I did it.
I stopped reworking my query.
I quit poking at my synopsis.
I stopped staring at the Writer’s Market book.
I sent out my first query . . . And it got rejected in less than 5 minutes. I’m assuming this was some sort of software that reviewed the document for keywords and rejected it accordingly. Interestingly, it doesn’t bother me all that much. I guess because I am all but certain no human ever saw the query.
So, I sent it out somewhere else. Took most of my writing time to go through the Writer’s Guide and put together my submission package. Butterflies kept trying to escape my stomach the whole time. Even remembering JK Rowling’s scathing rejection letter, I just . . . Ugh.
I hate this part of writing. Putting myself out there and waiting for someone to tear apart all the hard work I put into it, and really, tear at a little bit of me. Most writers put so much of themselves in their work that it’s hard to compartmentalize the rejections. Practice will make me better at it, I’m sure, but what an unpleasant thing to practice.
I slept poorly all night, although that may have had as much to do with the little one being up all night with a cold as my nerves.
Now the waiting game begins. Three to six weeks and I should get my first rejection from a person rather than a machine.