It happened ...
On Monday afternoon ...
My first ever WIP Broken Ties That Bind has bitten the dust ...
Finally ...
Officially ...
Forever ...
It's over ...
And it all came to an end with a rejection phone call from an agent. The very last agent I had a chance with. The very, very, very last hope this book had.
The end.
I'm going to have an official service, wear black for a week and mourn the hard work, revisions, editing, rewrites, and the many, MANY faces this wip took in order to make it succeed. Only to have it fail. Officially.
It hurts more than I thought it would. Then again, that just might have been the rejection phone call (but we'll talk about that another day).
It was my first. It IS my first end of the beginning that started everything that IS JD.
*blows out somber breath*
And now it's time to move on. To something new. Something bigger. Something better. Something even MORE JD.
But just for giggles, take a look at the FINAL rejection stats for the dearly departed wip:
Total queries sent: 116
Form rejections: 60
Personalized rejections: 12
No Response Rejection: 44
Requests for pages: 7
Requests for manuscript: 4
And that's it ... RIP Broken Ties That Bind. I'll miss you.
Have you've ever had to do this? How did it make you feel? If you haven't, how do you think you'll feel when you do have to do this?
~JD
On Monday afternoon ...
My first ever WIP Broken Ties That Bind has bitten the dust ...
Finally ...
Officially ...
Forever ...
It's over ...
And it all came to an end with a rejection phone call from an agent. The very last agent I had a chance with. The very, very, very last hope this book had.
The end.
It hurts more than I thought it would. Then again, that just might have been the rejection phone call (but we'll talk about that another day).
It was my first. It IS my first end of the beginning that started everything that IS JD.
*blows out somber breath*
And now it's time to move on. To something new. Something bigger. Something better. Something even MORE JD.
But just for giggles, take a look at the FINAL rejection stats for the dearly departed wip:
Total queries sent: 116
Form rejections: 60
Personalized rejections: 12
No Response Rejection: 44
Requests for pages: 7
Requests for manuscript: 4
And that's it ... RIP Broken Ties That Bind. I'll miss you.
Have you've ever had to do this? How did it make you feel? If you haven't, how do you think you'll feel when you do have to do this?
~JD
18 comments:
Don't bury it, set it aside. You may have the perfect second book that an agent/editor will love once you come up with what should be your first book. The market could shift, or any number of other things could happen to make BTTB something viable.
I'm so sorry you feel this way. I'm so sorry she CALLED you. OMG. I think Josin may be right, however, I wouldn't bury her, I'd just stick her back in a drawer and leave her alone for a little while. You never know, markets change, and you might look at it again in a year or two and say, "Oh, I could do THIS!" And have a whole different book.
Josin is right--my agent has said this to me. It's up to you to decide if that book, for all that it is and for all that you learned, represents the best of what you can do.
So sorry to hear that, Justine. I totally understand. Just put away the manuscript I've been working on for the past year, so I'm feeling your pain. Sending you a (((big hug)))
Awww JD!!!! JD!! Black is the new blue! Oh but seriously!! I'm so sorry!! I'm with setting the ms aside for later!! I do these with all my short stories - they get rejected, I hide them somewhere, I find them months/years later and they get re-written!! Some even get through to like a shortlist or two! Yay!!
All the best JD!!!! Hugs! Take care
x
i don't know why blogger is being an ass and not letting me comment with my google account...
oh man, a phone call?! I would love to hear more about that! Only because a phone call would freak me the hell out, and then make it a rejection. Ugh.
I've never put aside anything i've queried, but i have put aside others. It's not a forever thing. Maybe one day in the future a rewrite will give it new life
Aw, JD, I'm with Josin and everyone else who said to put it aside. You don't want all that work to be for nothing, especially when it might find a home in a year or two. Like others have said, the market changes, and new agents come along all the time.
And when you DO get an agent, you can pull this one out and say, "Ta-da!". :) *Hugs*
You came very close with this one. After you get published and establish your name, I'd take another look at this book and see about sending it out again. It's not buried, it's in stasis.
Sorry for the phone call R!
awww man! i'm so sorry justine! but really, truly it garnered a lot of interest for a first try! and you have a buncha others ready to go! i'm sorry for your baby, though!
Oh, my heart aches for you!!! *hugs*
I'm glad you're taking the time to mourn your book and to keep persevering. I've trunked 5 novels...am worried the 6th won't garner requests. Thankfully, I have a 7th in the works and an 8th in the idea stage.
Good luck!!!! Getting requests and a phone call means you're making progress, really, it does. ;)
Oh, I'm sorry to hear this. *hugs*
Yes, I've said goodbye to a book I wrote before. The first book I queried (which was about a year and a half ago) did incredibly poorly. The hardest part was that I loved the characters sooo much. But after writing three other books, I've decided to bring those characters into a new story I'm working on now. It's never a waste. Take the time to be sad, then move on to those greater things!
Good luck! :)
Aw so sorry for your loss, Justine! I buried my first novel. In fact, I wiped it off the face of the earth completely. But I never tried to get it published. i decided it was crap before even trying. LOL
I am SO sorry - it must hurt like all get-out. I can't imagine - although I'll undoubtedly be able to relate once I get more queries out. Eat chocolate, and we love you. You'll make it someday soon!!
I'm sorry! Let it sit while you start on something new. Who knows? I came back to my first work over twenty years later and look what happened.
I'm sorry. :( I know this must sting like crazy.
But still... look how far you've come. Your stats were pretty good, and look how much you've learned! And you went through all this and you're still standing! You make all writers proud.
I agree with Jennifer. In my eyes you are a success with all that you have accomplished thus far. And that you are moving on to 'something new, something better!'
I agree with Josin that you shouldn't bury it but put it away for now. There may be a time someday when you're an established author and it can be reborn. Good for you for moving on, though. That must be so hard. I haven't had to do it yet, but I can feel it coming. It scares me.
I won't forget this book--we met at Bransforums critique-ing the query over a year ago, remember? I know my first manuscript may suffer the same fate, but for now, I'm still querying. I've squeezed a ton of lessons out of this book and I think there are a few more left.
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