Countdown: 10: 2nd Submission

October 2007

Well, technically, this would be the third submission, but since my second submission got lost in the mail, I consider this one my second.

And this was the real thing. I did my query and submitted it to my critique group for feedback. I read through the manuscript one last time, and then with itchy fingers, I printed it off.

The company I submitted to did not take email submissions. They also didn't ask for just the query letter, but for the first three chapters. They also stated that you could send the full manuscript if you wanted to. Being the confident author that I was, I thought I'd make things easy for them and submit my full manuscript. After all, I knew after the first three chapters they would want to read more.

Honestly, I don't know if they made it past chapter one. Or even past the query, for that matter. At that time, I had about seven different points of view in my book. I had, thankfully, eliminated the head-hopping, but I still gave each character a chance to share his or her thoughts (within a scene or chapter). At least I had cut out the shopping scenes. I mean, really, who stops at a garage sale while running from a kidnapper?? (I blame my 13-year-old self for that one.)

I held my breath. By the time December came with no word, I let it out. I know three months isn't that long, but I figured, if they had liked it, they would have contacted me.

Sometime in late January I got my rejection letter. I rolled with it. Kept it for my scrapbook and reevaluated what more could be done to my book. As much as I hated to do it, I decided it was time to cut POVs. I narrowed it down to three and rewrote the book. I already knew to whom I planned on submitting next, and I was giving myself one year to have it ready again.

Countdown: 14: Submission and Rejection

In 8th grade, my English teacher, Ms. Ada Wax, submitted my name for a young writer's regional conference. I was accepted, and I headed off to the conference with great excitement and anticipation. (This is, by the way, the only writer's conference I've ever been to. How ironic is that?) I met several other young writers and got the address of a publishing house that specialized in publishing books written by young people.

I could hardly wait. I got home, printed out my novel, and mailed it off. I remember how nervous I was, standing in line at the post office. I wanted my mother to come in and stand by me. But she had to take my brother to a soccer game.

I can't remember how long it took to get a response. But I got one. They returned my manuscript with a nice, detailed letter from the editor. He pointed out things he didn't like and invited me to revise and resubmit. I was pumped. I spent the rest of 8th grade and the beginning of 9th grade revising. By now I had mastered typing, which made it easier. My cousins teased me over Thanksgiving because they thought I couldn't tear myself away from my video games. Goofs. I was writing. My dad sat with me on vacation and helped me dissect the novel, chapter by chapter.

I was ready. It was good now. (For then. Ha ha. Seriously, when this is all finished and my publisher says I can, I'll post the first chapter. Then and Now. So you can laugh with me.) I just knew they were going to accept it. I mailed it off, more confident this time, and sat back to wait.

I never heard anything back from them. I waited for months. Nothing. In hindsight, I should've contacted them to see if they'd ever received my manuscript. But I didn't. I got discouraged. I put the whole thing aside and forgot about it. For ten years.