I write because I’m persistent, which is really just a nice way of saying I’m stubborn.

Writing, specifically writing with the goal of publication, is not for the faint of heart or the easily dissuaded. You must have a certain level of stubborn to persist in the face of rejections and bad reviews and to carry on despite those who tell you to give it up.

I’ve been querying agents lately. There have been a couple requests, several personalized rejections, and the dreaded form rejection. Every rejection is a bummer, of course, but it’s not the end of the world. I update my files and get back to work because I’m stubborn. There’s no guarantee those partial requests will turn into fulls or the possible fulls into offers of representation (never mind an actual publishing contract and positive reviews). Writing through the submission process, through the seemingly endless waiting, through a flop…all of this requires persistence.

I’m not giving up. If not this book, then the next.