Congrats to...
There's a lot of you!
Hathor, Liz, Tri. Did I miss anyone? Looks like it's a good week.
There's a lot of you!
Hathor, Liz, Tri. Did I miss anyone? Looks like it's a good week.
The Daily Rejection
- Thread starter Devil Ledbetter
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Hot chocolate and cookies sound good. Maybe something alcoholic a little later.
I received another form R to bring me back to reality. Immediately sent out another query so I will end up with the same number of queries outstanding as I had first thing this morning.
I want to query someone at a firm with three agents. But it's one of those "query one and forever hold your peace" places, and the three have different advantages. I keep on dithering about which one to try. Maybe if I choose the wrong one, she will give it to the right one. Or not.
So I keep looking at QT stats, AgentQuery lines, and PM reported sales. The website is one page without bios. Argh. I've been going round and round for three weeks.
Maybe my goal for tomorrow is to just query one of them, damn it, so I won't spent any more time contemplating the same information.
I received another form R to bring me back to reality. Immediately sent out another query so I will end up with the same number of queries outstanding as I had first thing this morning.
I want to query someone at a firm with three agents. But it's one of those "query one and forever hold your peace" places, and the three have different advantages. I keep on dithering about which one to try. Maybe if I choose the wrong one, she will give it to the right one. Or not.
So I keep looking at QT stats, AgentQuery lines, and PM reported sales. The website is one page without bios. Argh. I've been going round and round for three weeks.
Maybe my goal for tomorrow is to just query one of them, damn it, so I won't spent any more time contemplating the same information.
On Monday my dream agent rejected me. Today I got a rejection on a full. Not the best week for queries.
Hathor, I've been in the same boat multiple times. Usually I worry about it for a few weeks and finally just choose the one whose personality (at least, the personality I've pieced together from stalki--looking them up on the internet) I like best.
Or somehow do what others say they can't do
Speaking of which, from the big batch on Tuesday, I received a form R this morning. And a full from an assistant at Writers House. She saw the synopsis and first five pages and wasn't turned off! Wow, I feel like an actual writer
for Hathor and Tri!!I'm sorry. All in one week...
So sorry
Two of the three have twitter accounts that I have found, so that's something. I may need to look further into the books each has sold -- meaning, beyond the brief PM descriptions -- to try to figure out which one would like my voice the best.
QT doesn't show any interviews, but maybe I can find some.
Thanks
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Nice stationary, addressed to "dear author," though. Couldn't even put my name at the top.
Yeah, this whole business is frustrating. My head is spinning out of control with all the things that *could* be wrong with my MS.
Sorry to hear this. I feel your pain
for Liz and for Hathor! Woohoo!Querying is pretty quiet for me. Not getting a lot of response at all, and so far all form Rs except the one partial.
I have started trying out a new schedule. Normally I get up for work at 0645, work from 0730-1600 or so, come home and work out, cook/eat dinner, then work on some writing. But the problem was that my work day left me so depressed and blah that I rarely had any mental energy to spare for writing, so most of my writing happened on weekends in random bursts.
So for the past 2 weeks I have been getting up at 0600 and spending those extra 45 minutes in the morning writing. It has been successful in that I am getting more done than I ever have--just this week alone I have written almost 4000 words on my newest MS. But it's also less enjoyable. Kind of takes some of the fun out of it. Anyway, for now I think it's worth it, at least until I make some sort of improvement to the day job.
Oh and I'm going back to school to get my master's so now I have to add THAT to my schedule too. All my lazy time is disappearing!
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Ouch, sorry for the R's, RationalIdealist. Hathor, just keep thinking about that full you have out.
noranne, good luck with going back to school! I've been fiddling around with the idea for ages and haven't been able to make up my mind to actually do it. You are braver than me!
noranne, good luck with going back to school! I've been fiddling around with the idea for ages and haven't been able to make up my mind to actually do it. You are braver than me!
I'm officially joining you guys today. I sent out my first 4 query letters to literary agents. It's only been a few hours, yet somehow I keep checking my email to see if there's a response. I guess that's how it's going to be over the next several months, etc.
Looking forward to getting to know you guys and sharing in the highs and lows of this process.
Looking forward to getting to know you guys and sharing in the highs and lows of this process.
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You have a solid query, and the Golden Heart deal. I don't think you'll have much trouble getting interest. Which is not to say it will be fast or easy, but you're pretty well positioned.
Thanks. And now I want cookies. Lots of cookie. Nom nom nom
You have a solid query, and the Golden Heart deal. I don't think you'll have much trouble getting interest. Which is not to say it will be fast or easy, but you're pretty well positioned.
Nothing's in the bag, but I like your optimism.
I'm crossing toes and everything else for all of us.
One reject on a form full. Somehow I don't feel as bad when a form full gets the ax. I don't know why that is--probably because it's more mechanical than than the other way and they can chop it off at the knees (synopsis).
chris
chris
Welcome. It gets easier, and everyone here is pretty friendly.
I mean, they put up with me. So there's that.
Liz, I'm pretty scared about it, but something has to give vis-à-vis my work situation. Getting my Masters will help me transition to a different career field that I hope I will find more enjoyable. Of course, it's terrifying, because there's no guarantee that after many months and thousands of dollars and finding a new entry level job (blech) that I'll actually be any more professionally satisfied. But it does feel good to be doing something besides just looking forward to another 38 years of hating getting up 5 days a week.
Hit 4.9k for this week with my morning sessions. Starting to get a feel for the new MS. Some characters are a little tougher than others to get a hold of, but hopefully I'll nail down some consistency sooner or later.
As far as MS5, still nothing. Not sure if I want to send out another round of queries yet or not. Every time I go back to it, I'm still happy with it (for the most part) and happy with my query and synopsis. But I'm not getting a great response, and I don't want to burn through all the agents with something that's not viable. Hm. Decisions, decisions.
Hit 4.9k for this week with my morning sessions. Starting to get a feel for the new MS. Some characters are a little tougher than others to get a hold of, but hopefully I'll nail down some consistency sooner or later.
As far as MS5, still nothing. Not sure if I want to send out another round of queries yet or not. Every time I go back to it, I'm still happy with it (for the most part) and happy with my query and synopsis. But I'm not getting a great response, and I don't want to burn through all the agents with something that's not viable. Hm. Decisions, decisions.
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Re: masters
I want to get my masters in educational leadership so I can have more opportunities in the teaching world, but we (my husband and I) have so much college debt already that our loan payments are almost as much as the mortgage.
Tonight he said, why spend more money to be a teacher, when that's not even what you really want to do? I'd rather you spend the next 10 years working on being a writer.
I still want to get a masters, just because I love school, but he's right. And I'm so lucky to have a supportive spouse! Also, he's super cheap--cough--frugal, and writing doesn't require an upfront investment of money.
ETA: I fully support any efforts to further education! I had to turn down Harvard due to lack of funds, so talk of advanced degrees makes me wistful /jealous.
I want to get my masters in educational leadership so I can have more opportunities in the teaching world, but we (my husband and I) have so much college debt already that our loan payments are almost as much as the mortgage.
Tonight he said, why spend more money to be a teacher, when that's not even what you really want to do? I'd rather you spend the next 10 years working on being a writer.
I still want to get a masters, just because I love school, but he's right. And I'm so lucky to have a supportive spouse! Also, he's super cheap--cough--frugal, and writing doesn't require an upfront investment of money.
ETA: I fully support any efforts to further education! I had to turn down Harvard due to lack of funds, so talk of advanced degrees makes me wistful /jealous.
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Speaking of going back to/continuing school, I just paid for classes. I'm shooting for nursing school. :X
Condolence cookies for Hathor & RationalIdealist & tri
Nora - I think you'll find that once you get used to it, the fun will come back with your early-morning writing. It just takes awhile to get used to a new routine.
ElleMason - Welcome!
Best of luck to Nora & Antonin with your going-back-to-school plans. I was one of those students who took 20+ credits a semester and enrolled in summer classes because I just wanted it over with as quickly as possible I could maybe see enrolling in a class or two for fun, but becoming a "student" again doesn't appeal to me at all.
Anyway, hoping everyone has a great weekend! I've got another exciting day of line edits ahead of me - yay.
Nora - I think you'll find that once you get used to it, the fun will come back with your early-morning writing. It just takes awhile to get used to a new routine.
ElleMason - Welcome!
Best of luck to Nora & Antonin with your going-back-to-school plans. I was one of those students who took 20+ credits a semester and enrolled in summer classes because I just wanted it over with as quickly as possible
I could maybe see enrolling in a class or two for fun, but becoming a "student" again doesn't appeal to me at all.Anyway, hoping everyone has a great weekend! I've got another exciting day of line edits ahead of me - yay.
I think I'd prefer line edits to what I'm doing: reading a couple reference books to glean any interesting details for WIP. So far, other than finding out how beer was dyed red, I have a bunch of bits that don't fit in my story or would complicate the mythology I present. Plus, the book I'm reading first really trashes Seth and I'm now protective of the guy.
Onward, though. I have this compulsion to be thorough.
Onward, though. I have this compulsion to be thorough.
Aw, poor guy. Always being bad-mouthed like that. He ought to smite them.
Also, FYI, my MS now contains an 8-armed robot.
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Or if he's over the smiting urge now, he could provide a nice blurb for my book.
Yay, for 8 arms. Is this like an Octo-bot? Something from Indian myth? Or Odin's 8-legged horse?
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