(This was meant to be a video, uploaded earlier this week. However, I’ve been under the weather and lost my voice, so instead of putting it off any longer, I decided to post the script!)
Heya word nerds, Kate here! Boy, it’s been a crazy month. You may remember that earlier this year, I sent off my novel to a freelance editor. I sent it at the beginning of March, and she planned to send it back by the end of May. I thought it was perfect: I could take March and April to start outlining the next manuscript, as well as research agents, create a list of people I want to query, and start putting together my query material. Then I could spend June and maybe July making revisions, and be ready to start querying toward the end of the summer.
That didn’t happen.
Much to my surprise, my editor got back to me in a matter of weeks. I had her (wonderfully helpful and positive!) feedback by the beginning of April and was both encouraged and motivated by what she had to say. So I dove straight into revisions. I figured if I made edits in April and into May, and took a little time to get my pitch material ready, I’d be ready to start pitching in June.
That also didn’t happen.
I had gathered a list of agents I wanted to query and put them into three groups: top picks, middle of the pack, and lowest picks, which were usually duplicate agencies. About a week and a half into May, I found out that one of the agents from my top pick group was going to be closing her inbox to queries on May 15 to answer the ones she already had. Since I didn’t know how long it would be before she opened again, I decided to go ahead and get my query into her inbox, even though I wasn’t quite done with my revisions. And once I sent the first one, it was easier to send a few more. So at this point, I’ve sent out my entire first round of queries.
Let me tell you, querying is an exhilarating, terrifying, often discouraging roller coaster of a process. It’s not linear, and even when you take steps forward, it’s not really progress. Some agents respond to every query, others tell you to assume it’s a no if a certain amount of time passes and you don’t hear anything back. Some agents give fairly detailed reasons for saying no, while others use a generic form letter. An agent might read your query and ask for a larger sample or the full manuscript, only to still say no. It’s a lot of waiting and hoping, and there’s really not much you can do to influence the decision. Agents get hundreds of submissions. Your query not only has to stand out in terms of story and writing, but they also have to decide if it’s a good fit for them, their list of current clients, and the publishers they work with. There are far more reasons for an agent to say no than to say yes.
But I’m not letting that get me down! I’ve sent ten queries so far (and one rejection already!). I’m planning to wait for at least a month to get feedback on these queries before doing my next round.
I’m thinking next month’s video will be a more in-depth description of the logistics of querying, so if you have any questions about that process, or about literary agents in general, leave them in the comments, and I’ll do my best to answer them!
Kate G. Jameson 