The First Cut is the Deepest

Hi friends!

Well.

It happened.

I got rejected.

And, no, not a form rejection letter. I couldn't even be granted the simple pleasure of reading something along the lines of "Dear Wendi, thank you for your submission, but at present we are not able to blah blah I've stopped reading at this point blah blah blah..."

I got the one-liner. I didn't even get a "Dear Wendi".

First things first: let me explain that I was not expecting to receive an immediate request for my manuscript. I have prepared myself for this moment, kowing that some of my favorite authors were rejected multiple, perhaps dozens of times, before they were published. I was fully aware that rejections would probably fill my inbox before a request would find its way through the millions of pages of code between my Gmail account and a potential agent's. I have worked in publishing. I've researched and studied and read until my eyes stung with the effort to keep them open. I've edited my query letter, according to the generally-approved standards of the literary agents at large (thank you, Query Shark and the gone-but-not-forgotten Miss Snark) more than thirteen times to get it just right. And even through all my efforts this is what I saw when I opened my email this afternoon.



This is going in a frame!

Ouch.

It stung quite a bit, but not because it was a rejection. It was the way the rejection was delivered. Writers work extremely hard, braving weight gain and restless husbands, in order to perfect a story that literally breathes inside of them like an entity unto itself. But I am no idiot. My writing will not suit everyone, and it does not bother me in the slightest because I know that all it takes is one person, the right person, to love it the way I do.

But if you're going to reject me, at least have the courtesy to write my name in the email. I sought you out and addressed you personally, per your request, so I would appreciate the same treatment. Perhaps this is a good sign. It's toughened me up so that the form rejections will not hurt as much, and maybe I'm lucky that this agent actually felt it was appropriate to reply in a less than formal fashion. The first cut is the deepest, they always say...

I'm in no way shape or form discouraged. In fact, I'm convinced that my rejected query is just what I needed to keep going. Until next time!

XOXO,
Wendi