Man...here's another one. This is from a literary agency I was hoping would represent me. I guess they've very, very, very busy. Judging from the letterhead, I would guess joining the rest of us in the year 2002 isn't much of a priority. It looks like something Greg Brady would write a letter to a 'really groovy chick' on.
But I digress.
Dear Author
Thank you very much for submitting your book idea to us. Unfortunately, we are not accepting any new projects or authors until further notice.
Best of luck in finding the right representation.
Cordially,
Pema Browne, Ltd.
Okay...this is easily the worst one I've gotten. Not only could they not be bothered to use my name in this, the lamest of rejected letters, the couldn't take the extra minute or two to sign it. Yuck.
But...despite this, I am not bitter. Not in the least. I actually laugh a little when I get these. Truly. These people haven't read my actual manuscript. They've read my somewhat sappy query letter, which, let's face it folks, I'm not completely in love with. I'm not going to deter my goal or my ambitions in the least to get this sucker into the right hands. No way, no day. I will, however change up my plan a bit.
Right now, I'm working feverishly to maintain my writing schedule. I'm a couple of pages behind in my '2 a day' plan...okay, more like 6 pages behind, but by the end of the month (or shortly afterwards) I'll have the first draft done. Methinks it'll be a bit longer than my first book, but that's what the hell that is editing is for. I'll whittle it down, make it lean and mean, and see how that goes.
So, here's the new plan:
1. Finish Book Two (first draft)
2. Rewrite my awful query letter
3. Drum up some other solicitation materials to use
4. Research the market some more
5. Submit, submit, submit.
6. Come back to Book Two for a read-through and edit
It'll happen. It's just a matter of when.
In other news: I'm going to participate in a short story-writing contest this weekend. Mark (a friend from work) and I signed up and at 12:00pm on 9.21.02, we'll get a topic and word count via e-mail. We'll have 24 hours to put together a short story. Should be fun and a bit challenging, as it's been a while since I crafted a short story...you know, now that I'm all about the novel.
Wish me luck.
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