this icon would be super funny if you knew B. from writing club
So Wednesday I got a text from B from writing club asking me how close I was to finishing my novel, and if I could get it done by 3PM on Saturday, because one of the top literary agents was hosting something she called a "Chum Bucket," where anyone--a n y o n e--could set her a query letter* and the first five pages of your novel and if she liked it she'd ask for the completed manuscript on the spot.
*query letter, real quick, is a letter saying what your story is about, how long it is, and your credentials if you have any, jsyk.
Anyway, Wednesday was the same day I woke up with a fucked up back, and some small part of my brain went CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. And I wrote probably more than 17k in two and a half days. Partly it kept my mind off the pain and partly I just wanted to see if I could DO it.
Long story short, my novel was rejected. BUT! The cool thing about the Chum Bucket is that the agent gives you a personalized, brutally honest response, so you LEARN shit. All she had to say about mine was that the books she works with are more "high concept thrillers" than suspense novels, and that she was sorry she had to pass.
It was a really, really long shot that I was going to get in, so I'm honestly not upset--she would have told me if the query letter was weak, at least, and B (who's dealt with her before) said that was a fairly positive response from someone who doesn't want your manuscript.
Since then I've sent out five more queries, and--startlingly, because most places said it would take up to 6 weeks to hear back--I've already received three more rejections! \O/ \O/ \O/
Dude, I don't know. A lot of rejection letters seem to require reading between the lines, but I don't want to go overboard and be like, "SEE THEY REALLY LIKE ME EVEN THOUGH THEY CLEARLY SAID THEY DIDN'T" which leads to all sorts of mentally detrimental delusions of grandeur etc. (It's a fine line to walk thinking I AM AWESOME ENOUGH TO CONTINUE TO PURSUE THIS without falling into the thinking of HAHAHA I SHOULD QUIT IMMEDIATELY.)
It does help that writing club has such a positive reaction to rejection letters; their immediate response is to dole out high fives because it just means you're one step closer to the letter that will say yes! Hence my little row of \O/s
I'm really, really nowhere close to being discouraged. It's just. It's weird for me. I'm used to writing a thing and posting it on the internet, and even if some people think it's utter crap there are usually a few people who read and enjoy it--I'm used to the instant gratification, I've been spoiled by it. ;D
The point of all the hard work was achieved: I now have a workable manuscript I don't hate. Whatever does or doesn't happen in the future, I have that!
*HUGS AND HIGH FIVES ALL AROUND*
*query letter, real quick, is a letter saying what your story is about, how long it is, and your credentials if you have any, jsyk.
Anyway, Wednesday was the same day I woke up with a fucked up back, and some small part of my brain went CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. And I wrote probably more than 17k in two and a half days. Partly it kept my mind off the pain and partly I just wanted to see if I could DO it.
Long story short, my novel was rejected. BUT! The cool thing about the Chum Bucket is that the agent gives you a personalized, brutally honest response, so you LEARN shit. All she had to say about mine was that the books she works with are more "high concept thrillers" than suspense novels, and that she was sorry she had to pass.
It was a really, really long shot that I was going to get in, so I'm honestly not upset--she would have told me if the query letter was weak, at least, and B (who's dealt with her before) said that was a fairly positive response from someone who doesn't want your manuscript.
Since then I've sent out five more queries, and--startlingly, because most places said it would take up to 6 weeks to hear back--I've already received three more rejections! \O/ \O/ \O/
Dude, I don't know. A lot of rejection letters seem to require reading between the lines, but I don't want to go overboard and be like, "SEE THEY REALLY LIKE ME EVEN THOUGH THEY CLEARLY SAID THEY DIDN'T" which leads to all sorts of mentally detrimental delusions of grandeur etc. (It's a fine line to walk thinking I AM AWESOME ENOUGH TO CONTINUE TO PURSUE THIS without falling into the thinking of HAHAHA I SHOULD QUIT IMMEDIATELY.)
It does help that writing club has such a positive reaction to rejection letters; their immediate response is to dole out high fives because it just means you're one step closer to the letter that will say yes! Hence my little row of \O/s
I'm really, really nowhere close to being discouraged. It's just. It's weird for me. I'm used to writing a thing and posting it on the internet, and even if some people think it's utter crap there are usually a few people who read and enjoy it--I'm used to the instant gratification, I've been spoiled by it. ;D
The point of all the hard work was achieved: I now have a workable manuscript I don't hate. Whatever does or doesn't happen in the future, I have that!
*HUGS AND HIGH FIVES ALL AROUND*