This post is directed at every writer who's currently browsing the accomplishments forum and wondering when their break will come. Let me share my short story with you (no, not my fictional one).
I'm 19 years old. I've been writing and re-writing since before I could walk. I finished my first "true" novel after about six months of work in December of 2011, and queried it soon after. Mostly rejections, but one agent was kind enough to request a full MS after a 30 page review, and I submitted the MS in April. A few days ago, I got an e-mail asking if I would be available for a phone conference. I was ecstatic.
Now mind you, everyone told me that it was going to be a call for a contract or some other form of good news. I kept my expectations low and my mind open. Indeed, he called me saying he had regrettable news - two of the agents out of the six within his group said that it had several minor errors that would take professional eyes to catch, and as such, it had to be declined.
However, and this is where you ought to listen most, he did say that the writing was superb, characters were excellent, and he found my writing to be the most mature and developed in MS form that he had seen in years. This blew me away. I was so happy to hear compliments from an established agency. He then went on to say that it was such a small margin of passing up my MS, that when I came to about 80% completion of my current WIP (by summer's end, I told him), that he would like an exclusive MS review and shot to take on the project. I happily agreed.
To wrap it up, he informed me that if he took on my second MS, they could revisit the idea of my first MS for possible editing by their agency's editing services (it was against their policy to charge writers for any services, which I found even better of them).
All in all, what I'm saying is this - do not let negativity drag you down. Pay attention to the good things that you find in your writing journey, and don't pass off small victories as defeat.
As Ernest Hemingway once wrote, "The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry."
Take note, friends. This quote does not mention killing the very persistent.
I'm 19 years old. I've been writing and re-writing since before I could walk. I finished my first "true" novel after about six months of work in December of 2011, and queried it soon after. Mostly rejections, but one agent was kind enough to request a full MS after a 30 page review, and I submitted the MS in April. A few days ago, I got an e-mail asking if I would be available for a phone conference. I was ecstatic.
Now mind you, everyone told me that it was going to be a call for a contract or some other form of good news. I kept my expectations low and my mind open. Indeed, he called me saying he had regrettable news - two of the agents out of the six within his group said that it had several minor errors that would take professional eyes to catch, and as such, it had to be declined.
However, and this is where you ought to listen most, he did say that the writing was superb, characters were excellent, and he found my writing to be the most mature and developed in MS form that he had seen in years. This blew me away. I was so happy to hear compliments from an established agency. He then went on to say that it was such a small margin of passing up my MS, that when I came to about 80% completion of my current WIP (by summer's end, I told him), that he would like an exclusive MS review and shot to take on the project. I happily agreed.
To wrap it up, he informed me that if he took on my second MS, they could revisit the idea of my first MS for possible editing by their agency's editing services (it was against their policy to charge writers for any services, which I found even better of them).
All in all, what I'm saying is this - do not let negativity drag you down. Pay attention to the good things that you find in your writing journey, and don't pass off small victories as defeat.
As Ernest Hemingway once wrote, "The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry."
Take note, friends. This quote does not mention killing the very persistent.
CONGRATS nonetheless 
