Rejection

Yesterday my book was rejected.  Earlier this year I sent The Mighty Carrot off to the first round of agents.  Once responded right away and asked to see the entire manuscript, along with a couple of my picture book texts.  And then I waited, and waited, until yesterday I finally had a reply.  It wasn't what I had hoped for.

It was a no.  Or rather, more accurately, it was a "not for me."  As a writer, rejection is part of the game.  I've learned that to a certain extent this is a numbers game.  To get that one yes sometimes takes hearing no a hundred times.  There are rejections, sometimes, that make you wonder what on earth you're doing, why you're fighting this uphill battle in the first place, why you put yourself in the position to be rejected over and over.

And then there are rejections like this one.  It was kind.  It was encouraging.  It said "you're a great writer" and ended with "I'd be happy to consider other work from you in the future."  In brief, this was a rejection that said keep going.

And so today I worked on Carrot again, looking for ways to sharpen it as I regroup for Querying Agents: Round 2.  There will be more rejections.  Probably a lot of them, actually.  I can't control that.  All I can control is making the story better and getting it out there.

It might sound strange, but I appreciate this rejection.  I appreciated the time and thought that went into the decision, and the honesty to say it's not for me, but someone else will feel differently.  In the end, I want an agent that falls in love with Carrot as I have.  And so, I keep going.