When looking for a literary agent, you usually send out feelers first, which are basically what query letters are. The responses you get will vary.
I cried over them - literally cried - and I'd feel depressed about them for days. I know being rejected only means you and the agent's tastes didn't meet, but even so, it hurt. BIG TIME. Mostly because these agents were the ones I really wanted to represent my work since their authors are some of my faves.
There were so many times when I asked myself, When is it my turn? When?
Eventually, I did find representation but the agent and I didn't meet eye to eye so in the end we had to part ways. That was a major letdown to be honest. I really thought that once you've snagged an agent, your worries would be over. I mean, I've read about the horrors of submission hell (this is when your agent sends out queries to editors; this is different from the query-go-round, which is what authors hop onto when they're searching for agents). But anyway, I've read of authors and agents' struggles in getting a publishing deal BUT I thought, foolishly and vainly, that I would be different.
I was not. So yes, when my agent and I parted ways, I was devastated. And again, I asked myself, WHEN? WHEN WAS IT MY TURN? And I asked God, too.
Turns out, it would never be my turn because traditional publishing isn't for me.
I've been indie for a few years now, and I look forward to being indie forever. Maybe, I'll go hybrid given the chance but only if God wills it. For now, though, I can only envision for myself being indie forever and I thank God for it.
My only regret, to be honest, is that I came in a little too late in self-publishing, like a few months after the golden days of self-publishing. But then again, if I had come in a little too early, my writing wouldn't be as polished (not that it's perfect now). One thing I'm hugely thankful for my days of querying was how it pushed me to hone my craft. It's forced me to pay attention to the rules and while I do break a few of them now with my writing, I do so with self-awareness and with reason.
- Outright rejection. Say ouch then move along.
- Request for sample pages. This is for agents who do not want the first three or five included in query letters.
- Request for a partial. This means the first three chapters or thirty pages, usually not including the prologue.
- Request for a full. This means the agent wants to read the entire manuscript.
I cried over them - literally cried - and I'd feel depressed about them for days. I know being rejected only means you and the agent's tastes didn't meet, but even so, it hurt. BIG TIME. Mostly because these agents were the ones I really wanted to represent my work since their authors are some of my faves.
There were so many times when I asked myself, When is it my turn? When?
Eventually, I did find representation but the agent and I didn't meet eye to eye so in the end we had to part ways. That was a major letdown to be honest. I really thought that once you've snagged an agent, your worries would be over. I mean, I've read about the horrors of submission hell (this is when your agent sends out queries to editors; this is different from the query-go-round, which is what authors hop onto when they're searching for agents). But anyway, I've read of authors and agents' struggles in getting a publishing deal BUT I thought, foolishly and vainly, that I would be different.
I was not. So yes, when my agent and I parted ways, I was devastated. And again, I asked myself, WHEN? WHEN WAS IT MY TURN? And I asked God, too.
Turns out, it would never be my turn because traditional publishing isn't for me.
I've been indie for a few years now, and I look forward to being indie forever. Maybe, I'll go hybrid given the chance but only if God wills it. For now, though, I can only envision for myself being indie forever and I thank God for it.
My only regret, to be honest, is that I came in a little too late in self-publishing, like a few months after the golden days of self-publishing. But then again, if I had come in a little too early, my writing wouldn't be as polished (not that it's perfect now). One thing I'm hugely thankful for my days of querying was how it pushed me to hone my craft. It's forced me to pay attention to the rules and while I do break a few of them now with my writing, I do so with self-awareness and with reason.
The reason I'm reminiscing about this is because a lesson from last night's Bible study struck me in particular, and yes, I wish I had known of this before.
James 4: 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
Looking back, I think traditional publishing wasn't for me THEN because one of the major reasons why I wanted it was for VALIDATION. I was all hung up on what people thought of me. I wanted to prove something, and I believe if I had been traditionally published then, I would have ended up insufferable and with so huge an ego that I'd never fit any door.
I had to stumble SEVERAL times, get my pride battered with hundreds of rejections, in order to appreciate what I have NOW.
I had to stumble SEVERAL times, get my pride battered with hundreds of rejections, in order to appreciate what I have NOW.
When you ask God for something, it will be granted to you as long as----
1. What you want is according to His will. Pray the Our Father. Focus on the words 'thy will be done'.
2. What you want is meant to glorify God. Through your desires, you are able to share God's grace.
1. What you want is according to His will. Pray the Our Father. Focus on the words 'thy will be done'.
2. What you want is meant to glorify God. Through your desires, you are able to share God's grace.
I know this to be true because it's happened to me many times. I've asked myself why I was blessed to have this and that but in the past not given X or Y. Now I know why. :)