You know how in action movies, when Mr. Fighty Hero Guns Yeah must break into some computer’s mainframe (what does that even mean) and the music is all thumpy, and the camera’s zoomed in on his eyes, and one solitary trickle of sweat is snaking its way down his temple, and he gets to the point where one press of a button will change everything, and then –
— click —
— he presses it —
— everything’s quiet for a second –
— and then some building blows up?
Well, imagine all of that, only instead of Mr. Fighty Hero Guns Yeah, it’s me, and instead of hacking into the mainframe, it’s querying my dream agent.
That is exactly how I felt two hours ago, albeit with less sweat and a less heart-pounding soundtrack.
Immediately after hitting that Send button came the rush:
It’s sent it’s sent oh my god it’s sent.
Breathe, breathe, just breathe, hoooooo…
You got this, Shannon. You are a magnificent unicorn. A ferocious tiger. A WARRIOR WRITER of unstoppable chutzpah!
Also your punctuation was like, SO on top.
Giddy but trying to not think too much about it, I took my dog for a walk, cooked some eggs and hash browns for brunch, scrolled through Twitter a bit, then started writing this blog entry.
Midway through writing, my phone buzzed. It was an email from the agent. Already?? My heart did a crowd-wowing trapeze act. I opened the message.
It was a rejection.
…… Oof.
I’m more disappointed this time around, but alas. That’s the way it goes. Just gotta keep telling myself: You can do it! You are a Warrior Writer! YOU ARE A GREAT AND BEAUTIFUL PHOENIX! RAAARRR!
In my last post I mentioned that I always treat myself after a rejection, because something good should happen no matter what an agent’s verdict. My treat today is a trip to my favorite used bookstore, where I hope to strain my arms with how many books they’ll be carrying.
Tell me, what does it feel like when you send a query? Is it exciting, frightening? Do you get that action-movie rush that I do, or are you pretty chill about it?
Pointing Telescopes | S. Noel Brady 
Reblogged this on Wyrdwend and commented:
I don’t give a crap anymore. I’ll find the right one, I’m confident. It’ll just take time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I try to think of it simply in terms of updating my agent/query spreadsheet… It takes some of the pressure off to move past the rejection as a minor irritation (“ugh, gotta open Excel now…”) instead of probably the most dramatic thing to happen to me all day. Keep writing and querying! I love your stuff.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aw, thank you, that’s really nice to hear! I appreciate that a lot. 🙂 You know, when I first started I thought the rejections would be really disappointing, but I got another rejection today and I had no such cravings for eclairs or book store splurges, because as you put it, it didn’t feel that dramatic. Just another one to check off the list, you know? I think it could become disappointing once I’ve been at it for a long, long time though, especially if I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. Right now I’m still at the beginning, and I know this is all a normal part of the process. But let’s cross our fingers that someone bites sooner rather than later. 🙂
LikeLike
I went searching for the story of whatever author it was that decided to wallpaper his room with rejection letters and was one sheet away from finishing when his manuscript was accepted, but I couldn’t find it. Apparently, he was disappointed he couldn’t finish the room, because he had focused more on collecting wallpaper than worrying about getting rejections. It might just be a myth, but it’s a good lesson anyway. I have a file folder where I keep mine.
I did find a couple of interesting posts about authors we all know and love who were rejected but stayed persistent. They remained “warrior writers.” I love that term. And consider myself one, although I’m still learning how to swing this sword. You might enjoy the articles. Here are the links:
http://www.aerogrammestudio.com/2013/06/15/12-famous-writers-on-literary-rejection/
http://www.literaryrejections.com/best-sellers-initially-rejected/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Myth or not, I like it! Thanks for sharing 🙂 And I LOVE that article about the rejections of bestsellers. That gives me hope. And wow, baffling what some of those publishers said. Which just goes to show you that every opinion is subjective, and what one publisher loathes, another may love.
LikeLiked by 1 person