Since my last post, I have sent out 24 query letters and submitted to Pitch Wars. Of those queries, I am sitting on the following:

10 rejections, one after a partial request

2 full requests, one I declined based on the agent's reputation

12 unanswered queries

The world of publishing is chaotic. Though I have had a few nibbles, the majority of feedback thus far has been negative and packaged in a form rejection. For those who aren't familiar with the querying process, a form rejection is essentially a copy and pasted reply. I realize agents don't have time to offer personalized responses and am accepting of the fact many will pass without telling me why. However, some do the bare minimum. I received a form rejection which started with "Dear Writer". Would it be so hard to type my name in place of the generic address?

I have a great deal of waiting to go but am happy to say that a few agents have expressed interest. On October 14th, I am headed to the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers conference and will be able to pitch Lipstick Covered Magnet to an agent there.

This is an arduous process. Some days I feel overwhelmed and inadequate. Other days go by with optimism. It's a roller coaster ride of emotions but I'm happy to say I've put myself out there.

Lipstick Covered Magnet has eaten up the better part of three years. I wrote a first draft I ended up chucking in 2019, deciding to start from scratch at a different point in Skylar's life. The current version began in November 2020. NaNoWriMo really helped me get the words on the page.

After editing the first draft of LCM and sending it to beta readers, I found there were some plot holes or areas which needed fleshing out. The beta reader feedback was mostly positive and helpful and the finished product wouldn't be as polished if it weren't for the critiques I received.

I finished my final additions and line edits last week and am now in the process of querying agents and pitching my novel to contests and publishers. To date, I've sent out 7 query letters and will be sending at least one per day for the foreseeable future.

I'll keep you posted on replies as they come in!

I float along in a sea of falsehood,

Sailing in a ship I built on misinterpretations and white lies.

He never told me my anchor would fault,

Or that the wind and the waves would work against me.

I realize now I never should have put my faith

In that long-bearded sailor.

He was never one to think of others first,

That self-righteous, narcissistic jerk.

He just let me fight against the current,

Laughing as I slowly started sinking.

He watched from a distance

As I drowned in what I once thought was ecstasy.

In reality, it was just a torturous reminder

That nothing ever really changes.

Previously published in riverrun, The UCCS Student Literary and Arts Journal, 2017

The scattered leaves,

The twisted roots,

And the rebellious dandelions

Creating their unwanted entry

Illuminate my understanding.

What we were was natural,

But that’s not to say we were right.

We were chaotic.

We were intertwined.

We artificially inseminated “us”,

That coupling pronoun,

With affection

And the juvenile assumption

That “right now” had the potential

To mean anything more than

Lust and the desire to be desired.

Everlasting love?

No.

What we were was natural,

But that’s not to say we were

Anything but temporary.

Previously published in Colorado's Best Emerging Poets Anthology by Z Publishing, 2018