Waiting

I'm working on sending out more queries.

Just because an agent requested to see my manuscript is no guarantee he/she will want to represent me. I read recently that an agent requested to see 125 manuscripts in a single year. He/she ended up representing two. So I continue to move forward as if nothing has happened.

When I think about it, nothing really has happened. Waiting for something to happen feels strange and exhilarating and depressing all at the same time.

The numbers will never be in my favor. But still, an agent's eyes are/will be reading my words and that still feels oddly incredible. If I could convince my heart to stop trying to climb up my throat and right on out of my mouth so it can get a better view of what's to come, I think I would feel relatively calm.

Query Hell

I am trying to keep my wits about me.

I am doing my best not to stand up and scream.

I just spent the entire morning researching an agent, perfecting the introduction to said agent, only to see, far too late, that the agent is closed to queries until December!

Am I embarrassed? Perhaps.

Do I feel foolish? Oh, yes.

Do I know better? Hell yes, I do.

Did that matter? Apparently not.

To anyone out there who is getting man-handled by this roller coaster of querying, you are not alone. Always make sure you read ahead and find out the agent's submission guidelines before you start perfecting their query. That's Query 101, really.

And, considering the last query I sent out I made the grave mistake of not checking the spelling of the agent's company name and sent it out misspelled (OMG!?!? I'm so embarrassed I could crawl into a hole!), I'm going to go on record and say it's not been a great week for me. I might as well have flipped the agent my middle finger and told him/her to suck it. I can only imagine that's exactly how he/she feels about it too.

But, still, I forge ahead, knowing that if this doesn't happen, I'll feel more foolish than I do right now.