What I'm Working On

As a writer-for-hire, I don't always love the topics I'm assigned. But the truth is, usually I do love them and even if it doesn't start out that way, I get interested once I begin researching a subject. There's more freedom than many people think in work-for-hire freelancing. While I don't choose my subjects out of thin air (or my imagination), I do get a choice of several titles each time an editor approaches me. When there's a list, I can always find something that interests me.

So this week, I happen to be working on a book I find fascinating - it's a biography about a Texas cowgirl who lived back in the 1800s.  I don't want to give away her name, just in case I'm not supposed to before publication. But this woman rocks! I love learning about historic figures like this woman, a person I don't think everyone knows much about (especially considering the conflicting reports I'm getting from my sources).  It's fun finding out about her and straightening out the facts to give her the respect she's due.

Freelancers can't just work on one project at a time, though! I also have some emails out to editors who will hopefully be making assignments soon. And most exciting to me, my book is with an agent right now. I'm really looking forward to hearing back from her, since it's a second read with revisions I made based on her comments and suggestions. Here's hoping she likes it!

Rejection!

I just got a rejection email from an agent, and at first, I had this weird reaction. I didn't feel rejected. I felt more like I had gotten a bunch of suggestions for revisions that seemed hard and time-consuming and impossible to complete.

Now, reflecting on that feeling and rereading the email, I've realized something important. This is familiar territory. Even though it was technically a rejection, this agent gave me some suggestions, which means my reaction is up to me. I can view her rejection as a list of revisions instead. That means, I can do what I always do with revisions: Feel overwhelmed. Wait a few days to work on them. Then, start addressing each comment one at a time.

Even now, instead of feeling rejected or even overwhelmed, I'm getting excited. In a few days, these revisions won't seem so difficult to address. I'm pretty sure this is what it takes to succeed in this business: Just keep working!