There’s a tension and an anticipation unlike any I’ve felt yet with this next step. I’ve spent so much time focusing on my writing, bettering my craft, revising, writing more, revising more, making goals, and it’s all for this. I am going to send my first official query letter in a matter of weeks. It’s the step that will change everything. The first letter initiates the next and the next and it puts everything I do on another level.
I received some great feedback from the conference that I used to revise the manuscript I’ll be querying. It’s the manuscript I feel strongest about. I know who the characters are, I know what their story is, and I know why their story needs to be told. This story needs to be shared.
Querying is a whole other process entirely. It takes a lot of work in very different ways. Critiquing a query letter, which is a one page letter that accompanies the first however many pages of a manuscript, is an intense process. Each line has to be weighed and measured, as there are very few to work with. The query letter needs to tell who you are as a writer, what your story is, and why the world needs your story. The query letter needs to tell the agency or agent why your story and you as a writer would be a good fit to work with and be represented by them.
This week I will be working on my query for SB. I also had an epiphany about the project I’ve been working on. I’ve started two projects, wondering the whole time if they are really one in the same, and they are. The story I want to write that’s fueled by my memories as a kid needs to be handed off to these other characters who are not me. They know what to do with those stories more than I ever would in a paper land. They’ve also been eyeing me as I write the memories, hovering in the background and huffing dramatically as I bumble my way along. When I declared that, yes, they are indeed the keepers of these stories, there was a universal eye roll and “well duh” given in response. So yeah, I know they know what to do with them. 😳
What have been some of your experiences querying stories? Or, what writing project are you working on right now?
Happy Writing!
Nikole Breault 
Ah, the old days when querying was new and so scary lol… now I just toss queries out left and right! I’d suggest sending out 3-4 at a time, because half the time you dont receive any kind of response. There’s a website you should check out, I think its querytracker.com, where people report whether or not an agent responds and how quickly – it’s helpful to know if the agent you’re querying only responds if interested so you’re not waiting around for nothing!
Also, if you need to submit the first fee pages with your query and you want some eyes on spelling/grammar, hit me up 😊 Good luck!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a very good point! I do need to set up a query tracker sheet myself to keep track of my submissions. Thank you for the offer! I’ll definitely swap queries with you 🙂
LikeLike
I’ll be your eyes on the query letter too!
LikeLike
Thank you! We should swap!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes!
LikeLike