Getting Beyond That First "No"

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Welcome to The Firsts blog hop! Be sure to visit all the sites for more fun and prizes. You can enter a drawing for a $10 Amazon gift certificate on this blog by simply entering a comment with your email address (so I can reach you with your prize!)

The first I've chosen to write about isn't really about my story plot. It's more about the writing process that lead to the first book.
                                                 
                             Getting Beyond That First "No"

My heart was in my throat as I opened that first email. I'd finally gotten the courage to send  query letters to a handful of literary agents, and this was my first response. Were they dying to read my manuscript? Was it an offer of representation? Did they have the perfect publisher in mind who would snatch up my book?

I clicked, and this is what I read (actual email with names omitted):

Dear Author:

Thank you for querying me about your manuscript. I've read your sample pages and I'm sorry to say that the project        just isn't a perfect fit with my current needs. Although I liked it very much, I just didn't love it. This has less to do with your strengths as a writer and more to do with my goals as an agent and the trends of the current literary marketplace.

 I wish you the best of luck in your search for the right agent and publisher. Keep writing!

 Kindest Regards,

Name  (Assistant to agent Name)

Wow, what did that mean? Oh, I got it that she wasn't offering to represent me, but what about all the rest? Why didn't she love it? How could a manuscript be against her goals? What were these mysterious market trends?

I read it through again. She said she liked it. Surely agents didn't tell everybody that. And she urged me to keep writing. That was encouragement, if I ever heard it. She must think I have strengths as a writer since she mentioned them. On the other hand—"Dear Author." It was disconcerting that she'd already forgotten my name, and I hadn't failed to notice that my rejection had come at the hands of an assistant.

After all that initial angst, I soon learned that the response I'd gotten was pretty standard for the industry and meant nothing except "no." I licked my wounded ego and on the advice of other writers, I sent out more queries. My skin got tougher, I became more tenacious, and I took the one piece of advice she offered. I kept writing.

Nearly two years and several re-writes later, I received another first, the first yes from a publisher, followed by a signed contract, a published ebook in September 2012, and a paperback edition in December. I'm happy to say I also have a second and third contract with Etopia press, and book 2, Fire Within is scheduled for publication in March 2013.

Since today is all about firsts, I'm thrilled to share with you, not only my publishing story, but my first published novel and the first in my Guardian Witch urban fantasy series:  Awakening the Fire. (And yes, the book has a first kiss!)

Book Blurb:

Arianna Calin is a cop with a mission. Destined from birth to be a Guardian, a protector of the Otherworlders, she races to stop the erupting violence when wolves and drugs invade Riverdale.

Working with her human cop partner Ryan and an aristocratic vampire named Andreas, she hunts the enemy from the vampire strip clubs to the caverns under the city. Unless she can unravel the secret plot, an ancient feud will drag  them all into an Otherworld war.

YouTube Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/xraKddWGIgM

Paranormal Romance Guild 5* Review: http://www.paranormalromanceguild.com/reviewsallyshields.htm

The Romance Studio 5* Review: http://www.theromancestudio.com/reviews/reviews/awakeningfireshields.htm

Buy Links:
Worldview Amazon link: viewBook.at/B0099ZDHO8
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/RPrJ45
All Romance Ebooks: http://bit.ly/U25Q0G
Kobo: http://bit.ly/Xt5EFY

GIVEAWAY REMINDER:  If you share your own rejection story or just say "Hi" in the comments (with an email address), you'll be entered in a drawing for a $10 Amazon gift certificate to be presented from this blog at the end of the hop!

                               Happy Hopping & thank you so much for stopping by!