Queries are out. Or some of them, at least. It is always hard for me to let each one go. While I was going through this process, the agent with my full wrote back. She doesn’t want me. Remember when I got into Boot Camp and I said, “Can I just say, this feels enormously…
Category: Querying
Whoopsie
I did finish that query letter last night, but for some reason it didn’t publish. So, here it is: I am seeking representation for my jazz age mystery novel, The Big Life (75,000 words). It is a spin on the classic hard-boiled detective story—from the secretary’s point of view. In 1928, Kitty Carmichael arrives in…
Liveblogging Wednesday: This and That, and Also Sex and the City
It’s time for another Liveblogging Wednesday. I’m having a hard time deciding what to liveblog today. I could work on revisions to my query letter. Or I could work on the initial pages for the sequel to my novel. But what I really, really want to write is a pan of Sex and the City…
Lines on a Spreadsheet, Lines in the Sand
I’m sending more queries this week. I still have one full manuscript out from my last round of submissions, but that is no reason not to keep the ball rolling. In the past, I’ve collected a few names of agents I was really excited about, and queried them. Then, when it’s time for me to…
Wednesday Liveblogging: Query Me This
So, today I’m launching a new “feature” on this blog: Wednesday Liveblogging. Every Wednesday, come Hell or high water (but possibly not Boot Camp) I will spend a full eight hours liveblogging. Hopefully it will give me a lot of accountability, without having quite the paralyzing effect that trying to write a full story while…
Full On
So, yesterday I got my first request for the full manuscript by an agent. Life is good. For the next couple of hours, I literally went around singing. I’d had a partial out with this agent for three weeks, or maybe a month. And yesterday when I saw I had a response from her, my…
The Terror, The Terror
Sending out more query letters today. I tell you, every time I hit send it’s like a cold shot of ice water right through my veins. And for heaven’s sake, could someone tell me why? I have confidence in my book, and also confidence in the facts that (1) tastes differ (2) some agents will…
First Partial Request
Well, what a whirlwind day. Remember that rejection I blogged about oh, six hours ago? Well, it wasn’t entirely a rejection. I mean, it was a no. But at the end of that no was a “Why don’t you contact this other agent? He likes mysteries.” So, I did. I researched Mr. Other Agent, then…
First Rejection
So, I woke up this morning to a nice fat rejection note in my inbox. I’ve always prided myself on the fact that I was one of those people who, darn it, could just take rejection. No big deal. Part of the business, baby. Yep, I’ve always prided myself on that, but I have to…