Dreaded trek to the mailbox

And there you have it. Not a week after my first post, I've received another oh-so-polite rejection from an agency I was sure would love my crossover YA adventure Manas. As my mother and friends have said, 'It's their loss. be sure to send them a nice thank-you card after getting published.'

Thanks for keeping my head up and my eyes forward, ladies :)

Next steps for me include my Sunday-night pep talk with highly respected writer Sophie Powell, whose book, Mushroom Man, has garnered quite fantastic compliments from critics. I'm looking forward to her take on things and taking some advice.

Which leads me to a side point: Screw all of you high-horse writers who take obscene pleasure in being condescending and patronizing to aspiring authors like me who have the sheer audacity to ask for advice -- what's wrong? Don't want the competition? I've written another author, who will remain nameless, who basically told me to go to writers conferences and 'do what the rest of us have done -- keep working and moving forward.' Gee thanks. I really appreciate that. Spend lots of money to maybe get your work noticed, then sit back and watch the dollars pour in. Great. Not for nuthin', but I'm not an idiot.

Anyways ... I plan on snail-mailing out query letters to agents who I've been putting off because I don't like the idea of regular mail correspondence -- ironic for me since I'm the self-proclaimed world's best pen pal :) Aside from the environmental impact of sending all these queries out paper-wise, I also feel as though agencies who use mail only are stuck in the past. Then again, beggars can't be choosers... though I'm hardly a beggar at this point. Nah, I need a few more years to get to that point!

Also, I'm looking for some niche, boutique publishers interested in publishing my book, so please email me at amplante@gmail.com if you are a fan of any!

And, perhaps, if there is a good one nearby, I may go to a writers' conference. Ugh.

But, do I have another story in the works or what! I've been happily writing on it for a few weeks, and I am so proud of what I'm coming up with in my magical world of Enna that it's going to blow your socks off :)

So, don't fret -- things are moving forward and, though intensely disappointed over the falling of another agency request, I will persevere. Thanks for everyone's support :)