Mighty Casey has struck out.

[megwrites]

Quick!Agent rejected me about an hour ago.

This means, officially, the Tower!Guy has bombed completely. I've got one more place to send it, but I officially hold out no hope at all and expect rejection as well.

I guess it wasn't a good novel, but I have no idea what else I could do to make it better. I did my best. My best wasn't good enough. The cheery little lies they tell you in school don't cover these things.

Just have to write something else, hope it fares better.

I still love writing, but I don't love this bit at all. This is the painful bit. The part where you hurt and there's nothing you can do about it.

And just for the record? There is no skin thick enough for this, either. I defy anyone not to feel abject disappointment when they work for years at something and come to failure. I guess you just take it and move on.

Besides, it was just the first try. There are other novels. There will be other chances. Other rejections.

Maybe, eventually, there will be good news. Just not now.

Comments

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

25 agents is a really good start, but there have to be more than that! I queried 33 agents, and that was just for YA and children's books in science fiction and fantasy. I encourage you to keep trying the agents who list fantasy, even if their client list doesn't bear it out. Have you checked this list? http://www.katfeete.net/writing/agents.html

You may also need to consider that it's not even this book's "fault," but the fact that it's the first in a proposed trilogy that is offputting to agents right now. You should totally move forward with a new project, but I'd still keep this one circulating. And failing that, maybe you can drop it into some publisher's slush piles. By the time they get around to reading it in two years, the industry may have bounced back :)

If you want to e-mail me your agent list, I'll see if I can recommend some different names. I know a few newer agents just starting out, and I think they'd be worth querying.

I have faith in your work and I admire your attitude, but don't be quick to abandon something you've worked so hard on. And remember, you did get some people interested in the ms from your query, so you're doing a lot right!