Frustration pumped perseverance through my veins

We last left our intrepid heroine (aka me) pondering the effect of rejection on the very core of her being.    

The following week I got a request for my full manuscript from a longstanding reputable agent in New York with a ‘the 4^th’ after his name. Holy emotional rollercoaster Batman! It was at this point where I asked Nathan Bransford, Agent for Curtis Brown and awesome blogger for some technical advice that wasn’t in the standard FAQ. He offered some helpful advice. I love Nathan’s blog. It’s hilarious and always has helpful advice. I recommend it, often and repeatedly, for people wanting to learn more about publishing and the agent query process. Reading his blog is an easy and fun way to do your homework. And with blogs like Nathan's, and Janet Reid's, there are no excuses for not doing your homework as a writer.

This might be a good place to do a sidebar about the role of frustration in a writer’s life. I don’t have to tell you how frustrating it is to be a writer. If you are a writer aspiring to be published, you know how frustrating it is. That summer, when I was so close, I could taste the printer’s ink and smell the heavy metals in the cover art. Frustration became like a palpitating part of my body. It reverberated through every fiber of my being. The fact that my manuscript was getting so close to a contract made it even worse. I was so ready to launch my career as a novelist. I’d previously been a journalist and spent years honing the craft of fiction writing. I’d observed and learned from other writers’ publishing experiences over the years. I’d absorbed everything I could about how to be a better writer and incorporated it into my writing. I’d watched authors market themselves and their books and took what worked and discarded what didn’t, and I’d learned everything I could about blogs and electronic marketing.  I was so ready. Frustration was both the bane of my existence and my existence. It was my driving force. Frustration pumped perseverance through my veins. I have no advice on how to deal with frustration because I get very frustrated. Patience is not my best font. All I can say is stick with it; perseverance is what gets you there. 

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