One of the promises I made to myself this year is that I was going to go for it. Really put my work out there, because after all, isn’t that the point of this whole exercise?
So I started submitting to a few agents. I’ve gotten back several responses, which was exciting, even though they were polite, ‘Thanks, but no thank yous.’ Still, I felt good about making the effort. Taking a risk. Getting closer to my goal.
I am still begging querying agents. After all, my list of rejections is a mere handful, compared to the robust drawers full collected by my writing heroes and heroines. However, recently there was an announcement on Romance University that opened up another option–digital-first publishers. Romance University was hosting a pitch-fest with Entangled Publishing. So, I thought I’d give it a shot.
I’d never considered going with a digital-first publisher before. After all, in my dream there is a six-figure book deal, a spot on Oprah’s book club list, and a coast-to-coast book-signing tour. Never mind that those have become exceedingly rare, and that the chance of an unknown newbie snagging any of that is certainly delusional the exception, not the rule. Still, a girl’s gotta have dreams.
Even if nothing came of it, I figured it would be a good experience to post a short summary and the first hundred or so words of my story. The Entangled Publishing editors provided great feedback. And though it was the ‘Hells yeah!’ I’d hoped for, I found it valuable just the same. More importantly, it opened my eyes to a new option.
So, I’ll keep plugging away, looking for ways to improve my story, and always, always work to improve my craft.
Have you experienced a disappointing rejection that taught you a valuable lesson? What was it?
Photo of Journal of Universal Rejection Mug courtesy of Tilemahos Efthimiadis. Some rights reserved.
