I thought this would be a good time for another post on my road to publication. And what I have to report is a whole lot of nothing. And I'm so glad. I mean, I would rather be posting about an awesome book deal. But there has been a nice space here without any rejections, and that has become a thrill in and of itself. You know why? Well, not just because rejections h-u-r-t, nor because I just wasn't in the market for the toilet paper that some companies will make from your rejection letters - because, you know, ew. But also because from now on I can at least assume that my manuscript was carefully considered - that it took more than one quick read to come to the conclusion that they just couldn't take it on at this time.
It's very possible that the rejections I haven't gotten yet are simply because the manuscript is still sitting untouched on a busy editor's desk. But I don't have to know that. Getting published will be such a thrill and an honor. It doesn't stress me out to get a few no's along the way. But when the no comes too quickly, I'm left to wonder if they sat amazed that I even had the audacity to present my work to them as it was clearly not ready for the big time. (That, of course, is a terrible, terrible discredit to my agent, who obviously did think it was ready and has proven herself as a very good judge). But when the rejection comes after a length of time, I can fantasize away about the financial meetings in which the editors sat around and cried that they loved my book so very much but simply couldn't take a risk on a new author at this time, etc., etc., etc. It will be much easier to press on after that.
Speaking of my agent, her name is Holly Root at the Waxman Literary Agency, and they recently started a blog! An agent blog is indispensable for those who want to be published. I've learned a lot for instance from Nathan Bransford, a literary agent in San Francisco. His posts have more than once directly answered a question I had been wondering.
So this chapter in my road to publication is a lot of waiting, but I've been thrilled and surprised to discover that I get ideas as well. I'm working on a different book as so many people have advised, and I'm slightly obsessed with the idea for another one. Of course, I'm not fooling myself, or you, or my husband who has to hear Holly's name way too many times in a day as I talk about writing and TTYR and my hopes and my new ideas and how much I want to see NYC's area code on my phone one day with good news. But after all, I wasn't trying to fool myself - I was just trying to avoid the expense of a Wii.
5 comments:
I went to the Waxman Literary Agency blog site, and read an article by Holly Root entitled "Rejection".
In the article, she is listing 10 questions to ask AFTER you've received 10 no's from agents. Seren, I don't think you've received 10 have you?
So in her own words she says,
"Is it a viable market? Certain genres come in and out of vogue. For instance, memoir is very crowded right now, so your query would have to be exceptionally strong to catch an agent’s eye.
Ahem . . . it would appear to me that your memoir is "quite exceptional" because IT DID catch an agent's eye! The very one who wrote the article!!!!
I'm glad you're feeling good about waiting right now, because this waiting is good! Something good is going to come out of it!! I just KNOW it!
You're sweet, Cheri! Look at you going to that blog and reading all those good thoughts into it! And nope, it wasn't 10 times with agents, and it hasn't been 10 times with editors yet, so I'm hanging in there!
The more games in a child's life, the better. Go for that Wii!! :)
You should make good use of this time before your book gets published. You've got lots of decisions to make...
Who do you want to play you in the movie version of your book?
Whose clothes do you want to wear as you walk down the red carpet after the movie is a big hit?
Oh, the decisions a famous author has to make!!!
I have avoided getting our kids into any form of gaming system. While great for getting the mind working, I am, daily, blow away at the amazing insight my son has and the pictures he draws and storied he comes up with. If he was sitting behind a screen, he wouldn't be as creative.
Wii makes me want to get him a game system. I love the exercise part of it. We may break down and get one next year when he begins attending a 'real' school and his friends introduce him to a Wii.
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