Well, I haven't gotten out as many queries as I would have liked to by now ... and I'm disgruntled by the ones I've sent out recently.
I've sent queries to two agents who are renowned non-responders. If you check the comments on Query Tracker for these agents, it's one C/NR after another. In fact, one of these agents is listed in the number one spot in the top 10 non-responding agents.
I also sent a query to someone who is listed among the top 10 most rejecting agents.
(Of course, these lists are based solely on data taken from Query Tracker and may not represent the agents overall, but still ...)
I just sent a query out to an agent who was very particular in her submission guidelines regarding how the query should be formatted, etc. When I checked my sent folder, my email program changed the font for the body of the email to a sans serif font, while the salutation was left in a serif font.
!!!
Why this happened only in the email to the agent who was very specific, I'll never know. What I do know is that it ended up looking incredibly cheesy and ridiculous, so I'm not expecting much from that one.
So, I've submitted eight queries so far and had one rejection. I sent out close to 40 queries the first time around, so I still have a lot of work ahead of me. I think I'm just in a "self-loathing" phase right now.
A year or so ago, I was doing some writing at the same time as my good friend Steph, and we would talk about how, some days, we just felt so ON, so good about what we were writing, and then other days - i.e., the self-loathing days - we'd start doubting what we were doing, wondering why we even thought we had talent.
Steph's done the whole query process thing, with the full requests and the R&Rs and the rejections and all that. I think she has three books written, but right now, she's rockin' out as a world-famous* photographer.
So anyway, yeah ... feeling a couple notches down from hopeful right now, but I know it's only a phase and I'll snap out of it soon enough.
*Okay, so maybe not WORLD-famous. Yet.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Rejection
Got my first rejection this morning ... the odd thing is that it was from the agent who said she was really behind in her queries, and she responded to me in less than 24 hours. Sigh.
Ugh ... Part 2
I worked on the synopsis on and off throughout the day and finally have a decent draft finished. Since it's almost 1 a.m., I'm going to save it and take it back out tomorrow for a fresh reading. Once I have it in good shape, I can query four agents from my list.
Why is it so hard to write a synopsis!?
Again, as with my query, I kept hearing Janet Reid's voice (QueryShark) asking questions as I typed. SO helpful! (I hope!)
I sent a query today to one of the agents that I previously mentioned as specifically looking for women's fiction, but she tweeted a day or so ago that she's very behind on queries right now. Also, I'm still on the fence about re-querying agents who rejected my previous manuscript. If they rejected it because of its high word count, the edited ms is almost 30,000 words shorter, which might make them more inclined to take a closer look.
I also have on my list a couple agents who are notorious non-responders. But how can you skip them? If they rep your genre and are open to unsolicited queries, you just have to give it a try, I say.
Why is it so hard to write a synopsis!?
Again, as with my query, I kept hearing Janet Reid's voice (QueryShark) asking questions as I typed. SO helpful! (I hope!)
I sent a query today to one of the agents that I previously mentioned as specifically looking for women's fiction, but she tweeted a day or so ago that she's very behind on queries right now. Also, I'm still on the fence about re-querying agents who rejected my previous manuscript. If they rejected it because of its high word count, the edited ms is almost 30,000 words shorter, which might make them more inclined to take a closer look.
I also have on my list a couple agents who are notorious non-responders. But how can you skip them? If they rep your genre and are open to unsolicited queries, you just have to give it a try, I say.
Friday, June 28, 2013
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Excitement re: notification about email
I was pretty excited the other day when I got online, and my yahoo email icon indicated that I had an email waiting for me. Wow ... a response already, with only three queries sent? I tried not to get my hopes up and logged into my email account.
It was a literary agency's e-newsletter that I signed up for sometime last year. Sigh.
Well, I'm back from vacation and have a good list of agents to query. I also just came across two agents (both of whom I'm familiar with from my first go-round as well as social media) who specifically mentioned wanting to see women's fiction, so I'll be sending those queries out tomorrow sometime.
It was a literary agency's e-newsletter that I signed up for sometime last year. Sigh.
Well, I'm back from vacation and have a good list of agents to query. I also just came across two agents (both of whom I'm familiar with from my first go-round as well as social media) who specifically mentioned wanting to see women's fiction, so I'll be sending those queries out tomorrow sometime.
Monday, June 24, 2013
One more down ... and a list
I was able to get one more out before leaving on vacation, and I have a list of agents for researching. I think I'm going to re-query the agents that were "no response" last time. I'm not sure about re-querying the ones who rejected me last time. Advice? It's been over a year, and my manuscript is about 28,000 words lighter, so it may have a better chance.
Hopefully I can get a little list of agents ready while I'm on vacation and then submit like crazy when I get back home. My research process:
1) On Agent Query, note the agents who are open to unsolicited queries and represent women's fiction
2) Search the agent on Query Tracker and add to My Query List
3) Go to the agency website and take notes about any interesting tidbits about the company (when opened, client list, owner, etc.)
4) Go to the agent's bio and take notes about any interesting tidbits about the agent
5) If there are links to interviews or articles about the agent, read those and note what he/she says about manuscripts, queries, etc.
6) Take notes regarding the agency/agent submission requirements, email address and response times
It takes a long time to do all this, but I just like being armed with this information. I have a spiral notebook full of notes, then I write a big SENT with the date toward the bottom of the page. Last time, when I got a rejection, I put a big, fat R over the whole page. :) I'm hoping I won't have many of those this time!
Hopefully I can get a little list of agents ready while I'm on vacation and then submit like crazy when I get back home. My research process:
1) On Agent Query, note the agents who are open to unsolicited queries and represent women's fiction
2) Search the agent on Query Tracker and add to My Query List
3) Go to the agency website and take notes about any interesting tidbits about the company (when opened, client list, owner, etc.)
4) Go to the agent's bio and take notes about any interesting tidbits about the agent
5) If there are links to interviews or articles about the agent, read those and note what he/she says about manuscripts, queries, etc.
6) Take notes regarding the agency/agent submission requirements, email address and response times
It takes a long time to do all this, but I just like being armed with this information. I have a spiral notebook full of notes, then I write a big SENT with the date toward the bottom of the page. Last time, when I got a rejection, I put a big, fat R over the whole page. :) I'm hoping I won't have many of those this time!
Friday, June 21, 2013
Two down ...
Well, I sent out the first two queries yesterday to agents who were listed as new agents in tweets by Writer's Digest. They both specifically listed women's fiction, which is always good (as opposed to general commercial fiction). I read interviews they each gave, and they seem super cool. I read through their client lists, but didn't recognize anyone outright. I love checking out those lists because - hurray! - new authors to read!
One thing: My novel is about first-time mothers, and one character's baby has the same name as one of the agents I queried last night. Will that be weird? I didn't do it as a ploy, it's just coincidence. And she's a good baby, not a villain, so there's that. :)
Anyway, two down ... who knows how many to go. I'd like to keep a steady schedule of querying, maybe one a day? Two? I'll just have to play it by ear.
One thing: My novel is about first-time mothers, and one character's baby has the same name as one of the agents I queried last night. Will that be weird? I didn't do it as a ploy, it's just coincidence. And she's a good baby, not a villain, so there's that. :)
Anyway, two down ... who knows how many to go. I'd like to keep a steady schedule of querying, maybe one a day? Two? I'll just have to play it by ear.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Here we go again!
This is a beginning twice ...
1) Writing the first post of a new blog (my old blog www.foodasfrenemy.blogspot.com has been gathering dust since I became more serious about finishing my manuscript)
2) Beginning a second attempt to obtain representation for my manuscript
I've just completed the fifth edit on my manuscript. (I promise every paragraph in my blog will not have the word "manuscript" in it.) The fifth and most brutal. I'd heard the phrase "kill your darlings" many times, but this time I lived it. It's rough.
(Manuscript!) (Just messing with you.) I've also read the advice to put your first novel in a drawer and forget about it while you write your "real" books, the ones with a slightly better chance of being published.
While I do have a couple other ideas rolling around in my brain, I'm just not ready to give up on this one yet. It's still too darling. I don't feel like I've given it every chance yet. This last edit, as I mentioned, was a doozy, but it may be just what my novel needed to get a little more attention.
During my first go-round with the query process, my manuscript was at just over 120,000 words. This is too long for women's fiction, but I plowed ahead anyway. (My first draft was 145,000! I'm a bit wordy.) Now, it's 92,500, a mite too long maybe, but much better.
And I've learned so much about writing query letters, particularly from one Janet Reid of FinePrint Literary Management and her blog QueryShark (http://queryshark.blogspot.com/). I devoured those blog posts and took copious notes. I had Ms. Reid's voice in my head asking questions and making comments as I typed and edited my query ... "Why does THAT matter?" "Yeah, but what CHOICE does she have to make?" "Too much detail! Delete that!"
In fact, I submitted my query to QueryShark in the hopes that I can have the real Ms. Reid comment on it, though hopefully not rip it to shreds. Though, if it needs ripping, so be it. I'm totally open to learning, which in turn will just help me become a better writer.
I've started researching agents (using wonderful tools like Agent Query and Query Tracker), and I have a couple new agents that I'm going to start with.
Wish me luck!
1) Writing the first post of a new blog (my old blog www.foodasfrenemy.blogspot.com has been gathering dust since I became more serious about finishing my manuscript)
2) Beginning a second attempt to obtain representation for my manuscript
I've just completed the fifth edit on my manuscript. (I promise every paragraph in my blog will not have the word "manuscript" in it.) The fifth and most brutal. I'd heard the phrase "kill your darlings" many times, but this time I lived it. It's rough.
(Manuscript!) (Just messing with you.) I've also read the advice to put your first novel in a drawer and forget about it while you write your "real" books, the ones with a slightly better chance of being published.
While I do have a couple other ideas rolling around in my brain, I'm just not ready to give up on this one yet. It's still too darling. I don't feel like I've given it every chance yet. This last edit, as I mentioned, was a doozy, but it may be just what my novel needed to get a little more attention.
During my first go-round with the query process, my manuscript was at just over 120,000 words. This is too long for women's fiction, but I plowed ahead anyway. (My first draft was 145,000! I'm a bit wordy.) Now, it's 92,500, a mite too long maybe, but much better.
And I've learned so much about writing query letters, particularly from one Janet Reid of FinePrint Literary Management and her blog QueryShark (http://queryshark.blogspot.com/). I devoured those blog posts and took copious notes. I had Ms. Reid's voice in my head asking questions and making comments as I typed and edited my query ... "Why does THAT matter?" "Yeah, but what CHOICE does she have to make?" "Too much detail! Delete that!"
In fact, I submitted my query to QueryShark in the hopes that I can have the real Ms. Reid comment on it, though hopefully not rip it to shreds. Though, if it needs ripping, so be it. I'm totally open to learning, which in turn will just help me become a better writer.
I've started researching agents (using wonderful tools like Agent Query and Query Tracker), and I have a couple new agents that I'm going to start with.
Wish me luck!
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