Okay. I'm over the bummed. Sort of
I received the first rejection on Book #1 of my paranormal/sff series. It was actually the best rejection I've ever received on anything I've written to date. It was hard to be bummed and inspired at the same time!
I took a great Rejection Workshop over at Candace Haven's Writers Workshop Loop. Timely, to say the least! Some really good insights and information on how other writers handle rejection.
Anyway, I'm resisting the urge to go back in and revamp the whole thing until a couple more agents weigh in. It's really hard, but considering I'm half way through the plotting of Book #2 in the series (and it's going really well!) I think I need to stay focused until the plotting is over. And there's potential my brain will grasp something new in the craft that may make both books "sing".
The truth of writing is this: every time you write "the end", you graduate to a new level in the craft. It's the equivalent of another year in a graduate program.
That's important if you want to write for the long run, which I do.
I think Stephen King has summed it up best. He says writing is the longest apprenticeship of any profession. And he's right.
Some writers take one book and work on it for three, four, ten! years. Others take several books before they're able to produce a saleable manuscript.
For myself, I'm finally hitting the zone where I know what's wrong but as to whether or not I know exactly how to fix it, it's hit or miss. With the romance mss, I'm fairly accurate. But the SFF stuff is newer. It's also where I think my "voice" hits its stride.
So, there you have it. A week's worth of pondering and second-guessing. My life in a nutshell.
3 comments:
Oh to ponder or not to ponder . . . nope, that's really not the question. We, as writers, can't help but second-guessing what we do. There is so little validation for these exceedingly personal business.
You seem to be on the right track to me.
Congratulations on your Moxie for staying with it.
I agree that everytime we write "The End," the writing improves. Because, just like with anything else, it takes practice. Though it sucks that the best practice is writing a 100,000 novel. And sometimes, multiple novels.
...I meant a 100,000-word novel.
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