Yesterday afternoon Keryn and I were hanging around the Old Port in Portland with my sister and brother-in-law, chowing Irish cuisine at Ri-Ra (tasty bangers n’ mash if you’re interested, not appearing on the lunch menu, but apparently available anytime if you ask).
En route to the bathroom I checked gmail on my cell phone and found a rejection letter from an agent. Hold all calls, take a seat, and check out this line from her note: “your writing was good--better than competent.” Whoopee! I exclaimed, hopping into the air and clapping my heels. Better than competent. I’m not joking, at least in terms of my enthusiasm. After all, the letter was personalized (even if she spelled my last name wrong), and after receiving my fair share of “Not for me thanks” notes the last four months, every mote of praise counts. (It helps that an agent on the Left Coast has my full manuscript). So I’ll take it and smile. Better than competent. Awesome.
What a rude, backhanded compliment. I wonder if this agent's work is "better than competent"? Probably not.
01-15-2007: Contacted first agent with my novel.
01-06-2007: Revamped home page launched!
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jason@jasonshaffner.com