First off, I have been remiss in posting with any sort of regularity, and wow that sounds like I need more fiber. Anyways, I shall try and remedy that, and post about why I have not been blogging a whole lot. See, I have been querying agents, hard, and getting rejected, not as hard.
For what seems like the better part of the last century, I have been sending queries to agents. I admit my first attempts were clumsy and embarrassing. I shiver to think about it and am working on denial. The rejections came within a few hours to almost a year later.
See, that’s what happens when you write a crappy query letter, don’t know that your first five pages are all that matter, and have no bio to speak of.
However, over the years I have made some truly great friends. The writing community is a wonderful one. Sure it has its issues like but that’s part of the charm. I wouldn’t trade it in for the world. Being able to talk books, writing, and harass people who have talent but are too shy to do anything with it, is fun.
These friends, (Chris, you have to know you are my number 1 on the list), have been supportive, reassuring, critical, insightful, and no matter what, have always been there for me and encouraged me when I get one rejection too many. They refuse to let me set my laptop on fire or eat my keyboard.
They keep me sane and grounded in a really tough, cutthroat, and picky business.
Now, with some experience under my belt and a bio that is not an embarrassment, I get asked for partials, and a few fulls. My rejections are personal, kind, and at times educational.
Querying is not for everyone. You need a thick skin. You need to know that the “form rejection” is the norm. You need to know that it takes years to be able to craft one that causes an agent to quirk a brow and continue reading. You need to know the “business is subjective.” You need to know this is based on my experience.
I love writing. Some people say I’m good at it, others just smile and nod. All I know is I love my books. I love the characters I have created. I will continue to write and query when my skin has grown back from the last round of rejections. I will put myself out there, because as a writer, isn’t that what I’m supposed to do?
Suzanne Robb 