6th Publisher Rejection

"Dear Contributor..." That's how today's rejection letter started. Didn't even have my name or a date, for goodness sake! And, you guessed it, no helpful criticism.

I'm running out of Skyline Drive mushroom photos (only 2 left), so... that means either good news is on its way, or I need to rethink this whole 'Agent? I-Don't-Need-No-Stinking-Agent' attitude. :)

Original Reasons for *not* using an agent:

1) The goal at Christmas 2013 was to get published in 2014, even if it meant self-publishing. Before resorting to self-publishing, however, I wanted to first give a 'real' publisher a try.

2) It's time to get 'er done. The original novel took about 6 months to write. I spent the next 15 years or so either picking at it or completely ignoring it. I'm finally ready to let go. So LET'S GO!

3) Debut novelists, I hear, barely make enough royalties to pay for a trip to Disneyworld. If I pay an Agent a % of THAT, someone will have to stay home, and it will probably be me. So much for my trip to Disneyworld.

4) Agents are as picky as Publishers. Getting a good one involves the same daunting research & submittal process, so why go through that twice?

Reasons to now consider finding an agent:

1) I don't want to self-publish. Self publishing may put the book on my shelf and call it Done... but that's not enough anymore. I'm an architect, and ALL architects have egos. (Sorry if that's news to you, my friends.) We like our work to be appreciated. We like it when others 'get it.' We go around leaving our thumbprints on things with the idea that, one day, someone will see what we've done and nod.

2) I need to spend time writing the next two books instead of self-publishing (and marketing!) the original one.

3) I can already afford a trip to Disneyworld. I have a Day Job and want to keep it... at least until I can afford to write full-time. If an agent makes THAT possible, then they are well worth their cut.

4) I'm already getting Publisher rejections; how can Agent rejections be worse? At least they might provide some helpful feedback.

5) I need help. Ok, I finally admitted it. Now that I've researched the industry, I realize I don't know what I'm doing. Even if I hook a publisher, I don't know how to close the deal.

Or... I could just go back to the mountains and take more photos of mushrooms.