Is it real yet?

What I'm reading: Sweet Revenge, by Diana Mott Davidson

What I'm writing: Chapter 23

I got my very first advance check the other day. It wasn't anything remotely resembling what those NYT Bestselling authors get, but it made me feel one step closer to being a 'real' author--especially since the check came from my agent, with her cut subtracted. It motivated me to pull out the book that's been sitting around waiting to see where it might find a home. It's a kind of spin-off to When Danger Calls, but I'm editing it so it can stand on its own.

Then, in another reminder of what this business is like, I got a request for a partial for When Danger Calls from an agent who saw the first chapter in an on-line contest I entered several months ago, before I'd found an agent or had my contract offer. While it's nice to know the work is strong enough to garner attention, it's total frustration to get this request because that same agency had the first three chapters of the book for over six months and turned it down. Not only that, but when I had my contract offer, they turned me down because they didn't love the work enough (at least that's the reason they gave --- although there's this niggling suspicion that the low advance helped make their decision.) Felt kind of strange being on the sending end of a 'rejection'. But nice, too.

On the other side, I'm one of the featured authors at The Romance Studio, so that must mean I'm a real author, right?