How many times have you seen a product and thought, Why didn't I think of that? How many times have you read a book and thought, I could have written that! We've all had those moments when we thought, If only... Well, the truth is that not everyone is meant to be the next Post It inventor or the next J.K. Rowling. And no one is ever an over-night success, no matter what he or she claims! There is a lot of work that goes into getting to where you want to be. Just ask any published author you know and he or she will tell you that it wasn't his or her first, second, or even ninety-ninth draft that the agent accepted. He or she will also tell you that writing doesn't come easy or naturally. Sure, there may be those moments when the words flow a little faster and the story line finds a path of it's own, but it's not all that common. You'll most likely find most authors up late at night pulling their hair out trying to figure out just what, exactly, their characters are going to do next. And it will most likely be in the shower, just after the shampoo has been applied, that that character will divulge his or her intentions to an author's mind. The only hope at that point is to not forget by the time you rinse and repeat.
My point is, after all this rambling, that if you want to get published, it's going to take a lot of hard work. You have to play by the rules, persist, believe in yourself, and then, only then, will you get there. Do not be afraid of rejection; learn from it. Take notes, do your due diligence, ask lots of questions, work hard. Know the industry.
Agent Kristin Nelson of the Nelson Literary Agency, LLC, did a super job of explaining what happens to a query once it leaves your hands. She gives some great pointers on what NOT to do as well as what every author SHOULD do. Check out her article at www.bksp.org/content/view/35/2/1/0.
I remember well my days as an editorial assistant when that slush pile loomed higher than my computer monitor (and monitors were not small in those days!). I, too, held out hope that I was going to uncover a gem of a project. I never did. I read through countless manuscripts and would put a few aside to take to my acquisitions editor. She must have dreaded my young enthusiasm as I tried to convince her that we should, indeed, publish a book on beautiful leaves in New England or all the day trips that could be taken with your gecko. She would kindly shake her head and say, "Not this time." Not once did she crush my ideas. I guess she knew it was a good thing SHE didn't have to comb through the slush pile anymore! I can't recall how many rejection letters I sent out from that publishing house, but I can say, "Hey, I tried!"
So, I guess I can say that while agents and editors alike can get a little jaded and, okay, scared, when they look at a slush pile or a query pile, whatever the case may be, I can also say that somewhere deep down in those people are glimmers of hope that maybe, just maybe, this time that gem will glow bright. Keep up the good fight and that gem could be your manuscript!
