The querying process is well under way at this point: Believe it or not, I’ve already received my first rejection letter! This one didn’t sting too badly, however, as it was kind of a long shot, anyway. I submitted my manuscript to this agent last year, before working with C. to edit it, so I thought it couldn’t hurt to reach out to her again, especially since she’d offered me some very positive and encouraging feedback the last time. Alas, she is, as she put it, totally “swamped” and behind on her current load, so she declined a second read.

Hey–the way I look at it, any rejection letter that doesn’t begin or end with the words “You suck” or “Drop dead” should be viewed as a positive experience. I’m just messin’ with you again–I’ve never actually had anyone respond that way. Though one agent did respond so quickly to my query last year that he might as well have used those words–we’re talking perhaps 60 seconds elapsing between my hitting the ‘Send’ button and his reply hitting my inbox (and my gut). Ouch.

So–where are we this week? I reached out to another long-shot agent, who read me twice last year, providing good feedback; we’ll see what she has to say. I also submitted to the Tarcher-Penguin contest, as well as sending e-queries to 2 other agents. 

Research on other possibles continues apace…stay tuned.