I got my first rejection letter–well, email–today. The worst kind: a form letter with no personalization at all. Well, now I've lived through that. As the positive thinking experts would say, “I'm one ‘no' closer to ‘yes'.”

I actually thought I'd be more upset, but I think my many months of conditioning through reading RWA articles and listening to my chapter mates helped me go into this with realistic expectations. The odds of getting a request from an agent aren't very good. I've read enough agent blogs to know that it depends on my query letter, timing, luck, the agent's mood, what's on the agent's desk right now, whether Scorpio is rising…

All I can do is hope for some personal feedback at some point, and keep honing and sending that letter. And most important of all, keep writing! I'm almost halfway through my current project, so if I don't get requests for Counting on You, maybe Floater will fare better.

I'm not a big believer in fate, or superstition, but I've had enough experience to believe that things happen when you're ready for them. Maybe I need to write a few more books before I'm ready. But, I'm also not giving up. I sent out more than one letter.

Maybe the next agent will read my query during a full moon and be struck with the urgent need to see a complete manuscript. Could happen.

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The Daily Squirrel: rejection? 😉

She spread the thick, rough paper flat on the table, smoothing the creases with her warm palms. Everything she'd ever done had led to this moment, and she squeezed her eyes shut, afraid to look, knowing that one paragraph, one sentence…one word, would change her life forever.