On Misunderstood Intentions

As a relative newbie, I immediately wonder, "Oops. Did I step on the rules myself?" Then again, although quite capable of taking rejection when someone expresses hurt--I will always go back and review everything to see if I was out of line and hurt someone. And as a result, I will be purchasing your book, out of guilt but not sure if I should be feeling guilty.

Complete manuscript. Nicole Bokat, http://www.nicolebokat.com/ was nominated for both the Hemingway Foundation/PEN award and the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for Fiction said in a class that editing NEVER ends until its published.

Erica Mailman, http://www.erikamailman.com/ suggested that a query letter is always in development. She recommended sending three and if your responses were negative, then go back and re-work it and try again. She saw them as organic, always growing and maturing.

The rejected manuscript that rests in the drawer, once thought complete can be brought out years later to be read through entirely different eyes and thus the revisions and editing begin again.

The short story that never sparked interest can be transformed into a full length novel of wide acceptance as a literary masterpiece and vice versa.

The odds of a query getting past a slush pile are insurmountable. These contests are a wonderful tool (thank you, thank you, thank you authoress) to use in hopes that the perfect agent will see our work from a different perspective than the unending morning e-mail submission stack agents face on a daily basis. Bless their hearts for they have a special place in heaven to read and read and read for days before they find something that they wish to see more pages.

I've two manuscripts that have each had more than a year's work on and both have gone through editing from professionals. From the slush pile there is no guarantee of resurrection--ever.

And if I have offended... my sincere apologies. And if I've not, think only of the egg upon my face!