Thirteen years ago! That’s how long ago it was that Young Barry received this little slip of paper from an agency:

Note that this is not, technically, a rejection. They are, in fact, accepting my first three chapters…provisionally. And exclusively.

Still, Young Barry was quite thrilled to get this missive. It was the closest thing to an acceptance I’d had on a novel in…

Well, ever.

Sadly, after the two-week exclusivity period, I was rejected. The rejection letter is lost to the mists of time, so I only have this tidbit of possibility to show you.