As of today, the tally is four form rejections and one--never thought I'd say this so early in the process--request for the full manuscript.

I can't find reason for breaking out some celebratory substance, because this doesn't guarantee I'll get representation or a book deal, but hey, somebody noticed something. And not just somebody, but a big agent, one with decades of experience and whose agency sells a hundred or more books a year. I keep thinking there has been a mistake--maybe that request wasn't meant for me. I keep wondering, what did he see in my work?

I've been through this process before with my first book, sending out partials, a full. It's worse when your whole manuscript is rejected, rather than just a query, because you've invested that much more of yourself. Husband says, "Well, you don't have to send it if you don't want to." It's nice to hear the option. But it's in a box now, ready for FedEx in the a.m. going to 10001 and you know what the best part is? Writing the words REQUESTED MATERIAL above that Manhattan address.

Writer's Tip: Live in the moment.