After 10 months of querying and 20+ rejections, I finally got…not a rejection!

For those not super familiar with the publishing process, a “Revise and Resubmit” (or similarly-named) request is like a tentative middle between accepting and rejecting. It means that there’s a lot the agent likes…but one or two things that are holding them back from asking for a full manuscript or making an offer of representation. It means they’d like to see a slightly tweaked version of what you’ve submitted, and also that they want to see how you take and incorporate feedback.

I admit, getting the R&R at first felt like…well, like more work! This part of the publishing process, on the author end, is a lot of time and money invested with very little reward. And getting asked for more work with no guarantees attached was just about as hard as a rejection, at first! But after sitting on it for a few days, I realized how truly freaking EXCITING this was!

It still was a while before I could 1) consume the materials the agent had suggested (the movie Gladiator and the book Station Eleven), 2) figure out what changes to make, and 3) make them, but I have revised, and I have resubmitted.

And now, as per usual, we wait.

Cross your fingers for me!!