If you're a dreamer, a wisher, a liar
A hoper, a prayer, a magic-bean buyer
If you're a pretender come sit by my fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin
Come in...come in...
~Shel Silverstein

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Insecure Writers Group and Resurrection Blogfest

So, I've definitely had some major insecurity this month. Which is really pathetic, considering that I've only gotten four rejections. Four is nothing. Less than nothing. Four doesn't matter. It doesn't even matter that one of them was on a partial, not just your standard query/sample.

I know that, in my head. But the rest of me feels like shit.  I'm just not sure I can handle doing this again. 

The first book I wrote, Skipping Time, took me three and a half years to finish. During that time period, I rewrote the whole book three times. That book had my whole heart in it. And it was good--it isn't one of those things where I can look back now, a year and a half later, and cringe at how bad it is. True, it had some mistakes--ones that I see much more clearly now than I did then, but the characters themselves had so much heart that they carried the book-even with its flaws. 

Just so you guys know,  up until a month ago I was really self-deprecating about my writing. I was just never sure if I was any good. And then I entered a couple writing contests and won both.And it REALLY helped. So now I know I'm good at this and I don't have a problem saying that anymore. And, looking at it as objectively as I'm capable of-- I still say Skipping Time was good enough to get published. 

But it didn't. And there could have been a million reasons why or no reasons why and it doesn't matter. There was nothing I could do about it. After an embarrassing amount of rejections, I shelved it and decided to write something else. Something more commercial. Something easier to get an agent for. I threw myself into a new book and, a year and some months later, here I am. 

THIS is where it's supposed to be easier than it was the first time. Only I don't think it's gonna be. 

And I'm just realizing that I suck at rejection. It's too hard not to take it personally. I guess I never "dealt with" any of the rejections from Skipping Time. Three years of my life, a lot of them spent working ten to twelve hours a day--to hear it wasn't good enough.  How the hell do you "deal" with that? I know you've all been there, so I don't have to explain how shitty it feels. I just shrugged it off and moved on. 

 I never let myself feel any pain or loss or disillusionment. I wrote something else and poured all my hope into it. And now, every rejection I get on Against the Falling Moons hits me ten times as hard as the rejections on Skipping Time. Each rejection is like getting punched in the stomach. Each one throws me into a depression. And I don't know what to do about it. 

I think it's cause this was my second try book--but it's not technically my second book--technically, considering all the rewrites on Skipping Time, this book is my fifth book--which means, by now, I should be good enough to get published. Sooooo...what do I do if I can't find an agent for this one? Write a sixth book? Who's to say I'd have any better luck with that? What am I going to do if this never happens? 

These are questions that don't really have answers. But hey--it is the Insecure Writers Group. So this is me, being insecure. 
_________________________________________________________________________________

And--given how long that was, I really shouldn't suck up any more of your time--but I signed up for the Resurrection Blog Fest, which is kind of silly considering that I've only been blogging a few months. Not sure what I was thinking. BUT, I did have a few posts that were barely read--so I figured I could put up one of them. The problem is, the only ones I have are pretty long and I didn't want to post anything too long after my rant on writing. 

To that end, I'm just going to repost a story I wrote(which is still sorta long but at least its interesting) This is one of the ones that won me a contest--much to my HUGE surprise. The way I figure it, a lot of my followers have read this, so they can stop reading here and move on. But, anyone new stopping by from the blogfest will have something to read. So, here it is, hope you like it. 

BEYOND

My father is obsessed with where people go after death. He swears Heaven and Hell are legends of parallel worlds. He claims the energy released during death propels a soul into the world beyond this. He thinks if he traps that energy, he can travel worlds without the inconvenience of dying.  He experiments on the most vulnerable souls—ones with no shields. Ghosts.  

 “Morrigan-Persephone! I said get my voltage-amplifier!” 

I frown at my full name. Like naming me after the goddess of death wasn’t bad enough without tacking on Hades bride. Someday, when I’m free, I’ll only answer to the nickname he hates.  Mori.

At my desk in the corner of the cavernous lab, I deliberately knock my schoolwork to the floor. 

My father mutters, “Clumsy bitch.” 

I crouch, slowly gathering my things. My eyes flicker to the tiny plexiglass room in the lab’s center. White candles and salt encircle it. Ghost prison.

Behind the plexiglass walls, Jack watches me.  Contrary to beliefs, ghosts aren’t transparent. Except for radiating a soft luminescence, Jack is just a hot seventeen-year old guy.  Dark, perpetually-mussed hair and eyes the color of the torn jean-jacket he’s been wearing since his motorcycle skidded off the bridge.

His voice fills my mind. “Get him the amp.” I shake long blond hair over my bruised cheek, hiding what happens when I don’t obey my father. Jack bangs on the glass. “It won't hurt me.It's okay.Please, Mori." He can't be sure about that, but I reluctantly stand.

All ghosts sound different. The angry ones hurt, like knives carving my mind. The sad ones are like prickly burrs. The lost--icy water. But Jack…Jack’s all summer.  

“Godamn it, Morrigan!”

I hurry to hand my father his voltage-amplifier. He snatches it, glaring. His latest experiment involves slamming electricity through Jack.

 Returning to my desk, I glance at Jack's cell. Nobody else would see him huddled in the corner. They’d see an empty room.

My father loves bragging that his experiments on my mother during her pregnancy made me into his secret weapon. He doesn’t care that my mother died from his experiments. He cares that I’m “extraordinary.”

 I see ghosts. Hear them. I sense when someone’s dying. I find my father souls. Even knowing ghosts feel pain, knowing how many disintegrate after my father’s experiments, I’m too scared to refuse. I’m as bad as him.

My father stands. Thin and balding, he appears harmless--except for he’s holding something like electrified prongs. As he approaches the glass room, Jack shuts his eyes.

With every step my father takes, I remember.

Jack in the hospital, his charcoal hair sketched across the canvas of bandages. He melted my defenses, even then.  I tried to stop my father from taking him. I woke in the lab, bloody and bruised. Jack was already behind glass. Dead-- his essence imprisoned. He still asked, “Are you alright?”

I pretended I couldn’t see him.

 Jack wouldn’t give up.  

Mid-way through the first week he was yelling in my head. “I know you hear me. I can tell!” By the end of the second-- begging. “Please? Just look at me, Mori.”

That’s what won me. Not Morrigan. Mori.

I remember Jack’s grin when I finally looked into his eyes. “There. Was that so hard?”

His dimple deepening when I answered, “You’re a pain in the ass.”

Over the months, Jack became my first friend. I finally tried stealing my father’s key to release him. It took weeks to recover from the beating. And somewhere in all that, our friendship became…more.

My father approaches Jack and something in me snaps.

Then I’m running, skidding on the linoleum. As my father steps into Jacks room, I crash into him. He stumbles as Jack yells, “Mori! No!”

But sixteen years of fury is exploding. Kicking, screaming, I grab for the glowing prongs.Everything happens so fast…

 My father jabs wildly with his weapon.

 Jack dives in front of me.

 The electrified-prongs pass through him...and slam into my heart.

Excruciating pain. Roaring pulse. Flash-grenades of memories and emotions that aren’t mine. My face hovers before me. But not the weak, bruised girl from my mirror. This girl has a bright smile, autumn-sky eyes, hair like sunlight. In Jacks eyes, this fearless girl is me.

I crumble. The pain slips into numbness. Calloused hands help me stand. Only…my body’s still on the ground. Strong arms surround me. “Don’t be scared.”

Jack’s breath is warm. He’s solid. Alive. I’m not.

He turns me. “Look.”

I gasp. An archway hangs in the air—showcasing a Technicolor world. Jewel-like birds trill in kelly-green treetops.  Puddles of rainbow flowers splash the emerald hills. Cobblestone ribbons unspool towards the horizon.  

 “We’re free, Mori.” We step towards the doorway together.

My father breathes. “It worked.”

 I turn back. He’s smiling fanatically. He doesn’t see his dead daughter--just the doorway.  In killing me, he finally opened it.

Jack and I move like one person. In some ways, we are. I feel his emotions, see his memories. When my father hit us with that current, part of our souls…melded.  Jack loves me. It’s all I feel, all that matters.

To my father, we’re invisible. He steps towards the door. Jack and I thrust our hands towards him. The whole, “ghostly-moving objects” is crap. Ghosts don’t have enough life-energy to move dust. My father should walk right through us.

Instead, he flies backward, crashing to the floor. For a split-second, our eyes meet. Somehow, he sees me. I flip him off and slam the door. The handle melts. Maybe I am extraordinary.

My father screams.

 Jack laughs. “Nice! Now come on!”

As we step through the archway, it disappears. The grass is downy-soft. The air smells like I’d imagine starlight would. But I’m not looking around. I’m looking at Jack. He leans in. My whole world becomes his mouth, soft and hot against mine.  

So, it turns out my father was wrong. Heaven’s no myth. It’s right here in front of me. 


48 comments:

  1. Don't let it get you down, you're right 4 is nothing. Great story and winning is wonderful -- remember that and be sure and add it to your query. Rejection is the hardest thing about writing. Most of us just want to share, to entertain, to hear the words. Great story -- making money would be good too, but writing is a compulsion you can't give up -- at least I can't -- it's a curse and rejection is all part of that. It wasn't until I got my third bad review that I was finally able to let it fall off like water off a duck. You'll get there too!

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    1. Thanks, Yolanda. Nice points you made here and you're right--writing isn't something I could give up, even if I wanted to. It would be like giving up a huge part of myself, and it would suck. So, I guess I need to stop whining and just suck up the rejections and move on. haha.

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  2. Rejection sucks and it is hard not to take it personally most of us I'm sure have been in that dark place where you feel you are banging your head against a brick wall. Celebrate the achievements though, two competition wins 'woohoo' congratulations and you received a request for a partial, fabulous. Keep going you are obviously talented.

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    1. Thanks, Suzanne!! A couple people made the brick wall analogy. It does feel like that--doesn't it?

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  3. Hi Tamara,
    Great to have found you via IWSG day! Thanks for sharing your insecurities, and you're right - they are ones we can all relate to. I got over 20 rejections for my debut novel, Can't Live Without. One agent asked to see the whole thing - and loved it - but decided not to represent me. It's so hard, it's like banging your head against a wall saying: But I know readers will enjoy this! Anyway, I self-published and readers do enjoy it, so rejections aren't the boogyman anymore (negative reviews are, so it never goes away ;) )
    Keep at it, great story, and congratulations on winning. Jo x

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    1. Thanks Joanne,

      Nice to meet you! So crazy that they'd ask to see the whole thing, love it, but then not want it!! I had a full out on Skipping Time and, when the agent wrote back, she said she loved the "Epic, mysterious feel" of my novel and that the writing was beautiful, but the pacing was off and I didn't get to the heart of the story fast enough." But that was IT. Those problems are REALLY easily fixed!! I mean, it's not like she said something major like my characters sucked. But it's also not like she asked me to revise and resubmit--so...she liked it...but not enough to want to bother??? Crazy.

      But congrats on self-publishing!! How is that going for you? Are you glad you did it?

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  4. I agree with Yolanda and Suzanne — writing is a journey, and you have to look at it that way or else you'll ultimately get sick of it. The destination, of course, is being a published, successful, famous author who writes stories people want to read. But the journey there will take a lot of bumps (rejections) and continuous learning on your end, too. As long as you're doing the latter, you should feel good about your journey.

    Write more and write often! (And write faster). Have a slew of projects on the go. You never know.

    John

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    1. Well--you are totally right. About it being part of the journey. And the journey has--for the most part--been really amazing. I mean, yeah--I've had my downs, but on the whole, I've had more ups. Just...meeting great people and discovering things about myself that I never knew. I wrote two books. How many people say they want to write a book (like, literally everyone I know has said that at one point) But most of them never will. But I said it and then I did it. A bunch of times. haha. And nobody can ever take that away from me. In and of itself, it's an accomplishment.

      As far as writing more/writing faster--I have a husband, four kids and a two year old grandson. Time is not always in large supply. And, for some reason, I'm not one of those writers who can have more than one project going. Whatever I do, I tend to throw myself into it to an almost ridiculous degree. Not just writing. Everything. It's just how I function. My husband says I don't know how to do things by halves. So, when I'm writing a book I'm generally super-obsessed with it to the point of not being able to think of anything else. That's why dual projects don't seem to work with me. But, you are right about writing more. I just need to find the time!!

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    2. Haha, for sure! Focus is a good quality to have, especially when time is limited. Better to finish one book than to have a slew of unfinished projects piling around you. What I really meant to say was, don't stop at two books! You know you're a good writing and that people like your work. So keep dreaming up amazing stories that you want to tell, and then write them! Even if you have to do it one by one...

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  5. Wow! What a great story! Really unique and of course well-written. I think with where you're at, it's hard to offer encouragement without it sounding canned. I can tell you that I wrote 3 books over the span of 9 years. I only queried for 2 of them. I was at 238 rejections total from agents before I landed one. Then 18 months on submissions. More rejections, just at another level. My first book comes out in a month. A book I wrote EIGHT years ago. A book that over 100 agents rejected over the span of 4 years, a book countless publishers rejected over almost 2 years. I got a lot of positive feedback on my work, but no contracts! I know it's frustrating when you know you don't suck but you're still not getting there but really, hang in there. Sometimes these things are less about talent and more about timing. I've known other writers who wrote 3 or more books before getting published. What's that they say? The only difference between a published writer and a non-published writer is perseverance. You WILL get there. Also let me know if there's any way I can help!

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    1. Wow. Just...wow. I think you're my new hero. THAT was not canned encouragement. That was totally mind-blowingly inspirational. Just the fact that you believed in the book enough to keep going like that. And it paid off. Took awhile. haha. But it did. You must be on cloud nine!!! Does it feel real yet? Having a book coming out I mean?

      Whenever I start feeling crappy, I'm going to come back and read this post. Everyone else gave really great advice, but this is PROOF that perseverance will pay off. I think that's what I was looking for when I WROTE this post. Solid, hard proof that--if you don't give up--eventually it will happen. THANK YOU!!!

      And it was really sweet to ask if you could do anything. Believe me, you already did. That's just...the best writer story I ever heard. What's your book about anyway? If you need any help promoting it, let me know!! I know this is a pretty small blog--but I'd be happy to help. :)

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  6. Rejection is a BIG insecurity issue. Who ever really deals with it well. Maybe it's a mater of timing. Maybe you need a few new CP's or Betas who could help. Maybe you should dust off that first MS and try again. A lot of maybes, only you have the answers. Good Luck.

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    1. Yeah, I know it is. And I know everyone has to go through it. I actually do have an amazing CP and a couple great Betas. And, believe me, someday I will dust off Skipping Time and try again!!

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  7. Wonderful story! Good luck in your queries...I think The Help was rejected 69 times before publication. Good commentary on perseverance. And don't give up on Skipping Time! It will all happen!

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    1. Thanks, ML. Everyone made me feel SO much better. IWSG is an awesome group to belong too!!!!

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  8. Wear your rejections like you would a badge of honor.

    Great story too!

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    1. Thanks, Mina. And I know you're right. I think it's Stephen King that keeps one of the Carrie rejections above his fireplace. Whoever it was from told him the book would never sell. HA!

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  9. think of it this way, your odds are better with every book & every rejection! keep going! you're that much closer!
    and love that ending!

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    1. Thanks, Tara. That's a good point. I'm glad you liked my story!!

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  10. Thanks for sharing. Rejections suck!! Sometimes they don't even make sense, you just know that the agent/publisher is just looking for something to reject. I still don't understand how some books get published when they're so crappy, while other good books get shelved. Who knows. I see keep the manuscript and try sending it again years down the road. Maybe the market will be ready for it by then. New follower here.

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    1. Thanks Siobhan!! Nice to meet you. And yeah--I totally agree with what you're saying. I've picked up books and just been like, "Whaaat?" THIS can get published, but I can't? And it sucks!!

      And yeah--someday I will definitely re-submit Skipping Time. And I'm feeling much better. Everyone in IWSG has been awesome. :)

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  11. That was fantastic. Really enjoyed the story and looking forward to reading some more of your stuff. Cheers,

    W.

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  12. I'm fairly sure everyone is bad at rejections. I know for a fact that most of the people handing them out hate doing it. They just have to in order to make a living.

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    1. That's true. It must suck having to make people feel bad all the time. But, they have the flipside of it too, when they get to make "The Call"

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  13. It's hard not to take it personal. But a lot of this business is timing. Don't be afraid to keep trying, because you don't know when your time will happen.
    Remember, if it can happen to me, it can happen to ANYBODY!!!!

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    1. Thanks, Alex. I've heard a lot of that today--that it's timing as much as anything else. I got a lot of great advice today--so thanks for starting ISWG!!!

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  14. nice prose - well I haven't even got as far as sending off the manuscript to get the obligatory rejections - so keep plugging away anyhow - good luck.

    stopping by from the Blogfest

    David

    http://britsintheus23.blogspot.com/

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    1. Thanks, David! Glad you liked it. Don't worry--I'm sure someday you'll be the proud owner of a stack of rejections like the rest of us. haha

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  15. Wow -- I really liked your resurrected story of Mori and Jack. It was well-written, gripping, and filled with excellent characterization for such a short story. Nicely done!

    So hang in there and don't take the rejections to heart. I know good things will eventually happen for you!

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    1. Thanks so much, Chris!! It was one of my first tries at flash-fiction, but I had a lot of fun writing it. :)

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  16. People have already say it, but I'll say it anyway. Four is nothing. But you know that famous definition of crazyness, right? "Crazyness is doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results each time." I'm not saying this is the case with you.
    But... I remember your story from GUTGAA and I thought it was really good. So perhaps what you need to change is your query system. Maybe work on your pitch to make it outstanding. Have you noticed that there are some really boring books out there? Published by major houses? I look at those and think: My story is millions time better than that. Maybe it's arrogance, or maybe it's the experience I accumulated over the years from all those tons of other books I've read. But I think I can tell the difference between a crappy book and a good one. And I thought your book was good. Maybe those crappy ones that got published (no matter if they became commercial successes or not) had amazing pitches and their queries really stood out from the slush pile. Or maybe you just haven't found the right agent. It's such a subjective bussiness that it's really impossible to forsee what will be a hit or not. For example, I still cannot wrap my head around the success of Fifty Shades. I read the 3 books, and I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I think they could've used, um, I don't know? An better Editor? The final product read like an unpolished manuscript. Sure, it has potential. And it couldn't have been just about the sexual content, because there are literally thousands of books of the same nature out there that thankfully never became a bestselling monster like 50 shades. But it makes you wonder, doesn't it?
    But your insecurities are perfectly understandable.
    Just hang in there :)

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    2. I couldn't agree more with everything you said. But it was actually the book BEFORE this one that had gotten a ton of rejections. The one you read in GUTGAA is Against the Falling Moons. ATFM only has the four rejections so far, so--at this point--I have no idea if I need to change the query or not.It got through to the agent round on GUTGAA but it didn't get ANY interest from agents so it's possible that the query does still need some work.

      The few partials I have out are because of Pitch Live and Hook, Line and Sinker. So, at this point I haven't necessarily used the actual query enough to know if it needs to be changed. If something happens with one of the partials I have out, I'd be almost as happy about NOT having to re-write the damn pitch again as I would about being signed. haha

      And wow. Fifty Shades...I shake my head every time the subject comes up. Still, it was a HUGE hit. E.L. James managed to find some elusive ingredient that made most people fall in love with her book. I just wish I knew what it WAS, so I could add it to my writing. ;)

      Anyway, I really appreciate the thoughtful response. Everyone in IWSG was great and I'm feeling totally re-energized and ready to go again.

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  17. Great story to be resurrected! Thanks for sharing. I'm happy to hear you are feeling much more confident that just a month ago. Confidence can take you very far! Keep pursuing your dreams and fighting to be every time better, the rest will fall in its proper place.

    Good luck!

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    1. Thanks, Gina! I'm really glad you enjoyed the story.

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  18. Tamara, your story is a unique tale, masterfully told (so was the one you wrote for Spooktoberfest - loved that one, too). You definitely have chops. Keep doing what you love. You DO have that "elusive ingredient." *Absolutely.*

    Rejections blow - I've got a physical box full of them and an Inbox folder with loads more. The hurt is inevitable, but defeat is not, unless you give up. Have a drink, have some ice cream, feel the blue and then grit your teeth and keep writing.

    And here's why you can't take rejection personally: this writing business is a *business.* Given the shakeups the publishing world has experienced since self/e-publishing took off a few years ago, it's ever more important for agents/editors to feel they're optioning commercially viable works. Their perceptions of what will sell are subjective, of course, but they have to go with their guts, for good or ill. Forget them. You write, and if you don't get where you want to go via the traditional route, your opportunity to go indie has never existed at a more favorable time.

    NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER SURRENDER! (Oh, and thanks for participating in my blogfest!) :-)
    ~Mina
    Some Dark Romantic

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    1. Thanks, Mina!! This was really nice. It's things like this that make me feel better when I'm down. I am actually considering the indie route. We'll see though. Keeping all my options open for now.

      And you're very welcome for being in your blogfest! It was a lot of fun and I met even more nice people. The writing community is awesome. I've only been blogging for a few months and everyone is SO welcoming. :)

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    2. Hey, Tamara - I'm gonna need your e-mail address! :-)

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  19. Thanks for being so honest. I completely identify with your query struggles. With my first two novels, I didn't really expect to land an agent. I told myself most writers don't get one until their 3-5th books and kept my expectations low. But my book #3 took twice as long as the others and was a million times better. I even secured myself agented-betas to help me polish. It's garnered a lot of requests, and rejections, almost all form. I'm querying this one into the ground, but I've lost hope. Like you, I wonder why should I spend another year working hours-a-day on something that I don't think will be any better than #3. If #3 didn't get me an agent, why will #4? I think it's mostly about premise and I just haven't found a knock-my-socks-off never-been-done-before premise. I've been thinking for 6 months. Got nothing as good as book #3.
    But I hate to be a quitter...

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    1. Hey Lexa,

      Lisa Regan responded to this post up top. Rather than having you scroll up and find it, I'm just going to repost her response here. Everyone is IWSG was awesome and gave awesome advice, but Lisa posted actual PROOF (which is exactly what I wanted) that, if you don't give up, it will eventually happen. I think this should help you feel better--I know it helped me immensely:

      Lisa ReganNovember 7, 2012 6:54 AM

      Wow! What a great story! Really unique and of course well-written. I think with where you're at, it's hard to offer encouragement without it sounding canned. I can tell you that I wrote 3 books over the span of 9 years. I only queried for 2 of them. I was at 238 rejections total from agents before I landed one. Then 18 months on submissions. More rejections, just at another level. My first book comes out in a month. A book I wrote EIGHT years ago. A book that over 100 agents rejected over the span of 4 years, a book countless publishers rejected over almost 2 years. I got a lot of positive feedback on my work, but no contracts! I know it's frustrating when you know you don't suck but you're still not getting there but really, hang in there. Sometimes these things are less about talent and more about timing. I've known other writers who wrote 3 or more books before getting published. What's that they say? The only difference between a published writer and a non-published writer is perseverance. You WILL get there. Also let me know if there's any way I can help!

      Is that the best writer perseverance story you ever heard or what? Over 100 rejections per book and she kept going. I was totally blown away by that. If she could do it, we can too.

      What is your book's premise anyway? I'm curious now, cause you said you didn't think it was good enough. I'll bet it is and you're just feeling down. We all know that the same concepts have been done over and over again and they WORK over and over again--as long as the writing/characters are well done. And, considering you've taken all the right steps as far as having beta readers/critiques etc...it seems like those two things shouldn't be a problem.

      I actually haven't seen anything like either book I wrote. As far as the premise I mean. With Skipping Time, the fact that it had a really unique premise made it a harder sell. Nobody knew what the hell to make of it. haha. I haven't seen the premise I used in Against the Falling Moons but--unlike Skipping Time--it was a really simple concept--easily explainable--so maybe that will make a difference this time. I hope so.

      Anyway, I hope this made you feel better!! If there is anything else I can do, let me know...

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  20. Hi! Stopping in from the bloghop. First I have to say, hang in there and don't give up, only persistence will take you where you want to go. And congratulations for making it into Mina's finals! I LOVE your story! (:

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    1. Thanks, Elise!!

      I just found out I made the finals. I was so happy!! :)

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  21. I hear ya on the rejections. I stopped querying for that reason. I hope to start up again next year with my second book. I'm finishing my third book now. This isn't an easy business and a lot has to do with the whole subjective thing. The thing is you love to write and you are awesome at it. A wise author told me to keep going no matter what. Do your time and you will be rewarded. She queried for 2 1/2 years with over 150 rejection on two different books. Her fifth book is the one that landed her an agent. So, yes, rejections are never fun and I still have a hard time with them, but you must push past them to get to where you want to be.
    BTW-- Congrats on getting to the finals. I LOVED that piece. Amazing!

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    1. This is very good advice, and exactly what I plan on following. I honestly feel someday I'll get there. Glad you liked my story!!!

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  22. Love the story! I know rejection it hard, but from what I've seen of your flash fiction, I can tell you're a talented storyteller. You'll get there as long as you keep working at it, and I'm glad that you've gotten to the point where you can confidently say you're a good writer. I still have trouble with that part myself.

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    1. Thank you very much, L.G. I haven't read any of your writing beyond the poem in the Resurrection Blogfest, but that was awesome. :)

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I love to hear from everyone! Thanks for the comment. :)