Monday, November 23, 2009

Maybe it's True...

Agent Janet Reid* posted this quote on Saturday—almost as if she was reading my mind and knew exactly what I needed to hear, right at that very moment. Spooky.

Don't let the judgment of any editor (or agent) poison the intense, intimate, and necessary relationship that you have with your own work. Keep the two things scrupulously separate. The self that writes may need to be a delicate and protected creature, but the self that submits to magazines (and agents) ought to be as tough as a rhino's butt.

Christian Wiman, editor, Poetry
"Poets & Writers" May/June 2009


The fact that Janet Reid may have mind reading capabilities doesn't do much to dispel the myth that literary agents are superhuman ninjas. Great quote, though. ;)

Also, I will be unplugging for the rest of the week. Have a fabulous Thanksgiving, everyone!

*For the record, I've never queried Janet Reid. She doesn't rep what I write.

13 comments:

  1. Thanks for that, Abby. I'm working on my rhino's butt right now. I got a rejection on a short story and had one of those everything-I-write-is-crap moments. But I got over it and am back to my nano project which I'm currently loving. So, there.
    Have a great Thanksgiving!

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  2. I saw that too and I agree. I don't know if I'm tough as a rhino's butt yet but I'm getting there :) Happy Thanksgiving!

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  3. I agree. It's amazing how tough your skin gets after 200 or so rejections. Some still sting though....form rejections don't bother me one bit. You can't be sad about a rejection from someone who didn't even read your stuff. But a rejection to a full or partial...ouch...those still burn a little. Though I do spend far less time being depressed and pity partying.

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  4. Oh, great quote. I'm going to have to share that one!

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  5. I read this post this morning and it gave me a good laugh, as well as some motivation :). Let the callouses build!

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  6. That is a great quote. I'm nowhere near ready to query, but I will be sometime early next year. I'll have to remember this:)

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  7. I love Janet's blog and thought that quote was great. I had the great fortune to have Janet critique a rough draft a while back- her comments were invaluable!

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  8. Great quote, and what a metaphor. Janet is awesomely scary. :)

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  9. LOL, I'm trying to toughen myself to a rhino's butt thickness, but sometimes it's hard.

    Thanks for sharing this quote, and have a happy Turkey Day!

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  10. What a beautiful quote. Oh, but it's hard to get skin that tough isn't it? We're still working on it.

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  11. What an amazing quote. Thanks for sharing. So true. Have a wonderful thanks giving.

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  12. Love the quote. I'm still working on my rhino butt, too. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

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