AN UNEXPECTED WIN

Two weeks ago I received my first rejection email in response to a submission I made to a potential agent.

I was ecstatic!

How is this a win?

Sending submissions feels rather like tossing a piece of your soul into a bottomless black hole. A response - even a 'thanks, but no thanks' - was an agent caring enough to toss something back.

It felt great.

The second rejection email came a few days after the first. And I'm equally ok with that one, for the same reason.

I recently read that writers receive, on average, 100 rejections before they find an agent. On average. And sometimes 'yes' never arrives. The remarkable young woman I worked with to edit my book warned me that I might have to put this project into a drawer, and move on. I had to sit with that for a bit. So much has gone into this story that I can't quite imagine locking it away. The further on I get, the more I realize that no matter the outcome, I wrote a book, and I've got more stories in me, so anything is possible.

It's all part of the journey - and the important thing to remember is that you can't stop trying. And ... you guessed it ... it's not just about getting published, this applies to practically everything in life.

What are you sitting on the fence about? What are you afraid to do because the answer might be no?

Henry Ford said, "Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." And I expect we all know the infamous words of hockey legend, Wayne Gretzky:"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."

So. Here's to trying. To saying thank you to those who say, 'no thank you'. And to not giving up!