And Thanks For Playing...

The writing gods give, and the writing gods take away.  With some help from Kim (she did an emergency safety read on the 50 pages I was sending last night), I managed to get a partial out to that agent last night.  It's actually the first time I've ever e-submitted (is that the usage we are going with, gang?) anything, so I was really nervous about formating and stuff.  But I think it got off okay.

And for my timely efforts, I received a response just a few minutes ago: a very kind no.

I can’t say I am surprised.  Despite my enthusiasm in my last post, I knew getting a request for a full was a long shot.  That's just the reality of the publishing world.  (I won't bore you all with the statistics...but I could write out a quick table right off the top of my head).

Still, I got to spend the day in a OHMIGOD-this-could-really-be-happening bliss.  As pessimistic as this business tends to make you, bright spots like that are pretty cool.  And the fact that she thought I was worth a closer look in the first place is very flattering.  Some writers go years without ever getting a request for a partial.  (Look me trying to cheer myself up...aren't I adorable?)

In the end she said she was "intrigued by the premise [of my novel]...but not drawn in to the story as much as she had hoped."

If I look at the past two days objectively, I think it confirms my fears about the book.  The concept is good, my writing is decent, but the execution is just not there.  For all intents and purposes, the plot, pacing, and structure of the book were set in stone as I wrote the first draft, years before I had gained all my levels in writing.  In my inexperience, I just didn't get the story in my head down onto the paper--and no amount of rewriting and polishing is going to fix that.

Ah well, that's the game.  There are still six more queries out there and hopefully someone else sees something there that the others haven't.  Until then, I've got book #2 to work on, and I know that is going to fare much, much better.

Back to it!

Comments

[Shaun Toomey]

Hang in there! You are moving forward and that is important. Your family and friends are proud of you! Keep moving forward!