This month I'm participating in the A to Z blogging challenge and posting every day in April (except Sundays) with the corresponding letter of the day. The theme I chose for this year is 26 Days of Gratitude. I'll be posting about people, places, things, and events in my life I'm grateful for. Today is the letter...
So, I'm grateful for queries...Haha...NOT!
I wish I could say that I enjoy writing queries or that I love the query process, but that would be a lie. However, I AM grateful for what this whole query process has taught me about myself.
I'm tougher than I thought.
When I received my first rejection from an agent, admittedly, I MIGHT have
shed a few tears. But now, I've developed tougher skin. I don't take it personally. I look to other famous authors who have trudged through the query trenches and sent out dozens upon dozens of queries until there was an agent who was finally willing to take their project on.
For example, did you know that bestselling author Meg Cabot received a mail bag full of rejection letters from agents and 17 rejections from publishers before her first novel, Where Roses Grow Wild, was published? All in all, it took her three years of sending out queries to agents before she got an agent, and then one year for her agent to find a publisher willing to take on her project. Now that is dedication!
Also, J.K. Rowling, the author of the famous Harry Potter series, received 12 rejections from publishers before her agent was able to secure a deal with Bloomsbury Publishing. I bet all those publishers are kicking themselves now!
So even though I'm NOT thankful for the query process in and of itself, I'm thankful it has made me stronger. Rejections may come, but they aren't gonna stop me from reaching my goal. And THAT is something to be grateful for.
