Querying is not for the weak. Rejections are swords that stab your heart over and over again. Each one threatens your confidence in your abilities and your desire to get out of bed in the mornings.

Searching for the right agent for your book is like doctor-hopping with an undiagnosed disease. You are convinced you have something, if only they would take the time to look. For every “no” that shows up in your inbox, you wonder if you are crazy and it is all in your head. You spend hours crafting the perfect pitch, praying they will delve deeper.

Each time they refuse, it chips away at who you are. The good news is querying gets easier over time, and rejections are part of the process. Like the patient whose life depends upon a diagnosis, the key word is persistence. You do not find the perfect agent or the perfect doctor without trial and error. But once you do, it is life-changing.

My best advice to both querying authors and querying patents is to keep copious notes and continue knocking on doors. The worst thing they can say is “no,” but without that risk, you will never get the “yes.”

It took seven years for me to get my diagnosis. It has only been two months since I started querying my novel. I never gave up on my health, and I certainly will not give up on my dream.

How have you persisted recently? What dream are you chasing?