Looking for an Agent Part 2

  

        Rejection sucks.

        There’s no way to sugarcoat it. No way to make it sound more palatable than it actually is. Doubt nags away at you like an infestation. What if it’s me? What if I’m a terrible writer? What if they are all laughing at me in the mailroom? The fear of not being good enough, of being an imposter, shadows a writer constantly.

        But it’s not all bad. Not by a longshot. In some ways rejection sets you free. It allows you write what you want without fear of conforming to the whims of the agent or the publisher. There are no pigeonholes to confine you. It allows you to explore and experiment. It makes you a better writer.

        If my first novel – Jack Strong and the Red Giant – had been published I would likely have stuck to third person narratives and not taken any risks – because that’s what you do when you are a rich and successful author. You stick to what you’re good at and what the market dictates. It’s the death of artistic freedom. So, in some ways my struggle to secure an agent has been a blessing, as it has encouraged me to change my narrative voice from the 3^rd person to the 1^st person, together with writing an array of characters and settings. My latest protagonist is a gay werewolf, and my next will be a clinically depressed teenage girl waking up in a world of reptilian horrors. Don’t get me started about the trans kid stuck on a prison camp on Mars! Why stick to your lane when there are so many other exciting avenues to explore?

        So, I’m confident that whenever I do bag an agent, I’ll be a better author because of my struggle, and not in spite of it. This should then hopefully lead to increased sales and critical acclaim – the gold measure of all great writers.

        Ultimately, it’s the road that matters, not the destination.