Starting round two ...

Yesterday was a long night of frustrating research. But ... it's part of the process. I don't want to just willy-nilly query every agent that has "Young Adult" listed in his/her genre list because sometimes the agent prefers SF/F or historical or whatever.

So, I work with the MSWL website and the Query Tracker website and the agent's agency website. I'll also sometimes check out the agent's Twitter feed. (This sounds stalkerish ... it's not! I promise!)

Last night was frustrating because I found four promising agents on MSWL, only to find later that two weren't open to unsolicited submissions, one wasn't even agenting anymore (I discovered that on her Twitter feed), and one wasn't listed as an agent on the agency's website (???).

Well, even though I was disappointed with the research session, I'm glad I did the research because it would have been embarrassing to query someone who isn't an agent!

On top of that, I got a rejection on my partial request yesterday afternoon. :(

But I've rewritten my query letter and I do have a short list of agents that I'll be querying this morning. I was talking to a co-worker about my ms and I was describing how my story is different from others in the genre (fan meets celebrity), and I realized, "DUH! I should point that out in my query letter!" So dumb.

I've also started my next ms ... I'm actually reworking the three-POV women's fiction I wrote a few years ago (got two full requests and a partial on that one, but no offer - obvs) into a YA. I'm super excited about it!

I'm not quite ready to let my current story go. I love Jamie and Kenzie. I love their relationship, I love Kenzie's awkwardness and goofiness, I love Jamie's valiant effort at celebrity life. I'm not entirely sure if a space exists in the sea of dystopian trilogies and romance series for my humble little contemporary story. The YA books I see touted on agent Twitter feeds are pretty amazing, but surely SOMEONE out there wants to read a lighthearted story about meeting a celebrity crush!

 

No news isn't bad news, right?

Well, the query front has been super quiet.

I currently have 14 queries out. I just sent seven out this past weekend just because I wasn't hearing back from anyone. :) I'm sure many of my older queries are to agents who have a "no response = no" policy, which is frustrating. So frustrating, in fact, that when one of my newest queries resulted in a form rejection, I immediately thanked the agent for taking time to let me know.

I was dismayed when an agent recently announced on Twitter that she's switching to responding only when she's interested because of NEGATIVE REPLIES!

Really, fellow hopeful authors? Ugh. That is so annoying to me. Though, it feels like people in general are just getting more angry and negative. But that's for another day.

It just floors me, the arrogance of some writers looking to get published. Agents post about writers saying "Here's my manuscript. It does NOT need to be changed." or responding to rejections with snarky things like, "You'll be sorry" or "Don't need the money, huh?"

(I won't even get into the writer who recently blew up Twitter with his horribly nasty account of a pitch session.)

It reminds me of this quote that I LOVE:

I cannot tell you how many times the following has been me:

I can be in love with my words and then completely loath everything I've ever written in the same night! :)

But, I love it. I'm not giving up.

As I'm querying, a new idea has started bouncing around. I have an old WF manuscript that I'm thinking about reworking into a YA.

You know the drill: Dialogue that flies into the brain while washing dishes. An entire scene plays out during a shower. Random ideas ping in and out during the work day. Thank goodness for voice memos on my phone!

I'm both looking forward to a new ms and dreading it. It's a lot of work. It's countless hours and outlines and first drafts and stakes and editing and killing your darlings. But I am looking forward to meeting these new characters.

In the meantime ... I'll continue to humbly submit queries and chapters and synopses, and tentatively - but hopefully - peek at my inbox.

A record?

Wow ... it just got real! :)

I sent a query yesterday using an agency's new online form (which was pretty cool, btw). I got a confirmation email at 7:10 p.m. OK, good.

At 8:05 p.m., I got a rejection.

OK, not so good!

Yes, it was a bummer. A reminder of how the query process can zing you.

I spent about 3-1/2 seconds feeling super bummed out and then I got real and moved on. Because, of course there is going to be rejection. Which sucks.

But the cool thing: A real-life agent read my query.

I'm out there, baby! :)

Update: Back to the writing board

It's been a few weeks, but the same day I sent my query and posted my last blog entry, I heard back from the agent. She thanked me for my candor and agreed with the other agents' thoughts on the setup of my book and passed on it as it's written now. (She didn't read the full I submitted; she passed based on the info I told her in my email.) I was afraid that would happen, and I was super bummed when I got the message. At first. But then something occurred to me, and I got hopeful again.

Here's an email I sent to a coworker/friend who also dreams of publishing a novel (the subject line read IDIOT!):

 

That’s me.

SHE PASSED. Sob!

I sat here, about ready to throw up, feeling so pissed at myself for being such a complete idiot, all those HOURS AND HOURS editing when I should have been rewriting, berating myself mercilessly that I’ve had three agents interested and then reject it because of my setup.

I was all, “That’s IT! I’m done. I’m a failure. F%&* it!”

And then I recalled the part of her email that said if I wanted to rework it, to be free to come back her way.

That, my friend, is an R&R.

So, putting the quote on my wall into action – “To get what you want, you have to do what it takes” – I pulled myself up and IMMEDIATELY started drafting up notes about how I can get [my characters] to connect.

And I think I’ve got it.

Here we go again …

Yep, I'm back to the rewriting stage, but I'm excited about it. And I can't regret the path I took in submitting this project as is, because I may not have come up with the same rewrite notes six or seven months ago when I embarked on my fifth edit. Plus, if I had submitted without mentioning the feedback, chances are I would have received the same feedback again and a closed door. As it is, I have an invitation not just to re-query, but to resubmit.

I responded to the agent with the following:

Thanks for your message, ((agent name)). I was afraid that would happen, but I just couldn't, with good conscience, not mention the feedback I'd recently received.

 

I hope to query you with an updated version in the months ahead.

 

Warm regards,

 

To which she replied, "Take your time. Would love to see when done!"

 

I've been letting things simmer for a bit, jotting down notes and scenarios as they pop into my head, and I think I'm finally ready to jump in. I'm hoping the rewrite goes as smoothly as it's been going in my head (HA!).

 

"Not for us, thanks."

That was it. That's all it said.

I don't know about you, but that irked me.

Yes, I KNOW that literary agents are beyond busy. And I KNOW that their first priority is with their current clients. And I also can imagine how tiring it must be to slog through dozens and dozens of email submissions from wannabes like me.

But four words? That's all you can muster in response to my query? The query that I spent several days researching, editing, proofreading ... and then several more days researching, editing and proofreading again?

Rejections suck, but those kind words written by several other agents reminding me that the profession is subjective and that I should persevere and find an agent who is enthusiastic about my work and will champion it as it should be championed? They help. Even though I know it's a form, the words are kind, and they anticipate that I'm going to be disappointed and they try to soften the blow.

Maybe I'm just being oversensitive because I've had about six rejections this week. It just rubbed me the wrong way.

Doubled my queries

I was able to double my queries by sending out 12 today! That was exciting. It's nice to take that time to take notes and have a list of query-ready agents along with their submission guidelines on hand. Then, at one time, I can send a bunch out and feel super productive.

With a few of the agents who were C/NR during my last round, I was able to do additional research on the literary agency and ended up finding other agents that may be a better match. I came across three completely new-to-me agents, and a couple that were a bit elusive: no email addresses, no guidelines, no one is really sure how to find them, and their agency's website just shows an error message - even though different agent sites state they actively accept queries. I get leery about there being no info out there, but I guess it's not a requirement for agencies to a have websites, blogs, Twitter accounts, etc. We'll see what happens.

I did get a rejection right before I signed on to write this post from a very popular agent/agency. Form rejection. Sigh.

So that's three rejections so far. And 24 queries still out there ...

Wah-wah-wah ...

Got another rejection today. Sigh.

(paraphrasing) "After reading your query letter, I just wasn't interested enough to want to ask for more."

Okay, that's fair. She continues with the reminder that the business is very subjective and someone else may think differently, and she encourages me to continue querying and working on my next book (because this one apparently sucks!) :) Just kidding.

So ... for those keeping score, that's 12 queries sent so far and two rejections received.

I didn't get any queries out today at all. I guess I could sign out of this blog and send one out before going to bed. I had such a busy day at work (I'm a proofreader/editor) that the last thing I wanted to do when I got home was work on the computer. So, I checked Twitter and Facebook and a blog I like to read, then that was about it.

But tomorrow is a new day! Onward ...

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.