Ahhhh, after what feels like a dozen full passes of rereads, copy edits, refinements, chapter rearrangements, line edits, and a maddening amount of little tweaks, my manuscript is finally complete at just over 163,000 words 👀
I've started sending it out to agents and querying *GULP* I'm trying not to get discouraged, because I know it's incredibly common for agents to pass on a submission or simply not be interested. Hell, Agatha Christie had her first novel rejected multiple times before it was eventually published. Now, I'm not saying I'm Agatha Christie—lmao—but it does make me feel a little better knowing just how subjective the query landscape can be.
At this point, all I can do is keep showing up as my authentic self, stay positive, and hope that somewhere out there is someone who doesn't know me, doesn't owe me anything, and still falls in love with my work.
— Ember