This week, I got a rejection…and it was awesome!
I really mean it. I sent out a query, which led to a partial, which led to a full request, which led to a nice rejection. I should be sad you say? Disappointed? Ready to forget about this terrible manuscript? I feel none of these things and here's why.
The agent gave me advice. Now, for those of you who've been at this for a while, you know that's not always easy to come by. Usually, I send out a query only to receive a nice form rejection. Nice but without any insight as to why. So, when you actually get a personalized rejection, consider yourself lucky.
This happened to me once before early in my writing. Just one sentence among a typical form rejection. Work on showing versus telling. A no-brainer now but not when I first started. Back then, I was still figuring this whole thing out. Who am I kidding? I'm still figuring it out. Still, I researched, researched and researched some more. I practiced, wrote and practiced some more. Finally, I began to realize the difference between showing and telling. Check out Janice Hardy's blog. She has great advice on this topic.
This new rejection made me realize a few things. First, there was no mention of problems with my writing style or voice. Check! Second, she actually liked my story idea and the two main characters. Check again! Finally, what she didn't like about it was actually something I had been thinking might be a problem. What does this all mean to me? I'm on the right track. I'm getting there. Closer than I've ever been! Yay!!!
Time to revise and submit again. A lengthy process but one I'm excited to tackle. All because of this wonderful rejection. Who'd a thunk it?
Song I'm listening to while writing these days: "Unbreakable" by Jamie Scott
Book I'm reading: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (long overdue reading on my part)
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