A Rejection So Pleasant It Was Almost an Acceptance

On Tuesday I received two encouraging emails. The first was a rejection letter from an agent:

"Thank you for allowing us to review your manuscript for Light Bringer. Your writing is very impressive and, on a personal level, I enjoyed the story immensely. Unfortunately, at this time, we are not prepared to offer a contract for representation.

"I know it is disappointing to receive a rejection, but this is certainly not meant to suggest that your work is without merit. Rather, given the small size of our agency and the fluctuating nature of the market, our literary needs change periodically and sometimes we must pass on good writing simply because it doesn't match those needs.

"Given the quality of your work, it really is just a matter of time and persistence before you find the right agent or publisher."

The second email was a notice from Amazon regarding my novel Daughter Am I:

"Thank you for participating in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. We received thousands of submissions and were impressed by the incredible talent and creativity seen in the entries. We are happy to inform you that you have been selected as a semi-finalist.

"You can find your entry on Amazon.com via the following link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00121WDKQ.

"Now that you're a semi-finalist, feel free to encourage friends and family to review yours and others' entries."

It sounds as if I had a good day, which I did, but at the end of it, I am still unpublished. Persistence is something I can do, but I could also use some help. If you get a chance, will you check out my ABNA entry? You can download it by clicking on the above link.

Reprinted from Bertram's Blog