I set up a bullet journal spread to count down the last few queries (about three batches worth) before I hit my next rejection collection milestone. Nothing special. Just a bunch of squares to fill in each time I send something out. I also get a shiny new pip for one of my online writers’ forums. That’s the casual end of things. There’s a spreadsheet somewhere, and a correspondence file, and uhm… a rejection collection key chain. Oh, yeah. I’m hardcore. If I could figure out a way to update a t-shirt regularly, I’d probably have a rejection t-shirt.

Aside from the evidence that I’m actually doing something, that I’m actually moving forward, there’s a superstitious element. Once upon a time, my mother bought me a pair of cowboy boots a size and a half too big. You’ll grow into them.

I did not grow into them.

There’s a part of me that’s crossing it’s fingers… toes… eyes… and hoping I will not need all those squares.

It could work.

I’m finished my revision. Now I’m debating whether the query letters I wrote still represent the novel I have.

And after that, querying in the time of coronavirus.

If you’re in the querying trenches with me–looking for an agent or a publisher, or just trying to sell that short story–let me know. We can celebrate the journey together. Drop me a comment to tell me what you’re working on, and what you plan on doing with it when it’s done.