Managing \”The Call\” with a Literary Agent
You’ve spent a year (or six) writing a 90, 000-word Adult fiction novel. You’ve poured sweat, love, and too much midnight oil into it—coming up with an original plot, fleshing out characters that are relatable and memorable, minding the pacing . . . Whew!
Then, you dive into the querying process and the pain begins to kick in. You research agents like a forensic scientist. You submit queries like it’s a full-time job or depending on your approach, perhaps you submit to only a select few. And then, if your experience is anything like mine, wading through rejection letters becomes a second full-time job. The advice out there is you shouldn’t take it personally and you should develop a thick skin. Hah! Easier said than done—every rejection feels like some angry prophet’s judgment on your soul.
Why I Write?
I was raised in a middle-class family in New Delhi, India where education was key, fresh pomfret fish for dinner was a treat, and budget-conscious holidays in hill stations defined our summers. As a young girl, I was expected to apply myself at college, get a job that would allow me to be financially self-reliant, get married, and have kids—in that order.
Given this worldview, “writing” was a bourgeois activity, encouraged by my mom, who was an avid fan of Reader’s Digest and Harlequin romances.
With my mom\’s blessing, there\’s more good news . . . novel excerpt published!
I recently lost my mother (read: https://anoopjudge.com/blog/i-brought-you-into-this-world-and-i-can-take-you-out-an-indian-mother-speaks) and mother-in-law in the space of three months (read: https://anoopjudge.com/blog/mummy-tell-me-one-more-story-). But I know they’re watching over me, because the good news just keeps coming!
A 10,000-word excerpt from my unpublished novel titled ‘The Awakening of Meena Rawat’ has been published in Litbreak magazine. Click on the link below to get a preview of the novel:
http://litbreak.com/the-awakening-of-meena-rawat/
Thank you, Mom and Mummy!
Yay!!!! My short story got published in the annual issue of Truman University\’s Literary Journal!
I don’t know whether to cry or sing for joy! I always wanted to get published in a literary journal and I did!! Truman University’s annual issue of Green Hills Literary Lantern is here!
Click on the link below for the short story “Grace and Mercy\’“:
http://ghll.truman.edu/ghll30/Judge%20Grace%20and%20Mercy.html
My Week at Hedgebrook . . .
“We began calling what we do at Hedgebrook—the practice of nurturing and nourishing women writers in residence—’radical hospitality’ about ten years ago because we needed a way to describe why we do what we do. To help others understand that taking care of a woman writer so she can focus on her work is still, even now, a revolutionary, radical act. As is giving her time to focus on her writing instead of taking care of others.” -Hedgebrook flyer
As a wife, a mother, a daughter to an aging parent, a daughter-in-law to another aging parent, and an active volunteer in the larger Indian community, the demands on my time are endless. I relish my role in my busy bustling life but my writing— a passion I discovered late in life—often falls by the wayside.