Yesterday was a rough day. It started out pretty well. I got some editing done, I wrote a new chapter for a new project, and I read a fantastic book (Lillian and the Leaping Man by Ciar Cullen –check it out).
But then things went downhill. Down, down, down.
It began with a rejection to a query that I sent out earlier in the morning. The agent’s guidelines asked for a query letter, a synopsis, and 3 chapters. Exactly how they had the time to read all of that in such a short period, I don’t know, but I got a rejection that same day.
I wasn’t bothered – yet.
Then my Ipod broke. Dead. Died. Gone to the grave. So I couldn’t listen to my favorite play list as I edited. Okay, I can deal with that.
And then my central air cut out. I live in SC, so you can imagine my panic as the temperature in the house slowly but surely climbed to 80+ degrees. And of course no contractor was available to come out and look at it. OF COURSE NOT!
So that was that.
And then… at 8:18 pm, as I was sweating my figurative balls off, my phone beeped. Email!
I looked at the subject and it said Query: The Darkness of Light, from one of the few agents on my wish list.
Instantly I felt sick. It was obvious that the universe was against me that day. I groaned to my husband, and sunk down on the couch before even opening the email – but I knew.
I made a drink, sat back down, and clicked on the email which said… “Thank you for your query. Unfortunately”….
Oh, the horror! Okay, okay. I am being totally melodramatic; I know that, but still… That one hurt more than I expected.
I will confess that I did throw myself a little pity-party for the remainder of the night. I said I wouldn’t do that, but I did.
Now that I’ve gotten the first hurtful rejection over with, I will brush off my sleeves, raise my chin, and keep pushing forward.
I still have a few more agent wish list queries to go before I swallow the bottle of turpentine (kidding!).
2 responses to “Wish-List Agent Rejection – Ouch!”
There’s certainly more to think about – cover art, marketing, pricing – but the reward is that you control your own work. Even for well-written works, it’s hard to find an agent who loves your book enough to fight for it. But then you need to find an editor who loves it enough to publish it.
I haven’t found tremendous financial success, but since I’m writing because it’s my passion – not in hopes of becoming the next Rowling – I’m much happier this way. At least my writing isn’t just sitting on a shelf waiting!
This is definitely tough stuff. I can’t count the number of times key agents came back with with a no thanks, sometimes even after reading the full ms, which they invited. Keep your chin up. Sometimes it’s a matter of hitting someone at the right time…
By the way, I wanted to thank you for following What The Hell too!