Well This Is Easier Than I Thought. Oh Wait. No, It's Not

While the under 24 hours response time was not what I was expecting, the response itself tickled me in a way only that thai masseuse had managed. And I needed a full on blast of moscato for that tickle. This was a sober tickle, but still one of the greatest I'd ever had. Looking back, it wasn't much, and I probably blew it way out of proportion, but I'm a writer.  That's what we do! No, that's not right. I'm a drama queen. That's what we do!  Ah - better.

Faye Bender is one of Michelle Tessler's friends. God willing, she will eventually think of me as one. It was her response that tickled me, and I hope she doesn't read this blog post until after we become friends. Otherwise, it is quite possible we will not, with the many ways the first part of the previous statement can be construed. What Faye wrote in her email was quite simply that she thought the story sounded like a lot of fun and that she wanted to see the full MS. Yeah - that's it. That's what got me so excited. But to have someone request the full manuscript in under 24 hours of sending a query was something I'd never have guessed. Working in film, you're lucky to get a response from someone's assistant's assistant's younger brother's pet hamster who spells out the words in little hamster pellets.   

So I sent her the MS and thought to myself - seriously, it's this easy? I sent out another 10 or so queries to agents and publishers. The responses started coming back within the week. Easy? NO SIR! Form rejection, form rejection, form rejection, form rejection, flaming paper bag with dog poopy at the doorstep (I'm guessing this wasn't from an agent and more likely some practical joker in the building), form rejection, form rejection, and then about 5 more form rejections.

I began to wonder, did Faye just request the MS because her friend sent me? Clearly my query letter wasn't doing me any favors with the rest of the agents. My answer came in another email. This one from Michelle's other friend. He agreed with everyone other than Faye and thought The Kringle Khronicles was not for him. Friendship clearly had nothing to do with it.  Maybe Faye really liked the idea? 

A few weeks later, I found out.