Querying.
It’s something that’s near and dear to my heart. I’ve been
through it twice. Both of my agents were awesome…but life happens and each of
them left their positions. Yes, I was agent-orphaned twice.
So now, I’m querying for the third time. Back in February I
was mortified to admit it. I’d made it to “the next level.” I’d been agented. To
use a Chutes & Ladders analogy, I’d climbed up a bit of the ladder, only to
slide down the chute at the next turn. I kept my querying secret…but gradually,
as time passed, I’ve been wanting to share my story more and more. And of
course, through twitter contests when you’re pitching like crazy, it’s hard to
keep it a secret (“why is she pitching? Doesn’t she have an agent?”)
So here’s what I’ve learned from the Query Process:
- It’s
truly subjective. The agent may list your genre on her wishlist, but it’s still
may not be the right fit. It’s not you.
- Or
it could be you…the book may need more revision…or better pacing…or something
hard to pinpoint. You can spend years analyzing a rejection. But don’t. Cry to
your CPs, dust yourself off, and keep on keeping on.
- Agents
are people, too. Sometimes they are busy. Or on vacation. Or dealing with their
lives. In your communication with them be polite, be professional, and above
all follow submission guidelines. And let the process work.
- It’s
okay to send a thank you note for a Full or Partial request rejection.
- Trust
your gut…if it doesn’t feel right, don’t force it. This might be the hardest lesson...because you want it to feel right sooooo badly.
- I’ve
heard of authors arguing or pushing back rudely to agents who gave them a
personal, helpful rejection. Don’t. Please don’t. Because you ruin it for all
of us if they decide to stop giving personal feedback.
- I’m
a scattershot queryer. That doesn’t mean I don’t do my research. But I don’t
overthink it. If it looks like my book might be in someone’s wheelhouse, I query.
But I’ve done a lot of querying, I trust my query letter and my ability to be
professional. I’m not bragging, but my request rate is at 42% this morning. Okay,
I’m bragging, I’m proud of that request rate, but all that really means is my
rate of rejections on Full manuscripts is higher than someone with a lower
request rate.
- Those
can sting. But again, back to #1. It’s truly subjective.
The
thing that surprised me most is the number of people I’ve met with similar
stories. People who’d been agented before and were querying again for a variety
of reasons. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to share my story…to tell someone
out there who might be the same situation that it’s okay. You’re going to be
okay. It’s not the end of the world.
I’ve seen the ups and downs of the query process. I’ve had “the
call” twice. It’s an amazing feeling that I hope to have again. But you know
what else I’ve learned? It’s not the end of the world. This is a business…you
have to treat it that way. As long as you conduct yourself in a professional manner,
and don’t burn bridges, you’ll be fine.
So tell me about your querying process?
