I haven't gotten any rejections since May 17th. I guess that's not really that long ago. Nine days. But who's counting, right?
It's not like I want to get rejections. But when you hear nothing, you just get a little paranoid. For instance, remember how my email got hacked? And I sent all of my email contacts emails saying to please disregard any previous emails with strange links? Well, of course there were no strange links in any queries I sent. But what if the agents misunderstood? What if they blocked my email? What if all the agents have blacklisted me because someone sent spam emails from my email address????
I don't really think this has happened. Well, the first one I kind of wonder about, if they just deleted my query because they thought in my second email I was saying it was the spam email. The rest of it I know is not logical. But that's just how paranoia works. It creeps in. It's usually not logical.
I am staying busy writing on both my MG book and my new adult book. And truly, I'm not obsessively checking my email or having constant meltdowns. I’m pretty chill about querying, since I've been at it awhile. But the last couple days the silence has been eating at me just a little...I don’t want to hear bad news, but hearing nothing at all is sometimes worse.
So, who else is walking through the frightful realm of QueryLand? What amusing paranoid thoughts are you having?
I hope they get back to you soon :) I'm nowhere near the query stage yet, but I've read enough from bloggers to know that it's something that I won't welcome any time soon, hehe.
ReplyDeleteThe quiet is definitely the worst. Obviously rejections sting, but the non-responses are what drive you crazy!
ReplyDeleteYou're much calmer than I was. Keep on keeping on, my friend!
Don't worry about the quiet days, think that the agents are considering your MS. I know, this advice coming from one of the biggest worry warts of India sounds false, but just block all the insecurities.
ReplyDeleteKeep writing. Have a great weekend. :)
I do the same thing - wondering if there's somehow something wrong with my email program. Except I wonder if my queries are trapped in a spam filter somewhere, or floating lost in the internet equivalent of where lost socks go when they leave the dryer.
ReplyDeleteAnd then I get a response three months after I sent the query. A few times those have even been requests. Hang in there, hon. Your time will come.
As for paranoid thoughts... Some days I'm pretty sure my name is on some super secret list of blackballed writers. ;o)
Don't worry about it. Sometimes no news is good news.
ReplyDeleteNine days is no time at all, especially since BEA was this week and loads of agents were pretty busy. But sometimes the best way to deal with query jitters is to just write more queries, i.e. be proactive!
ReplyDeleteI'm on sub right now, and I'm so anxious I wish I could be sending out queries again, just to have something to do. Countless sounds adorable, so I hope you get some hits soon :)
No news is good news, right? Yeah, I know how you could be paranoid about it, though. I haven't quite hit the query submissions yet, but I know I get antsy when it comes close to submission deadlines. I'm sure you'll hear something soon...and hopefully it'll be good news.
ReplyDeleteI sent a pitch (to someone from a conference who couldn't attend the day of my pitch session) and two partials on the same day over 6 weeks ago. Either that day resulted in a huge black hole that sucked all my emails in or agents are really behind.
ReplyDeletePlus, there were a couple huge conferences and BEA going on, so I expect it's a query-hiatus for many agents and editors right now. Good luck!
erica
Hang in there. Surprisingly few emails get lost or deleted. I do have to admit I've had my own share of panicked moments though. Mine usually don't wait nine days though. Sometimes I start panicking right after hitting the send button!
ReplyDeleteThis is a holiday weekend, and summer in general tends to be a slow time in publishing. So the responses are likely to be slower in coming now, for reasons that have nothing to do with anyone's writing!
ReplyDeleteI'm only going to say this:
ReplyDeleteWhen you're in the process of querying, it's ok to obssessively check your email. Just don't expect anything to be there. That way when something is there it's always a bonus. That's the best way to cope with it.
Jai
Oh, silence is the worst! Hang in there. Focusing on something new is definitely the right way to push through!
ReplyDeleteUgh, I hate that query paranoia! I'm sure nothing's wrong--just hang in there!
ReplyDeleteOoo...silence is horrid, and I totally understand about the paranoia! Think positive!
ReplyDeleteEllie Garratt
Silence is the worst! Sounds like you are trying to keep busy - hang in there. . The waiting stinks, but Alex might be right about no news being good news.
ReplyDelete