My First Full Request Was Rejected
—My First Full Request Was Rejected—
On January 13, 2024, in Santa Cruz, CA. The Beautiful One and I were up celebrating a birthday with friends and staying in the family cabin. We were in The Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park when I received the rejection notice. She—the agent—included some quality feedback—mostly concerning the non-linear nature of the plot and how it slowed some of the pacing leading up to the midpoint of the story. I can live with that. I’m also not married to it; I’m willing to change those elements if it leads to an offer of representation. I asked her about a revise and resubmit. I doubt I’ll hear anything back, but it’s worth a shot.
She had the manuscript for 47 days. Within the average turnaround window for fulls, which was nice; I didn’t have to wait months. It was also a relief to know that some of the darker elements of NIGHTLIGHTER were absent of critique. These I’m (though open to it) less willing to modify, as they’re integral to the story and characters’ respective arcs. I read the feedback three times over, committed most of it to memory.
I’m not going to lie: This one hurt. It still hurts. I was feeling good about it. Getting through the first major hurdle was a huge accomplishment, and not easy to come by. It’s taken the wind out of my sails for sure. I’ve spent the past couple of days processing; it’ll probably take a few more. But I was with friends when I got the news. Very good friends. The kind that support you during sad times; I have some good cheerleaders. It frees up the mind a bit, distracts from the rejection. It helps.
But I can’t let it stop me, the rejection—the steady stream of rejection. I have to keep going. Convert the negative into the positive. I’ve developed a few new book ideas—unrelated to the Junk Disko Universe. I may explore in the coming weeks as I continue to slug through the query trenches with NIGHTLIGHTER. This all sounds pretty sappy, I know. But sometimes the clichés work—help express emotions quickly. I’m certainly hoping these “no’s” eventually yield some “yes’s”.
Time to manifest a few more full requests. I’ve got a couple leads. Might attend a writing workshop. We’ll see.
That’s all for now. Let’s hope for some better news soon.
-Taylor
TJH -- 01.16.2024