Literary Agents: If At First You Don’t Succeed…

I was driving home from work when I saw the email ping through on my phone.

I had stopped at a red light, so I hungrily grasped the phone and opened the preview screen, eager to see the reply. I only managed to glimpse a few (positive) sentences before I realized I should probably wait until I was out from behind the wheel before reading the entire message.

I sighed, then closed the screen and sat back, waiting for the light to change.

It was the longest freakin’ red light of my life.

I was only about two minutes from home, but the drive seemed to take forever. I had planned to pounce on my phone once I parked in my garage, but as I turned off the car, I found myself hesitating.

It’s amazing. I spent weeks and weeks waiting for any kind of response from the literary agent who requested to read my manuscript. Then, when I FINALLY received a reply email…I found myriad excuses to put off reading it.

I’ll just feed the cat first. I can’t concentrate on something so important when he’s mewing at me.

Maybe I’ll Lysol wipe the library books I just picked up…. (Yes, I do this. You should, too. How many of us read in the bathroom? …. ‘Nuff said.)

No, don’t read it on your phone! Pull it up on the laptop. (What real difference this makes, I have no idea).

Maybe make a cuppa first. All bad news is easier to digest with a little spot o’ tea. (Because, of course, it’s going to be bad news.)

Finally, cat fed and books wiped down, I sat at my writing desk with a steaming cuppa and pulled up the fateful email on my laptop.

As you probably guessed from the title of this post, the literary agent decided not to represent my manuscript. However, as I’d hoped, I gained some valuable feedback about my manuscript. I was told that I’m a “talented” and “gifted” writer, which, to be honest, was a HUGE relief to hear. That alone was worth waiting the eight weeks to find out! I’ve had a few people read my novel, but this was the first complete stranger to read my work and provide an honest opinion, with nothing at stake (like our friendship/marriage).

Although writers may think — and publicly proclaim — that every word we write is gold, we’re really VERY insecure people, at least when it comes to our art. We constantly doubt ourselves and our work, even when we feel we’ve written something amazing. I’ll have days when I feel on top of the world about what I’ve written, and then a week or two later, I’m wondering if what I’ve done is complete crap. So, to have your talent validated by a professional is wonderfully reassuring.

Overall, the agent really liked my novel. There were lots of positive comments, and the praise given for what I’ve written made me feel confident, happy, and satisfied. What I wanted to convey in my novel, I clearly have. The agent also explained why he/she ultimately didn’t feel like the right person to represent my work.

I’m extremely grateful to receive so much feedback from the agent. This kind person took time from his/her busy schedule to read my work and provide an honest opinion about it, in the hopes of bettering my chances of it finding a home. I fully believe that finding an agent and/or publisher is like finding a mate: a lot of trial and error, and it just won’t work until you find the one who really gets YOU. So, I’m prepared to continue my search for my perfect (literary) match.

Am I bummed that I’m not signing my name on a literary agency contract right now? You betcha. My dreams of quitting my day job to write full-time are, once again, further delayed. As I’ve said before, it’s rough figuring out what you want to do for a living and not being able to do it. But, this experience has bolstered my hopes for the dream one day becoming a reality, and I feel confident that my manuscript will appeal to another agent or editor when the time is right.

I would love it if others would share their rejection stories, now that I’ve shared mine. Misery loves company, after all! There was even a whole movement on Twitter about it last year: #ShareYourRejections. If you’ve been rejected, how did it make you feel? (i.e., how many tubs of ice cream did you consume to alleviate the pain?) Did you take a break from querying afterward? Did it make you re-think your querying strategy? Sound off below!