While I was dealing with my first agent rejection, an amazingly successful writer I know, sitting in the summer light on the vast table of a beautiful old house gave me some needed perspective, "Wait until you get rejected by entire countries."
Rejection is part of the writing game. In fact, I found it best to turn it into the game, a la Emily Carrion; rejection by agents is training. It is putting yourself in the path of potential acceptance and taking the punches rather than shying away from it for fear of bruising. Every rejection thickens your skin, is often informative and kind; it disconnects your ego, tests resolve, gives you the opportunity to improve, and trains you for the later rejections by publishers, demographics, countries and perhaps eventually time itself... I'm great with rejection. *dusts shoulder*
A pro.
But sometimes we spend so much time growing the skills to deal with rejection that it's hard to deal with acceptance.
'Acceptance,' say it out loud with me.
Are you prepared for it?
I wasn't. I wasn't prepared AT ALL. We writers spend so much time fighting the rejection battle we don't see the acceptance monster creeping up and blindsiding us. It gets you in the soft parts, this wonderful monster.
All of this means I am a puddle of emotion, proud to share that I have accepted representation by the formidable Alice Sutherland-Hawes and the Madeline Milburn Literary Agency.
Here's to whatever happens next, Geronimo!
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