Kidsillio

Yes, I am still here!  Still trying to get published, still working on improving my art, still struggling with calling myself a writer and artist.

I have a middle grade manuscript that I’ve been submitting to literary agents quite a bit, well…tons.  I’ve read all of the articles on when to give up and drawer a manuscript, and according to the experts, this manuscript has not reached that point….yet. But there are so many rules, so many opinions, and I am certain I have gone against many of them on this journey to get published.  Just this year, I made the mistake of setting my hopes on the perfect agency. I waited, and waited on them to get back to me after they requested I send them the full manuscript; and while, yes, I was finishing another novel, I should have been sending this one on to more agents.  I’ve written before about my need for closure before I can move on, and sadly I still have that problem. So eight months later, they finally rejected me. (well not me, my manuscript) I gave myself a couple of weeks to sulk before pulling my big-girl pants on and researching a new list of agents to query.  Imagine tying your shoes with horrible hangnails on both thumbs and forefingers to get an idea of what this was like.  Maybe ‘excruciating’ is an exaggeration, but close. Because in order to find this new list, I had to go through my pile of rejections to make sure I didn’t give anyone the honor of rejecting me twice.  After that, I just wanted to delete the manuscript permanently, crawl under my covers, watch a chick-flick, and cry.  But I didn’t.  Instead, I concentrated on the ones who had requested to read the full manuscript and the ones who had sent personal positive rejections (I know, a positive rejection is an oxymoron!) Eight agents I found were looking for what I write, and they all seemed to be a good fit. So I picked the top three, took a deep breath, said a prayer, and sent a query and sample pages off to them!

With the New Year around the corner, cheers to all the brave writers out there. May we all have a successful, published year!