Where are my querying writers at? We need to talk.
Are you okay?
If you are not a querying writer but know someone who is, maybe you should
check on them.
Querying... it's so... hard. I've done this off
and on a couple of times over the years until life, you know, got in the way.
And I have friends who have braved all of this ahead of me. I follow tons of
authors, agents, and other querying authors online, so I know how it all works.
I'm not shocked by rejections or no response at all. It doesn't bother me to
see other authors posting online about signing with their dream agent, signing
a three-book deal, or the popular posting about something "vague." If
anything, it's encouraging to see that it's still happening and that more books
will be out in the world. It gives me hope that there will still be room for me.
But....
It is a roller coaster, my friends.... if you
know me, you know I HATE rollercoasters. I've been querying for about a month
now, and I've noticed some things.
·
You are anxiety-ridden
every time you send out a query because you need to make sure you are explicitly
following the instructions for every agent. (See examples of requirements
below.)
o
Query letter and first
five pages
o
Query letter and synopsis
o
Query letter,
synopsis, pitch, and mood board
o
Query letter,
synopsis, pitch, link to playlist if you have one (agents – please ask for more
of these!)
o
Email query
o
Only use the Query Manager
form
o
Query only one agent
at the agency at a time (only query another agent after the first one passes)
o
We take 8-10 weeks to
respond (if we respond)
o
A no from one agent is
a no from all
o
Please submit a blood
sample…okay, that last one is made up, but who knows, it may be out there
somewhere.)
·
As soon as you hit
send, you get a new idea for how you could have made the query better, or you
find something specific to that agent that you could have pointed out in the
letter.
·
An agent will post
online that they are looking for something that matches EXACTLY what your book
is about. You submit it, and within an hour, they reject it, saying it’s not exactly
what they were looking for.
·
You get a rejection that
sounds like it might be personalized, and you take their kindness to heart. Then
you go on Query Tracker and see multiple comments from people who also queried the
agent, and they get the same response word for word.
·
You get a query response,
and for a moment, you are at the top of the rollercoaster – I loved your story
concept; it’s clear you have talent, your voice is perfect, and the story is on
trend…. And then you are in a free fall – I just didn’t connect 100%. I didn’t
fall in love with it the way I needed to fully take this on.
·
You’ll see a random
post from another author about the book they’re querying or the story they’re
working on, and your heart will stop because something about it sounds so similar
to yours… but it starts beating again when you realize no one can write the
story the way that you can.
And maybe that is the point – millions of people
(yes, millions) are out there writing a book, but only they can tell the actual
story. And that is true for all of us. We can only tell our story and know that
somewhere out there is the right person to help find its way into the world.
If you’re querying, please take this as your sign
to keep going… and come say hello!
~Adrienne
