Marky's two, now famous, rejections are at the top of the list. Then there's the person who bought my book, and decided to trade it for a scarf, instead. That's not a lose-lose situation, I know, but I count it as a rejection.I've sent off countless query letters (for only a short amount of time, mind you--I'm being SUPER antsy and sensitive), and have gotten all rejections. At first I said to myself, "Well, as long as book agents are reading my queries, and it's getting out into the collective consciousness, it's okay if I get rejected. They gave me a chance." I'm here to admit, it's much better thinking a book agent didn't even look at the query, than having one ask for the first five pages and then turn it down. Utter heartbreak. At least I send SASE's in my favorite color, lime green. Getting cheery envelopes in the mail seems to soften the blow of the inevitable rejection letter lurking inside.
As fun as it is wallowing in my own goth girl self-pity, there is an unfortunate bright side to this subject. I've started rejecting things, too. I reject the notion that I should feel guilty for someone else's problem. I reject diving into paranoia and mental instability just because the person talking to me is going that route. I reject my former motto, "I can knit anything as long as it's a square or a rectangle." My new motto is, "I can knit anything!" Or perhaps, "I can do anything!"
1 comment:
Perhaps someone traded your book for a scarf. Yeah, that kind of sucks. But, there are two other people who actually took the time to argue about the fact that one of them accidentally ripped the cover of your book. There's a little redemption. And, those two people, one sated by the receipt of a hardcover version of your book, the other wondering if she subconsciously allowed the cover to rip so she could be insured of keeping a copy of her own, are now new friends. I hope you keep writing, regardless of the "rejections," and I hope hardcover is always available, so that Matt will not cringe if I say I'm taking your newest book with me on the train. :)
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