If it weren’t for Bad Luck I would have any luck at all.

Poor writing does not emanate from a broken quill but from an untrained mind./edf 2011

What is Bad Luck? Is it something you earn on your own merits or is it dealt out at birth? Do you consider a rejections Bad Luck (BL) and continue sending out query letters.

I define BL as an unplanned setback. In the past two months, I experienced a trio of BL. First, my windmill—my only source of water—broke the gears in its motor. It took me three days to find and put up a pump-jack; water again flowed. Second, I had the gasman add one hundred gallons of propane to my outside tank. The valve failed and within two days, my tank was dry. This took place during the coldest snap of this winter season. Temperatures dropped down to minus nine and I lived inside the house huddled next to my fireplace. When the gasman returned he found a screw that needed tightening and refilled the tank. Heat filled the house again. The next day I heard water running and discovered that two pipes in the ceiling of my downstairs bedroom burst, collapsing the ceiling and soaking everything in sight. I fixed the damaged pipes and had water inside the house again.

Three unexpected setbacks that ended with positive results (well fixed, heat restored and water running). I look on rejection letters as positive information. They whisper two things to me, the agent did not think my manuscript was a fit for her or my query letter needs tweaking. Weighing the rejection letter in one hand and my passion for my writing in the other the obvious answer is to draft another query letter. How do you handle rejection letter?