February 26, 2007

I got a another rejection note yesterday, by email, from yet another literary agent. It came while Wendy and I were watching the Oscars. Ellen DeGeneres was talking on the the screen about honoring all the nominees, not just the winners. Then she made a bunch of jokes about pretending it wasn't all about winning, when it really was. The note I received said:

Thank you so much for contacting me. I read through your website and I think you have a very valid book. I'm just afraid that I don't think I can be helpful. I think that this is a book that will probably work best and be of most interest to a smaller house and that simply isn't my area of expertise.

I wish you the best,
Alice

On the one hand, it's very nicely stated, and Alice sounds like a nice person. But what do you mean, "of most interest to a smaller house?!!" That's what people keep telling me. Be realistic, this is your first book, you haven't paid your dues yet, you haven't established a name for yourself, be modest in your expectations, don't aim too high, self publish. Yeah, yeah, they're all right, but what about my dream, of getting this story to millions of people? How am I supposed to keep the dream alive without becoming delusional?

I felt a little like those losers in the Oscar ceremony. Yeah, I got treated respectfully, and that's nice. But what I really want is to get the book out.

The thing is, as a spiritual person, I know it's in God's hands anyway. So what I have to do is to do what I can each day to get the story out to millions of people. Then let go and turn it over.