One of the things I like about this circle of hell happened today. I GOT A REQUEST FOR MY MANUSCRIPT -- FROM SOMEONE WHO HAD PREVIOUSLY REJECTED IT -- IN FACT FROM TWO PEOPLE WHO HAD PREVIOUSLY REJECTED IT!!!
When I was in query hell, Agency Smith and Agency Jones both passed on me. Well in the fullness of time a new agent joined Agency Smith, so duly I sent him a Hail Query in the hopes that he might go for it. Haha, it turns out that Smith and Jones had joined up in the meantime, and this new agent 1) apologized -- apologized!!! -- for taking so long to get back to me, and 2) told me that both Smith and Jones wanted to see my project!
I was very polite and professional and refrained from telling him about our history. Just thanked him and told him I'd accepted rep from someone else.
But then . . . then . . . he e-mailed me back, said they all hoped to see my book on the shelves, and asked who was repping me now. Well, since he was so curious, I told him who's repping me. And I added a very few words about my history with Smith and Jones.
I don't gain a thing from this in material terms, but it did make me smile.