Disappointment

So, today I got a rejection...

This wasn't the standard "not right for me" kind of form letter from a prospective agent, it was a straight from the editor rejection of my picture book. So, what to do now?

The short answer? Try again.

The lovely editor who rejected the MS did so with a full edit of it - and there's just not much to say about that other than it's a special editor who goes through the work of someone they're not going to purchase in an attemtpt to make it stronger. Picture books are pretty short in general (This particular one was a bit long as it was written to specifics of being at or around 1,000 words. Most of them are more like 250.)

This is one of those times that it's tempting to scrunch my face up and cry a bit, but there's no reason. The book was - and is good - she liked it, but it didn't fit their list. Even if it had been a stinking mess of overripe garbage, it still wouldn't be worth whining about because the book is not me and I am not the book. I'll go through her suggestions, probably take most of them, and send it out again with a stronger product and therefore a better shot at success.

So, thank you Shari.

Thank you for your time and consideration and the effort you volunteered that you didn't have to give. I'm grateful for it, and while it would have been nice to have a PB published (in hard back!) I'm happy with what I got. The next time it's going to be that much harder for an editor to turn it down thanks to your input.