It Only Takes One "Yes"

"It only takes one yes." This is the advice a fellow writer and good friend of mine told me recently, and she's right. It does only take one "yes" to make your dreams come true. But its finding that "yes" that's the challenge. I enjoy hearing stories from other authors sharing how they got their big break, but as much as I enjoy hearing of their success, I just as much enjoy hearing about their failures. No, I'm not sadistic, although misery does love company, but I believe there is a lot to be learned in those rejections.

If you're lucky, a rejection with an explanation will at least give you something to work with. But even deeper than that, rejection teaches us patience, and perseverance, while developing growth and character. It's easy to quit, easy to give up, but it takes strength and courage to repeatedly put yourself out there, hoping to catch that one "yes". You pray that your work will find its way into the right hands, of the right literary agent, who's in the right mood, at the right time.

I have researched several literary agents and made a list of my top ten. Who knows how many I'll have to query. So far, I've only sent Redemption in to my first choice. It can take up to 8 weeks to hear back, so again, patience... There are many, many agents out there. So many, that it's hard to decide who to query sometimes. Two of the very best websites I have found are AgentQuery.com and Karen Fox's list of literary agents.

The things I looked for in compiling my list of agents were: Who's represented books similar in genre to mine. Who has experience working with the publishing companies I'd like to publish through. Who has a reputation of being efficient and reliable. P&E (Preditors and Editors) recommendations are listed on Karen Fox's website, and I also found that extremely helpful in my research.

I hope this has been helpful in your own search for a literary agent. Just remember, it only takes one "yes" :) Have a great week!