Those of you holding your breath to find out the first response to Ichabod may now resume your normal breathing activities. It’s a no. A very polite and well-phrased no, but a no nonetheless. I’m not really sure if I trust myself to blog too much right now. Rejection can be a dicey thing to handle, and while I’m getting better at it, it’s still difficult for me to separate myself from my writing enough to look at things objectively. In any case, I can’t say it’s not disappointing, but I know it’s important to pick the novel up and send it out again. I have a couple of avenues available for this one in particular, and I’ll take some time today to explore a few more before I decide where Ichabod shall bravely traipse off to next.
I’m also reevaluating what I’m working on right now and whether I want to continue that project or go in a different direction. I’m not sure if adult conflicts appeal to me as much as young adult stories do, if that makes sense. It’s taken me a bit of writing in this setting to begin to see that.
Rest assured that today will probably end up getting more than its fair share of self reflection.
Was it a no with suggestions, or just a no?
I’m sorry. Rejection sucks. When I found out I hadn’t won the Delacorte YA fiction contest, after being in long enough to raise my hopes, I cried–at work, to boot.
Yeah, finding out at work is a strange experience. There’s this disconnect between my job and writing aspirations, although my supervisor was very understanding with my disappointment. Which book did you submit to Delacorte?
This was several years ago, by the way. I’ve meant to enter the contest again but have never had a book ready at the right time.
I never read that one of yours, but I remember the title. Clearly better work than whatever won that year, because I don’t even know that title. So see? Proof that Delacorte doesn’t know what it’s talking about.