Gratitude

Writers and authors are officially the coolest people on the planet. Okay, so I don't know enough of them to make a blanket statement like that. Let me reprhase.

Allison Brennan is the coolest author on the planet.

She commented on my last blog post.

Seriously.

I hope she doesn't mind that I copy what she said into a separate blog post--I don't think she would being that she's the coolest author on the planet and all. It simply made my morning so I had to share...

Allison Brennan said...

Hi Kristin:

Because I'm a neurotic author (most of us are) I have a google alert on my name. I rarely comment when I read something, but thought you might be interested in my pub story.

First, great blog. You already know the moral of the story: this is your journey. Every author's journey is different.

So I had over 100 rejections from agents before I landed one. I noticed you have an agent!! Yeah you, that tells you that you have the talent and the voice, because agents don't sign everyone who says they want to be a writer.

I had the shortest rejection on the planet (aside from no response.) On my first full request, the agent rejected it by sending me back my cover letter with one word double underlined: SUPERFICIAL. :/

It took me five books before I found an agent. I ended up selling quickly, but getting to that point was hard and sometimes disillusioning.

Now, on a personal note, your name is so familiar I think we may have met. And then I see you're from Nor Cal and I KNOW we've met! :) Don't stress.

Original Comment Posted October 8, 2010 7:27 AM

First, I don't know if she'll read my blog again or not, but I want to say THANK YOU. Part of me is rejoicing that it's not as easy as it seems. Writing is such a solitary hobby/job/joy. It's sometimes too easy to think we're the only ones struggling with the process.

And we have met! When I went to RWA Orlando I knew there were a few people I really wanted to meet. Allison Brennan being one of them. We have mutual friends in the business, we live close to one another, belong to the same RWA local chapters, have the same taste in books (hello Saul and Koontz), and she seems like a down to earth writer who believes in helping others. After taking time out of her busy schedule to comment on my little blog, the last part is super clear.

Any famous, award winning, New York Times Bestselling Author who takes the time to reach out to a writer like me is one of The Greats...for more reasons than great writing. If you haven't read her books, you should. You really should.