Blaming Oneself--It's the Easy Way

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Interested in A. N. Nanda's "The Remix of Orchid?" For a copy e-mail at nanda_lit@hotmail.com
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Sometimes blaming oneself happens to be one’s only recourse. It’s an attitude I’ve adopted in this case, for the slip was mine and, as time has proved it, it is irreparable.

In my query spree I once reached a site called http://www.manuslit.com and quickly sent a small e-mail. That was on January 17, 2005. I was lucky to get a response. Let me quote them here to set the mood of the day’s blogpost.

Dear Jandy,

I've twenty-two short stories that can make a book of short story collections. In MS-WORD with 12-pt. font of Times New Roman, the manuscript comes to slightly over 236 pages with A4 page setup. They are set in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India,(now ravaged by killer tsunami) and the themes are dominantly Indian depicting everything that Indian culture and value system stands for. They capture the contemporary struggle of changing Indian society and their impact as echoed in its extension at the distant territory midsea. No book of short stories has been written so exclusively based on the pristine archipelago and if this books comes out, it will claim that pride of place in its own right.


Does it sound interesting? If so, please tell me how to go further from here.

Thanking you.

Sincerely

Nanda

Jandy’s aforesaid reply on 17 January 2005 was:

Please send a few stories w/SASE to me in our California office.

Thanks, and I'll look forward to reading your work.

Best,
Jandy

So far so good. But then during February, the following month, I received another e-mail from the same agency rejecting the query. It was at best a form letter with the following words:

“Unfortunately, after careful review, we have decided that we might not be the right agents for your work. However, we hope that you are not disheartened. This industry is incredibly subjective, and there are many agencies out there with many different tastes. We strongly encourage you to keep submitting elsewhere, as you might already have a bestseller in your hands.

“We apologize for the form letter reply, but the volume of submissions we receive has finally made it impossible for us to hand-write responses as we have for so many years. We hope you will understand and forgive us this necessary efficiency. In addition, we do not feel it is proper for us to provide editorial feedback on projects we have decided not to represent".

I was not willing to accept this since I was preparing for a proper submission. I wrote back. The exact reproduction of my email would look like this:

Dear Jandy,

As advised, I am ready to send a few of my stories for your editorial evaluation. But in reply to my other query, your agency conveyed me by a form letter its unwillingness to handle my work. The following is the extract:

“Unfortunately, after careful review, we have decided that we might not be the right agents for your work. However, we hope that you are not disheartened. This industry is incredibly subjective, and there are many agencies out there with many different tastes. We strongly encourage you to keep submitting elsewhere, as you might already have a bestseller in your hands.

“We apologize for the form letter reply, but the volume of submissions we receive has finally made it impossible for us to hand-write responses as we have for so many years. We hope you will understand and forgive us this necessary efficiency. In addition, we do not feel it is proper for us to provide editorial feedback on projects we have decided not to represent.”

Please reconfirm your advice. I’m ready to send them by post with SASE on receipt of your decision.

Thanks

Sincerely
Nanda

Lo and behold, there was a reply—and an encouraging one at that! Jandy happened to be a sympathetic lady, and with her reply I had now no hesitation in dreaming about an international break. So, what did she actually say? Her reply was:

That was a mistake, our assistant goes over my email too because I get so many, I forgot to put yours in a responded folder, yes please send your work. Thanks.
Jandy

Now I took my job seriously and sent my submission by post on 27 October 2005. In order to be very sure about its transmission I chose EMS channel spending a whooping postage of Rs 425.00. Not only that, I also tracked its movement. As per the tracking information, the packet had reached its destination on November 3 at 12:00 pm and one A LEWIS had signed that in token of having received it.

Months passed. There was no reply. I could not take it as a case of rejection; for I abhor pessimism in any form, and no wonder I’m a chronic patient of optimism.

Then one day I rummaged through the files in my cabinet and the e-mail archive in my PC. Tut-tut, there was a mistake! It was my discovery that I had sent the submission to Jandy in her New York address whereas she wanted that in her Californian address. Secondly, I had not sent a self-addressed stamped envelope with the submission.

Now I wrote a few e-mails to her and, finding no response(There was an auto responder--out-of-office message!), sent a snail mail too on 18 July 2006. This time I did not fail to attach one self-addressed stamped envelope!

Still there is no reply, at least not till today. The dream that I had half-way through had fizzled out.

Now I'm ready to help myself: "The Remix of Orchid" will be a self-published volume!

Sometimes I wonder: Is there no system of redirecting mails in US; or is it a system only prevalent in India? But then what’s the big point in blaming others when the mistake is mine. Jandy must be as good as she looks in her photograph and a lady of her stature should not be held responsible for the mistake of me, the wooden-headed me!

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By

A. N. Nanda

Berhampur

14-03-2007

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