Hope

The new Writer's Digest (that I bought on our mini-vacation weekend before last) had an article that gave me a great deal of hope. It was called "Life After Almost: The Next Best Thing to a Book Deal - An Encouraging Rejection."

Two of my favorite quotes:

- "I'd guess that most agents add a personal and encouraging touch to no more than 5 percent of the queries they read...By itself, a personalized rejection is actually a good thing: It means you've got the writing chops or some other compelling factor on your side that will likely lead you to eventually becoming a published author."

-"If you're a writer who has received personal attention or an 'encouraging' rejection from even one reputable agent, this is a good indication that publishing has become a numbers game for you. It's now just a matter of finding the right agent or editor at the right time. I'd strongly urge you not to get even a little bit discouraged until you've received 50 - maybe even 100 - rejections on the project in question."

So with some help from the world's best writing buddy (aka Jennie Anderson) I've resolved to send out some more query letters for Rell. I have a long way to go to reach 50, I'd better get to work.