My life as Stephen King
Well, the waiting game is finally getting interesting. I got my first rejection letter yesterday, from Publisher #2.
Unlike this cute little cartoon, it was actually a very kind letter. “Rejection” really isn’t a word I would use to describe it — except it technically was a rejection.
They said their publishing house wasn’t publishing any Young Adult Fiction now, but they actually suggested three other publishers — two I have not yet pitched — and apologized for not being more helpful.
Wow.
I thought I would be sad to get a rejection letter, but I feel OK about it. As my mom likes to remind me, Stephen King — one of my favourite authors — was rejected before hitting it big with his first novel. When the right to Carrie sold for $400,000, he got half of that!
Since I’ve started pitching, I’ve been adding to my novel, to beef up some of the areas I felt were lacking. I even added a whole new element to the plot, that I think really helps. I believe it had good bones, when I started pitching, but now I’m trying to give it more meat.
But at night, after a long day at work, a long commute home, and all of the cooking-dinner-washing-dishes crap that comes with a regular day, I’m so tired. I can’t think, let alone write. I have been thinking about going to bed earlier and getting up extra-early, to get in some writing before work. Maybe my mind will be fresher? Maybe I’ll try it next week, and see how it goes.
The thought that my story, at any moment, could be picked up by a publisher, has truly kicked my ass into gear. This is what I want. I can’t say it any other way — this is what I want, so badly.
So the rejection letter? It’s going in a frame above my writing desk. Motivation, people! I’m Stephen King, and this is my Carrie!
2 Comments on “My life as Stephen King”
So what do you think?
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Heather's Handmade Life 
My Mother-In-Law is an author and she has pitched many books. Good luck. Be like Stephen King, go girl!
~Kim
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Thanks, Kim!
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