When my mantra doesn't work...

I mentioned previously that my mantra is "I will NOT get discouraged, I will NOT get discouraged..." But yea. Lately, I'm finding myself getting frustrated and, well, awfully discouraged. I cringe a little every time I open my Gmail inbox, waiting for the next "thanks but no thanks" email. I'm not gonna lie; that's the main reason I put off sending out any more queries last week. I was afraid of more rejection. And not having any quality time to sit and write the WIP is also extremely frustrating. I know I need to MAKE time, and I'm worried that the rejection is going to start putting me off from writing in general. I don't think that could ever really happen, but let's be honest- I haven't written anything besides these quick blog posts in a good 2-3 weeks now. That's terrible.

I knew when I started this process that I'd be faced with rejection. A lot of it. But I guess no matter how much I thought I was prepared for it, getting so many NOs, right off the bat, totally stung.

I say "so many" like I've sent out 50 queries. Um, try 8. I'm still waiting on 2 more responses too.

I know part of this process is putting myself out there and growing a thick skin. I'm working on it. I still believe in In My Mind's Eye, and I still believe my WIP will be even better. It's just...I want other people to believe in my work too. Strangers, that is. It means everything.

I'm not trying to get all whiny here. Just trying to put how I've been feeling lately into words...and I might not be accomplishing that too well. Sigh.

Anyway, last night this blog post was in my Twitter feed about dealing with discouragement. I would like to thank whoever wrote it (it's not a blog I normally follow, but I will be now), give her a hug, make her some cookies, etc. Thank you for reminding me believe in myself. I am trying.

My favorite part of the blog post:
"...let me remind you that these feelings will pass; that the roadblocks keeping you from a good story or a better contract or simple recognition will be removed; that what works against you today won’t always triumph over you. In fact, you’ll one day look at the setbacks and challenges as minor irritants and be shocked that they once held power over you."

Happy thought for the day: coffee, coffee, coffee

all is quiet

Been quiet over here on the blog front for a while...guess that's because it's been quiet on the query front as well. And I've been pretty busy socially lately again- I don't have a single free weekend in May. This also means I haven't had a chance to sit and pound out more of my WIP, which, quite frankly, blows. I think about it all the time and make myself little notes constantly of these thoughts so I don't forget them, but actually sitting for a few hours to just WRITE hasn't happened in what feels like forever.

So, since I'm clearly not writing very much right now (frowny face), here's what's going on in my ever-so-exciting life:

*I've started working out again, slowly but surely. So far it's only been once a week, but I'm hoping to get it back up to 2 or 3 times. I always feel better when I'm working out, but it's just been out of my "routine" for so long now (yea, since October when I took my last ballet class) that it's hard to get back into the swing of it.

*My momma officially retired a couple weeks ago. That seems sooo strange to me. I mean, I'm so happy for her and I know she's going to LOVE being retired, but it's just weird for me to think I have parents at retirement age. We're taking her out on the town on the 21st to celebrate; dinner at the Chophouse downtown. NOM.

*This weekend is the big girly winery trip that we planned what feels like forever ago. I am SO EXCITED to get away with some of my nearest & dearest friends! I know we're going to have a blast...I just hope the weather cooperates. This has been the worst spring ever, and so far it's supposed to be about 62 degrees and rain all weekend. Boooooo.

*Speaking of girly events, tomorrow I'm hosting the TVD girly night at my house for the first time. We're missing a core person tomorrow though, and that makes me have a sad. Karyn will be there in spirit though, as she's dancing away at the Usher concert. Don't worry Karyn, we'll have a group *drink!* for ya too!

Welp, that's it for now. I'm off work on Friday (hooray!) so after I do some running around I'm reallllly hoping to sit down and have time in the afternoon to write & send out a few more submissions. At least one or the other will definitely happen.

the name of the game...

...is rejection. Sigh. I know, I know- I've barely scraped the surface of my querying process so far (only 8 sent), and I shouldn't expect anything to happen right away. That's not how this business works. But everyday I check my Gmail inbox just hoping, hoping, hoping for someone to answer a query with a "Hey, this sounds interesting. Let me see more." Maybe it'll happen. Maybe it won't. I have to be ready to accept the fact that In My Mind's Eye may end up a bust. And I'm trying to do that by throwing myself into my next novel- which I already feel has a lot of potential to be something really different. But, of course I'm going to think that, right?

I retweeted something from AdviceToWriters the other day- a list of 50 iconic authors who were repeatedly rejected. I'm not entirely sure if this made me feel better or worse, to be honest...I guess a little of both. It made me feel better to know that these crazy successful authors all started out just like me, with a dream to get their stories out there. But then, it made me feel a little worse because if their work was rejected, what kind of chance will I possibly ever have??

On the list:

Dr. Suess
Louisa May Alcott
Agatha Christie
Meg Cabot
Beatrix Potter
John Grisham
James Patterson
E.E. Cummings
Judy Blume (!)
Madeline L'Engle
J.K. Rowling
Stephen King

I was pretty shocked by some of those names. I guess it really does go to show how subjective the business is- all it takes is for one agent to connect with your work. Can you imagine being the agent that passed on J.K. Rowling or Stephen King?? But chances are, if the agent that rejected them had taken them on, they wouldn't have ended up as successful as they are.

Happy thought for the day:
Hanging out with dear old friends. :o)