I guess I need some Motivation

Warning: Bluntness coming up.

First, one month? A month is nothing. Consider it a non-response around the 3-6 month mark.

My first manuscript I'm still sending out queries for, but I'm getting back rejection after rejection...or it must be so bad that some don't even care to respond.

Click to expand...

The query or the book? If it's the former, maybe the query is bad, but that doesn't mean the book is. But the truth is, first books are rarely publishable. Doesn't mean you shouldn't query it, and that doesn't mean yours isn't. But most aren't.

So what's that mean? It means your second book is probably a lot better than your first. It means your third book is going to be better than your second. And somewhere in there, you're almost certain to be writing publishable books.

I do sympathize. Really. I sometimes get terribly depressed about the fact that my book hasn't sold yet, which incidentally, is the fourth novel I wrote. My agent just re-read it and sent it back with a few more tweak suggestions, because she's about to send it back out on submission.

Try to enjoy the part of the process you have control over: the writing. Because the other half of it, publishing, is often painful and heartbreaking and it's better to consider it simply another step rather than a goal. (For my own sanity, this is something I've been working on myself.)

Need some motivation? Read this thread. (Congrats by the way Donut!)

It's a long, hard road...but determination can pay off.

Nicole

Try hot chilis to stoke the fire in the belly.

The best course of action would be to vote in the Bogus Bio contest. I put in the link for your convenience.
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95342

Adding to the bluntness, here: about ten years to write the first novel, two years of submissions and learning before I realised just how bad it was and put it in the trunk. Two years to write the next, a year and a half to get an agent. I've had friends who've taken longer and friends who haven't got there yet. Also - not wanting to be too blunt, and just a suggestion - but maybe you need to seek out some tougher beta readers?

And this might cheer you up: http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/004641.html

I'd try standing in the bookstore for a while and imagining my books on the shelves. Not only does it give you a good excuse to hang out in a bookstore and relax, but you may find a book or a book cover there that sparks something.
Then again, you could just go to the bookstore and hang out. That's always fun. ^__^ Especially one of those with the little cafe in it that sells cookies and has huge chairs for you to sink into. Splurge, enjoy! Buy two cookies and a hot chocolate! XD

Write random things in a notebook or your journal. Things that are stupid, silly, and moronic. Data that proves the moon is made of cheese and sand castles are really purple in the right light!
Why, you ask. Because it's written and nobody can say a darn! XD It's your special stupid notes! *Slowly hides a thick notebook under her bed and shoves a couple pairs of shoes in front of it.*
Plus, at a later time it's fun to look back and see what kind of crud you wrote. ^_^ Crud nobody can critique. ^__^

Yeah.. a couple random ideas. My stupid notes are usually pictures that I doodle when I'm feeling down. I try to think of the dumbest ideas I can and doodle them really fast to see how they end up. I have one rule for myself when I do this. No Critiquing or Editing. It is what it is, brain fluff.

Hope you get to feeling better! Also remember, tons of good writers have gotten tons of rejections. Lots of people don't recognize gems in their rough form. They usually do after someone has fitted them into silver, like a book in its cover. Those that do recognize them for what they are are the happy ones.

I'd say that if you have so many other ideas floating around in your head, start putting them down on paper. Even if it's just in outline format for your next book.

That and go to the bookstore like Hummingbird said. Hang out, soak in the vibes. People watch. Definitely people watch. Use them as potential characters for your next novel. lol Give your brain a breather so you can edit this current ms with a fresh perspective.

We are in the same boat you and I, along with many others. Just don't stop writing and believe in yourself. That is all I can say. The belief is inside you.