Redirection

So a really good thing happened. I got rejected again.

I should clarify. My manuscript got rejected, not me personally.

It’s been the best thing that’s happened so far for my writing career.

I’d worked hard on my manuscript. I had a good relationship with the agent I planned to send it to. He was expecting my proposal. This time it felt so close, so right.

I stuck my envelope in the mail, and then spent eight long weeks praying—no, begging—for God to make the agent reject me if we weren’t supposed to work together.

Odd, I know. Maybe backwards, too. I mean, I truly wanted to work with that agent. I have the highest respect for him. But the agent of God’s plan was what I wanted, not my plan.

Eight weeks later, the agent sent me the most encouraging rejection letter you ever want to read and suggested I pursue other agents since my proposal was not quite connecting with him. He said he still thought I had something with the book, but he didn’t know quite what to tell me to do to change it.

I took that as God’s answer, disappointing as that was.

Later it occurred to me that my prayer didn’t have the most intelligent word choice. I mean, what if I got rejected because the book sucked, instead of because it was the wrong agent?

Or maybe it was because the agent I sent my dog book to was a confirmed cat guy?

In any case, I decided to let that manuscript sit, then come at it with a fresh revision in a few weeks and send it out to different agents. In the meantime, I worked on some articles.

Then one day a funny first line for a novel randomly popped into my head. It intrigued me so much I had to write the next line. And the next. Before I knew it, I had a whole scene, then a chapter.

Funny fiction from Erin. Who knew?

Well, actually, a gal whom I consider a mentor knew. She’d encouraged me several times to write comedic fiction, but honestly, I didn’t think I was all that creative. My humor is born out of stupid, true things that happen to me. I couldn’t make up stuff like that.

Or so I thought. Until my latest rejection.

Make that redirection.

And guess what? Writing funny fiction is a total blast.

(Read more Agent Story)