First Wednesday of the month, which means it's time for Insecure Writer's Support Group.
So. Last week I finished my final revisions on my YA fantasy WIP ALL THAT REMAINS.
It was a straight push through to finish them up and I'd say it took a good five hours to finish them. But I did.
Part of what motivated me to get them all done in one day was that I told myself I was allowed to send out a test query if I finished them.
And I did. I actually sent out two test queries, because why not? I'd been good.
So as of last week I officially started querying ATR. And as of last week querying has officially been going well.
It's funny. I've queried two other novels before. And you'd think by this point it'd be easier. And it really is in some ways, but writing up that first query, throwing in the sample pages, checking the sub guidelines one more time and then hovering over the SEND button--well, that apparently doesn't get easier. At least, not for the first couple of queries, anyway.
I try not to get anxious or nervous about it. I know once I start working on my next WIP (which is in the planning stage. Hopefully won't be too long before I can break it out) it will get a lot easier. But until that happens I'm just as anxious as I was during my first querying journey. Maybe more so, because the first time, you don't really know how long replies take. And the third time, you know which agents are likely to request from you, or to reject you, and how long it often takes.
Which means a lot of checking Gmail. Over and over and over again. Even on weekends, when it's rare to get a query response.
So, yeah. Turns out that even when you're an old hand at it, querying can still dredge up emotions. Even unexpectedly.
How about you? Any of you in the query boat?
So. Last week I finished my final revisions on my YA fantasy WIP ALL THAT REMAINS.
It was a straight push through to finish them up and I'd say it took a good five hours to finish them. But I did.
Part of what motivated me to get them all done in one day was that I told myself I was allowed to send out a test query if I finished them.
And I did. I actually sent out two test queries, because why not? I'd been good.
So as of last week I officially started querying ATR. And as of last week querying has officially been going well.
It's funny. I've queried two other novels before. And you'd think by this point it'd be easier. And it really is in some ways, but writing up that first query, throwing in the sample pages, checking the sub guidelines one more time and then hovering over the SEND button--well, that apparently doesn't get easier. At least, not for the first couple of queries, anyway.
I try not to get anxious or nervous about it. I know once I start working on my next WIP (which is in the planning stage. Hopefully won't be too long before I can break it out) it will get a lot easier. But until that happens I'm just as anxious as I was during my first querying journey. Maybe more so, because the first time, you don't really know how long replies take. And the third time, you know which agents are likely to request from you, or to reject you, and how long it often takes.
Which means a lot of checking Gmail. Over and over and over again. Even on weekends, when it's rare to get a query response.
So, yeah. Turns out that even when you're an old hand at it, querying can still dredge up emotions. Even unexpectedly.
How about you? Any of you in the query boat?
6 comments:
Just keep hitting send! It's actually scarier when you don't.
I think Alex's comment is sort of funny.
And yeah, I really thought jumping in on my third novel would absolutely be easy as pie. I also thought jumping back in after having already tested the waters with it would be super easy.
WRONG AGAIN! When my fun buzzes me that there's a new email, I jump and run for it. Shoot, not another announcement for a recently released YOU TUBE video! Curse you Mental Floss and vlogbrothers and Epic Rap Battles!
I should probably turn off the internet for a while.
More power to you for the query process. It's always good to keep busy during it. Right now I'm trying to keep up my Nano progress.
I haven't begun the querying process, but I'm getting close. I hope yours are successful.
Great IWSG post!
Good luck Fallon. I hope you get an acceptance.
.....dhole
I'm not about to start querying--but I am getting ready to jump headfirst into a new MS that just popped into my head over the weekend and refused to be ignored! I hope I can maintain that enthusiasm as I write :). And like everyone has said: GOOD LUCK with All That Remains!!!
Ninja Girl
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