On my way!

If failure is the first step towards success, then I guess I'm on my way as a writer...

Last night I sat down and set out my first batch of query letters.  I had worked for a few months on the query, reading everything I could find about how to write them and going through multiple drafts.

I decided that my strategy would be to send out half a dozen queries in an initial 'wave' to gauge response.  If I got no positive feedback I could see if the query needed further revision.

Well, literally less than an hour later, I had my first rejection!  It was just a form rejection, no real feedback in it.

The funny thing was, I knew intellectually that I was going to get rejections.  In fact, a lot more rejections than requests.  Its what every author goes through.  But, even knowing that, it still stung.  It was one of those rare moments in life when you can be experiencing an emotion, while simultaneously asking yourself why you're feeling that way.  A little like sweating while also being freezing cold...

So, onward and upward now.  I'll wear each rejection like a badge of honor, a brick on the path towards acceptance.  Or at least I'll keep reminding myself to try...