It happened, I knew it would and yet it still hurts. After years of work and several rounds of revisions, I sent out my query letter to agents. It felt great to accomplish my continual New Year’s resolution since 2014. I was on top of the world and optimistic about the responses, and Monday amid a million stressful move preparations I received an email that hit hard.
Anxiety plagued me Sunday morning when I took the plunge and submitted my query email to agents. My wife could tell I was on edge and offered plenty of encouragement. My confidence was high, I just knew one of the five agents would love my work. I figured I had a while before I heard anything back based on the agents websites. It was a relief to not have to worry for a while I thought.
Then on Monday afternoon as sat negotiating to sell my car, I took a moment to check my email. I saw an unread message under my writer email and I beamed with anticipation. My mind convinced me that such a quick response must be a good sign. As I read, I discovered that was not the case. My work had been rejected. The disappointment that stemmed from this email piled onto an already frustrating day. The more I thought about the rejection the more frustrated I became. Once Left the Field of Valor is over five years of my blood, sweat, and tears; how could someone dismiss it in just over 24 hours? I was upset with what had happened and took time to sulk in my disappointment.
After giving it a little time, I read the rejection again. It was not an overly harsh review, the agent just said it was not what she was looking for. She even said there was aspects that of work she admired. Though it was bad news, it could have been a lot worse. At least it was not dismissed as complete trash.
Since my rejection I have only doubled down my efforts. I have received an outpouring of support from my wife and several writers groups I am a member of. One of my favorite pieces of advice was that I should keep each rejection as motivation. This kind of reaction is exactly how I like to attack things. I don’t forget my failures I let them fuel me. With that said I will continue to work and perfect my craft. I will not give up until I’m published.
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