Another Day, Another Rejection

Hello World,
So I got another rejection today. This time it was from an agency, not even a publisher. For those who don't know the difference, agents help you get published (and only get paid by taking a cut of your profits/royalties). So they are kind of the author's friend. To be rejected by one hurts a little bit more than being rejected by a publisher directly. It suggests you're not even worth fighting for.

Having said that, today's rejection did come from a very high-end agency that rarely takes on new clients. It was a long shot, so the results were not at all surprising. Having said THAT, rejection still sucks. I try to embrace that age-old author's adage of "Develop Thick Skin", but it's hard to do so all the time.

One other interesting thing is that today's rejection letter was a form letter but very polite, very sensitive. The emphasis was on their workload rather than their disinterest. The distinction I'd like to make is that rejection in years past were more informal, more brusque. It's a nice swing in the right direction.

Of course my real problem isn't having to add to my collection of rejections, it's how comparatively small that collection is. I NEED to make submissions (short stories to magazines, my novel to publishers, myself to agents) on a more consistent basis. I'd estimate the total number of rejections in my writing career has not yet reached 50. (In comparison I've collected roughly a dozen acceptances... a pretty good ratio, if I do say so myself). That means I have yet to submit a hundred times. All the stories of authors of the past report crazy numbers like hundreds upon hundreds of rejections with only 20 or maybe 50 acceptances before getting their big break.

I don't think I'm a bad writer, or even a mediocre one. I think I'm at least average, probably a little ahead of the curve. But I'm definitely a relatively unproductive writer. I should probably do something about that. Like work on my book or something.

Dejectedly yours,
-K.

Ps: Yesterday's Writing Results: Nothing. Nada. Niente. And that comes despite my growing guilt. Maybe tonight I'll do better? I'm certainly stoked enough to write right now, but I'm also pretty damned tired (it's almost 11pm). *sigh* We'll see.