I’ve been rejected—or ghosted—more than 50 times. And rightly so. I wasn’t ready. I just didn’t know it at the time.
Let me explain…After working on Fount and Fortune and its sequel Fathom and Fury for more than a decade, I decided it was time. Having edited and revised Fount and Fortune multiple times as I learned more and grew as a writer and storyteller, I thought the book was ready to find a traditional publisher. To do that, I needed a literary agent willing to represent me in the sale of my book to a major publisher.
In 2022, I found the courage to act. I sent queries and writing samples to more than 50 agents seeking representation. Half of them replied with generic rejection letters (a couple were kind enough to say if I had something else in the future, to query them again). The others ghosted me. It was disheartening. I paid a well-respected agent to evaluate my query and first chapter to see what needed to be improved. He said my submission materials looked good and couldn’t think of any suggestions to make it better. I was stuck.
Months later, I attended a writing retreat led by authors Maggie Stiefvater and Anna Bright and writer Sarah Batista-Pereira and discovered the power of being part of a writing community. I met writers with the same passion for reading, writing and storytelling. I learned I needed to get feedback from others on what’s working—and what’s not. So I did. Avid readers and writers I trusted read my novel and offered honest, constructive feedback, and I revised the novel based on their input. I also commissioned an editor—someone who worked in traditional publishing—to evaluate my manuscript. Her verdict? I had a good story that could be even better. She gave me solid suggestions, and I ran with them. I revised the story once again, then commissioned another editor for line edits (which target language and clarity) and proofreading.
Along the way, I realized something. I could spend another year or more querying agents (don’t get me started on the abysmal odds of landing one) or I could stop putting my dream on hold, and make it a reality. It’s not been easy—self publishing means you do EVERYTHING yourself, from writing to book formatting to marketing. But, it’s been worth it—never more than when I published my second book last month and finished my series.
Rejection is never fun. But for me, it offered so many lessons. First and foremost: I can do this. Secondly, my work may never be perfect, but with my writer community behind me, I can take a good story and make it great.