Naked

"Writing is a socially acceptable form of getting naked in public." - Paulo Coelho

That's exactly how I feel sending queries to agents. Naked. Even if I weren't an off-the-scale introvert, submitting my memoir, Twenty-Six Point Freaking Two, to agents would be terrifying.

But guess what? I'm doing it. I met my goal of querying one hundred, carefully selected agents before the end of July. And guess what else? While thirty-three percent of the agents I queried have said "No," some of those rejections were accompanied by compliments.

One agent said, "You write well." Another referred to my book as "original and engaging." And my favorite rejecting agent wrote, "[W]e found much to admire here in this inspiring story, not least of which is your spunky and very relatable voice." Although they weren't taking on my work, their comments affirmed I had written something worthwhile.

Most of the responses have been one line answers. "It's not right for our list." Or, "I'm not the right agent to represent this material." Those are easy to take. They remind me this is a business. A very subjective business. An agent may like my writing and even my voice, but if she doesn't believe she can make a profit by spending the many hours it takes to sell and herd my book through the publishing process, she simply can't take it on.

I've only had one difficult rejection. In it the agent was more specific about what she didn't like. At first I felt defensive, but I consulted the developmental editor who helped me with the current draft of the book. She reminded me that the book this agent wanted simply wasn't the book I had written. That was all. It didn't mean I had written a bad book. It didn't mean another agent might not want it. But for now, my job was just to stand behind the book I had written.

Since August is typically a slow time in publishing, I don't anticipate hearing from too many more agents until September. In the meantime I'm researching contests and small publishers, and taking slow walks with our aging dog. If I hear anything else, I'll keep you informed. I've been posting more often on my Facebook author page. Please feel free to follow along there. I'd love to hear your thoughts there and in the comments.

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