Weary from querying? Here’s a dose of encouragement:
We creatives are sensitive people. If you’re like me, you feel each and every “pass”—particularly the times you got further along in the process, and anticipated the fateful call of an agent offering you representation. When our hopes rise, we fall that much farther.
Take heart. Your dreams remain within reach as long as you keep putting yourself out there.
Rejection is hard, but it’s part of the process. If you’re going to get a book published, chances are, you’ll have to develop a thick skin and come to terms with rejection sooner or later. Even those who attain representation still face rejection from editors and publishers.
Just keep it in perspective. It’s all part of the process.
You’re not alone. As hard as it can be to see your name at the top of a form rejection letter, take comfort in knowing that you are not the first person in the history of query letters to receive a pass on your submission. (Hence, the form letter.)
If you read agent blogs, they will tell you how many THOUSANDS of queries they receive each year, and oftentimes, their agencies add just a few new writers to their client lists. Which means…all those other thousands of hopeful writers…in the SAME boat as you. And me. * sigh *
Feeling kinda blue about it? Here’s something that usually encourages me: Explore the websites and blogs of some authors you like and read their bios. The really cool ones share their struggles from when they were just fish in the pond like us–trying to get repped and dealing with the Big R. There’s the occasional “Cinderella story” of an author who all agents esteemed, and publishers duked it out for—(those kinda bum me out) but for the most part, you’ll find creative people who face the same challenges as us, and who struggled to dust themselves off and get back out there in the query stream, too.
Another idea: get involved on Twitter, where so many writers share their struggles and triumphs. (Sometimes really helpful insight, too!)
Remember: You. Are. Not. Alone.
Bookshelves are filled with the stories of people who persevered through this same process.
Jenny Moyer 