Bert Brows, Gotta Go, Baby

"Maybe it's just a bigger thing coming. Maybe it's a not now answer."

Is it Bert or Ernie who has the super bushy eyebrows?

Because that's how I'm looking right now. My eyebrows are far overdue, and I'm getting them done today. Mama needs some help.

It's Bert. Bert it is.

It was a good week. A busy week. We're keying up for volleyball season to get started. Tonight is date night with Jacob, and we're going out to get some yummy food. Josey is going to Scarywood, which is our local theme park but the Halloween edition. Haunted houses. One of the roller coasters goes backwards. She's going to be having fun, and I feel good knowing she's out having a good time.

Oh, and I finally got my proposal out to an agent who is like a dream agent for me.

The sh*t odds

I've been taking so long to put this one together because I wanted it to be really good. I wanted the voice to be good. I wanted the tone to be good. I wanted him to really be able to see what I'm trying to achieve with this book, and have it come through loud and clear in my words. In the query letter and in the proposal.

And then you hit send, and this is what comes back:

“We are on average able to sign fewer than half a dozen of the
thousands of submissions we receive annually. With the volume of messages
we receive every day, we will only reply if we are interested in
continuing the conversation. After three weeks, please consider a lack
of such reply to be a pass.”

Basically, no response means it’s a no.

Cool.

That one query took me three weeks. I'm supposed to be sending out two a week, so yeah, I'm not on par. Maybe because I got a little bit deflated that I haven't heard anything positive back from anybody yet. But that's okay.

The vision in your head

I had a few of those moments this week. The "hey, this isn't for you" moments. Moments of disappointment where I created something that other people did not like, or that didn't meet what they were hoping to see.

And nothing was wrong with what I created. That one was my own bad for not fully listening.

I've been learning that a lot with Josey lately when it comes to understanding the teenage brain. I miss things because I'm not listening to how she feels. Even if the feelings don't make sense.

Same with my clients. My client is requesting that I do something, or not do something, and I know the said thing will be successful. But maybe it would not be successful in their eyes. Or for them. And yes, you are the one paying. You do not think the solution will work. It is your business.

So I listen in the key of my daughter. With Josey, I let her discover on her own. Hey, maybe this isn't the best option. But I get there by asking a bunch of questions. By hearing her.

I say all of that to say, sometimes the vision in your head is much different than what will realistically work.

I've come to that conclusion some with my own book too. But I'm not willing to ditch the vision or the traditional publishing route just yet.

I'm not saying that door will be closed forever. I'm not saying I will never hybrid publish or never go another direction. But for the time being, I'm not willing to give up on the vision, even if it takes a little bit longer.

Silence is an answer

So back to that auto-reply. Consider it a no.

I keep sitting with that line. Silence is an answer. And I think sometimes that silent answer is not always bad. Maybe it's a redirect. The pivot. Maybe that silence is really, really powerful.

As a mom, as somebody who's waiting to get an answer, maybe it's just a bigger thing coming. Maybe it's a not now answer.

I don't know. I feel like I'm thinking really deep and out loud right now. It's kinda cool.

I'm just sitting back, taking everything in, proud of myself for getting that query out. I'm just gonna soak in the silence.

And go get my damn eyebrows done.

Bert brows, gotta go, baby.

MANUSCRIPT STATS

✅ 12 Queries Sent-6 Rejected

📬 Dream agent query + proposal: sent. Took three weeks. Worth it.

🐢 Pace: supposed to be two a week. Currently: not that.

🤫 Responses: silence. Soaking it in.

👀 Next: keep sending.