I don’t know about you, but I’ve been feeling a little discouraged lately.
I started querying in 2016, admittedly too early. But I’ve been working ever since, creating new stories, revising, submitting, attending workshops and webinars, getting critiques, and revising again. I feel great about several of my stories that I know are really strong. And yet I counted the other day – I’ve sent out over 100 queries and am still unagented. Now, that’s over 8 different stories, and some of them definitely weren’t quite ready for primetime. And still. It feels like I’ve been doing this forever.
Anyone who’s been in the querying trenches for a while knows that it’s a windy, switchback-filled highway of emotions. There can be the highest of highs (a request to see more manuscripts! A revise and resubmit! A positive critique from someone you really admire!) and some pretty low lows (ANOTHER form rejection? A not-so-positive critique?). How do you manage these feelings and keep heading toward your desired destination – representation and publication – when it feels like there are so many roadblocks along the way?
Here are a few things I’ve come up with – but I’d love to hear what solutions you’ve found to keep things running!
Talk to your critique group/community of writers
My fellow Story Spinners always make me feel good about my writing and that it’s worth it to keep going. Also, cheering for them helps me feel more excited about my own journey – we can do it, together!
Find a great craft webinar to get your engine revving.
I’ve taken some great webinars from The Highlights Foundation, The Writing Barn, and SCBWI, of course. Those always seem to leave me feeling excited and renenergized – at least for a while!
No matter what I do, Pip will always be proud of me. And a little surprised at my existence, honestly.
Take some time off if you need to.
The pandemic was hard for me, as I’m sure it was for all of us. I didn’t do as much writing as I hoped to do – and that’s okay. Unless you’ve made a commitment to someone else to produce something, take a break if you need to. It’s okay. Try again tomorrow. And then, even if all you do is open your document and change 3 words, you’ve done something.
Remind yourself how far you’ve come! Celebrate!
Celebrate the little accomplishments! I never thought I’d have this many stories done – much less stories that I feel really proud of. I never thought I would find such a wonderful community of writers. I never would have imagined I’d have actually sent out 100 queries. Even if they haven’t resulted in signing with an agent, it’s a big thing to have achieved! I’ve NOT given up! That’s a big deal!
What do YOU do? Please share in the comments!