Sunday, October 12, 2014

Shades of Gray



And the rejections came pouring in from every side.  While I do try to stay positive and not let the naysayers pull me down I'm also not going to put a fake whitewash on things.  Getting rejections just plain old sucks - even really nice, non-form rejections have some level of suckage.  We all question ourselves from time to time.  Are we wasting our time?  Are we wasting everyone else's time?  What if we're not good enough? 

Those questions are perfectly acceptable but the important thing is to not get trapped in those moments.  If someone comes along and says you're not supposed to feel down about the query process you have my permission to kick them in the shin.  You have every right to feel down about things but it's important to move on.  Reflection is okay but don't peruse them. 

There are a lot of cooks in my kitchen and I have trouble sorting out what advice to take and what is best left to the side.  Everyone means well but with so many opposing views coming at me I end up feeling as if I'm on an out of control merry-go-round.  The up and down and round and round can give anybody a headache.  I'm sure anyone else out in Agent Land can understand those feelings - many of you have probably had them.

I've been prepping for Nightmare on Query Street lately and I feel like I'm just about where I want to be.  I just need to tighten up my query just a bit more before the deadline.  A lot of these contests have the same judges/mentors/agents as other contests and sometimes I have to wonder if they're tired of seeing my name and title go scrolling by.  "Her again?"  But, perseverance pays off and this is more of a "keeping at it" game than anything else.  If we all gave up after thirty-two rejections there wouldn't be a publishing business to speak of.  No new books would ever get published.

So, we'll all keep plugging away until that shining moment when someone wants to read more that becomes an offer of rep.  Remember, many authors got hundreds of rejections and only one yes.




1 comment:

  1. I love that you used that picture from Singin in the Rain! I just got another rejection today by the way. It's disappointing, but it doesn't hurt as much as the first rejection actually.

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