, send me the ones that say nice things about my writing, spare me the rest.

As a result I have a file of some wonderful rejections letters that inspired me to keep writing. In fact, years later I met that editor at Doubleday when they published my second book and thanked him for his kindness and generosity to an unpublished author.”

Meredith Gould
http://www.meredithgould.com
http://meredithgould.blogspot.com

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“Only about 35. I’m starting a collection.”

Adam Shake

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“Actually yes. Rejection letters are so necessary in this industry that they are to be viewed as excellent signs of progress and participation in the process.

I have been taught that anything that is even vaguely interpretable as less than severely negative should be taken as a strong compliment. For example: Your work does not suit our publishing needs this year.

This is to be interpreted as, ‘You’re work is really very good; keep submitting it until someone says Yes.’”

Miriam Pia

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“I don’t write professionally, and I have quite a number of rejection letters. I framed the one from Marvel Comics. My husband has his rejection letter from Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine framed on his office wall.”

Sherry Foster

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“Hi, Kelly,
Several years ago I submitted a proposal for a crafts/history book to a number of publishers. Admittedly, my book idea was difficult to classify. As a graphic designer, my submission included a mini-chapter laid out with illustrations so publishers could get an idea of what I was trying to accomplish.

I received about a dozen rejection letters. (No surprise.) Most were photocopies of the standard ‘not right for our market,’ etc. I did receive a couple of handwritten notes telling me they loved the idea and the sample I’d enclosed, and suggested other publishers to try. Not being a professional writer, I found their suggestions very encouraging, and also helped me refine my ideas. By receiving a handwritten note, I knew that some human had actually looked at my manuscript. I counted that as a bonus.

I’m working on another iteration of the book and hope to send it out again.

Thanks, Kelly. Good luck with your blog.”

Cathy Palmer
http://palmerdesigns.home.comcast.net/

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Rejection Letters 3

Happy New Year everyone! Let’s jump right in! I’ve received a lot feedback for our discussion about rejection letters. Let’s get started!
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“You bet I’ve received rejection letters. Actually my agent received them when we were looking for a publisher and I have never read the details. My agent would summarize: ‘subject to narrow’, ‘our company isn’t the place for this subject,’ or ‘we are not accepting queries.’”

Karena Lineback
Author of OsteoPilates

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“Mercy, yes. It’s been a long time since I sent out fiction to publishers or agents, but I mostly got impersonal rejection letters. Of course, I knew almost nothing of the publishing industry at the time, and with my first book, I sent the manuscript to everyone in the Writer’s Market who published anything remotely resembling the genre I was writing in. (Never mind the fact that I was 19, and while it was not too bad a book for a college kid, it wasn’t publishable.)

At the time, I wished they’d said ‘Yes, we’ll publish it.’ But they were right, and I was wrong, and knowing how much comes in over the transom, I don’t blame them for sending me form letters.”

Sallie Goetsch

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“Are you kidding? What is a writer if not a drop box for rejection letters from publishers?

I have received many rejection letters from agents and publishers. Most were form letters. Some were emails. And a couple had handwritten notes. The letters with some indication of human contact were most precious even if they missed the point of my manuscript. After receiving anonymous rejection letters, it was gratifying to even receive one with my name on it!

In a couple of instances, the publisher or agent actually gave some suggestions, most often when email was the rejection vehicle. I wish that publishers would at least type or write the name of the manuscript somewhere on the rejection letter so that I have a sense that they at least looked at the title page.” : – )

Earon Davis
Evanston, IL
http://www.divineprimates.com
http://earon.newsvine.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/earon
http://www.divineprimates.blogspot.com

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“Oh yeah! I framed the first rejection letter I received in response to an article that I submitted because I know from sales that rejection is just part of the process and I was proud that I had done something many people never do – - take a chance.”

Reno Lovison
http://www.businesscardtobusiness.com/blog/

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“Heavens, yes…tho I must admit it’s been limited in the world since email; I recall these mostly on paper…I must be getting better!:)

But I do recall I learned early on in the game at a writer’s seminar decades ago that editors/publishers are very busy folk and if they take the time to make one flippin’ mark on your rejection, then that’s a huge brownie point and feel good about it. Take it that you’re on the right track, even if they say you’re not. I’m not sure if it was really true, but it lessened the pain.

I always remembered this and try to always personalize any letter coming from my end in this manner. And when I do get non-personalized rejections – I did with a not long ago children’s book that I know is quite good – without any human writing, I get huffed now. You can’t be that busy not to write at least, ‘thanks.’

In absolute fact, my newspaper career started out with a rejection letter – the editor, whom I still know today sent me to my first editor…and lo, decades later… Janet Kinosian, journalist/media consultant.”

Janet Kinosian

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“If you are a writer WITHOUT a rejection letter, then you are not serious yet. Those are the stepping stones to success! Good to laugh at them after the book is published. This is an ‘industry’ with no standards. Everything is subjective. Once you get the confidence in yourself, dare yourself to prove people wrong. Ask Jack Canfield how many letters he got when shopping the first of the CHICKEN SOUP books around!”

John DiPietro

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Stay tuned for more of our discussion, there is lots more to come!! We are off to a great start! As always, leave those comments!

Rejection Letters 2

Hello everyone! I hope you had a Merry Christmas and happy holidays! The new year is upon us! I can’t believe how fast 2008 went by, can you? Now that the holidays have passed, I, like everyone else, am now getting back on track with things. I feel the new year will bring many great opportunities!

We last left off with an article written by David Michael Slater, addressing the topic of rejection letters. For any of you who have submitted to publishers, probably more so with traditional publishers, you may have experienced receiving a rejection letter or two. Even in my experience of researching publishers, many (if not most), are not-so-friendly with first-time authors, or authors of different genres which may be more difficult to market.

If you’ve experienced this first-hand, share your story with us! What was the basis of your rejection letter? How was it worded by the publisher? Was it personalized? What did you do with it? What do you wish publishers would say in a rejection letter?

Rejection Letters

Happy Monday to you all! I hope you had a fantastic weekend!

I’m interested in starting a new discussion in the publishing world, and hope you’ll join me. During our talk about advice for first-time authors, I was contacted by someone who proposed an idea, and I’d like to share that with you. I’d like to kick off this discussion by posting an article written by David Michael Slater. David is a published author, with titles including, “CHEESE LOUISE,” “THE RING BEAR,” and many others. In this article, he shares his experience with rejection letters. I think many of us will be able to relate to this. Please feel free to leave comments and join the conversation! Enjoy!

SUBMISSION DOES NOT MEAN SURRENDER

Dear Writer, thank you for your submission. We’re sorry to say…
Dear Writer, thank you for your submission. We’re sorry to say…
Dear Writer, thank you for your submission. We’re sorry to say…

I’ve seriously considered changing my name to ‘Writer.’ A personalized letter is so much more promising. And for a while I titled every work I wrote, “Your Submission,” if only to delay the inevitable for one more intern-produced, low-tonered, crookedly xeroxed line. Sleeping with my head in my mailbox for six months at a stretch demanded nothing less.

I guess I started collecting rejection letters because I couldn’t think of any better way to organize a record of those to whom I’d submitted. When they filled the first binder, I thought it was amusing, in a Wow-this’ll-be-great-to-show-off-as-a-lesson-in-perseverance-when-I’m-the-most-famous-author-in-the-world kind of way. When the second reached maximum capacity, I might have begun to doubt exactly what the lesson would turn out to be. Now the third binder is in danger of exploding rain forests worth of phrases like “doesn’t meet our current needs,” “only the opinion of one house,” “others may feel differently,” and “would encourage you to submit elsewhere.” And that inspiring, “Sorry, I want to publish books that matter,” one too.

At a school visit recently a kid asked me why I keep “all those restraining orders,” a sad, but perhaps uncannily intuitive slip-of-the-tongue. First I eyeballed him a while to make sure he didn’t know more about me than was legally comfortable. When I determined he was cool, I said I lugged them around hoping to induce a hernia and file for Workman’s Comp. Which got a snort
out of the teacher grading a forty-foot stack of papers in the back. Which is worth something.

It’s funny how, for a while, one’s quaint little notions of “write and wrong” demand following the “rules,” or “Rule,” really:

ABSOLUTELY NO SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS!

And so one duly submits.

But soon enough that seldom-heard mathematical voice muses from its long abandoned brainfold: Hmmm. Six months response time. So…hmm…we could submit this to…let’s see…two places a year. In ten years, we could have twenty readings!

As a good, decent and patriotic citizen, one tries not to hear this number-crunching, statgeek voice, but it makes a compelling point in the end.

And so I will admit to having started to slip the odd extra submission out, together-like.

Just two or three per round. At first.

You should know it wasn’t easy. The tension was nearly unbearable in the ensuing months. I had to make sure I never had my back to the door while typing at coffee shops. But when neither me nor my wife and child were whacked by publishing industry assassin interns, I maybe, possibly, increased the simultaneity. A bit. Or so.

Let’s just say my head no longer fit in the mailbox and leave it at that.

But fast forward.

One fine day, one fine year or so later, I get a call from a publisher who’d just read a picture book story of mine about life in the refrigerator called, Cheese Louise! And he tells me he loves the book. And that he wants to publish it. And that he’s “been dreaming his whole life of publishing a book with vegetables in it.”

I do not wish to disparage purveyors of sound career advice like: “Do your research. Find out what each publisher is looking for. Target your submissions.” But the fact is, I would not now have nine picture books published (going on sixteen); I would not have just launched a completed five-part teen series; I would not have an adult literary novel and collection of short fictions
heading to press, if my target wasn’t — What’s the word? Oh, yes: everybody.

Thus, the lesson I have learned: An editor out there is dreaming of you — it’s up to you to find him. Then it’s up to you to find the next one.

My first reading of Cheese Louise (my first reading of anything I’d ever written) was for one little girl, dragged over to me by an embarrassed Borders’ employee. She picked her nose the whole time I read (the girl not the employee).

It was beautiful.

David Michael Slater teaches middle school in Portland, Oregon, where he lives with his wife and son. David writes for children, teens, and adults. He is the author of many beloved picture books, including CHEESE LOUISE!; THE RING BEAR (an SSLI Honor Book); JACQUES & SPOCK (a Children’s Book-of-the-Month Club Alternative Selection); and FLOUR GIRL (a 2008 Mom’s Choice Award winner). David’s teen series, SACRED BOOKS, launched in Oct., 2008 with THE BOOK OF NONSENSE (an Association of Booksellers for Children’s Best Books 2008 list finalist and Cybil Award nominee). Forthcoming are seven picture books in 2009, his first adult novel, SELFLESS (Jan. ’09), and a collection of short literary fiction. More information about the author and his work can be found at www.davidmichaelslater.com. Feel free to copy and share this article.