Today, I gathered my courage and presented my query letter, my synopsis, and the first three chapters of The Duke of Snow and Apples, proofread the bejeesus out of them, put them into an e-mail, said a prayer to St. Paul (patron saint of writers and bloggers), and hit the "send" button.
And promptly fell on my face when I received a "nonexistent e-mail address autoreply."
After I entered the agent's correct e-mail address, I sat back and thought. Well, it's done. I've done it. I pitched to an agent, I received a request for a partial, and a week and a half later I was able to write a decent synopsis and query letter and send it along with the first three chapters.
I DID IT.
So what do I do now? Well, I have time before a response - the agent I pitched to is on holiday until the end of August. I also have a bunch of contests I could enter, both for feedback and to pad a future query letter if this one doesn't pan out. I'm also starting on the first draft for the sequel, Lord of Dreams. I love first drafts - I write them longhand in notebooks, because I am romantic and whimsical and vain of my handwriting but at the same time it's also harder to self-edit so I actually produce faster. And my heroine in this one is really interesting.
I'll also keep polishing and checking on The Duke of Snow and Apples. Writing the synopsis actually got me to chop a 3000-word scene because looking at the big-picture of my plot, that scene completely diminished my Black Moment. With it gone, my manuscript is 3000 words lighter and has a tighter, more emotional ending.
Either way, whatever happens, I DID IT. I am one of the only 10% of writers who actually submit something to an agent after getting a request. I may never be published, I may starve in obscurity in a penniless garret (how romantic!), but at least I will be able to say that I sent my stuff in. I didn't keep my manuscript in a box under my bed. I didn't hide my light under a bushel.
I DID IT.
And now - to write some more!
That's hell of an achievement. Congratulations! -- willaful
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! That's a big deal, no matter how it pans out for you, it's something to always be proud of!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! And now you can query even more agents!
ReplyDeleteI still take a deep inhale every time I press that send button to an agent.
Also check out querytracker.com. A wonderful, wonderful source for all your agent need.
Yay! That's great.
ReplyDeleteOnly 10% of authors actually submit anything???? Wow. Really hard to get my mind around that one.
Willaful: Thank you!
ReplyDeleteSarah: Thank you - although I do hope it pans out really really well, LOL.
Katiebabs --> True, although in this case, because she requested and I know she has relatively good turnaround, I'm going to wait until I get a response from her before querying elsewhere. Am also trying out for contests.
Vorkosigrrl: I used to think so, too, until I got home and suddenly starting nitpicking everything I'd written. It's different once an agent requests something - then it doesn't seem good enough, you need more time to tinker, and there's always the fear that if you send it in now, and they reject you, that you've burned that bridge for ever and ever and they'll never read your stuff again.
Which is all utter BS. I totally submitted, but at the same time I do understand people who suddenly believe "I'M NOT WORTHY" and decide to tinker with it some more.
Congrats! I can't imagine how nervous you must have been but, you did it!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! Fingers crossed that you get a great response but just wow for getting this far.
ReplyDelete*hug* and lots of cheers going your way!
ReplyDelete