Sorry about missing yesterday's post.
I had decided to query every single literary agent on my list and it took much longer than expected.
I will say this, though. It's scary. Because not only am I putting my money where my mouth is, but I'm putting ALL my money where my mouth is.
If all of these agents say no, I'm not going to get an agent. They don't take resubmissions.
At the same time, I know God is guiding my way. If it's His will for me to go the traditional way, He'll make sure I get the perfect agent.
In the mean time, I'm in for a two month wait.
Sigh.
What about you, have you ever gone far out on a limb? How did it work out for you?
39 comments:
Good luck, I'm sure if it's meant to be you will get an agent :)
I'm not at the submission stage of my writing yet, but it's something I'm dreading!
That sounds like a great idea, rather than waiting for a response from a few at a time - it's like throwing a pack of cards in the air and seeing which ones land face up. Wishing you lots of face-up cards to choose from!
I wish you the best of lucks here. I've never looked for an agent and I don't think I will. You're very brave and we'll be cheering up for you!
Good luck! I tried looking for agents about three years ago. I had some interest, but no one picked me up. It was rough, but I pushed on without one. :)
Good Luck Misha! At least if you don't get an agent with this book, you can always write another one and try again with the same list of agents :)
I'm going to start sending out queries soon too - I've got my query going up on Ask Daphne's About My Query this Friday for feedback, and then it's time to start emailing agents :)
Good luck! I didn't query all of my agents at once, but I did query around half my agent list at the same time.
Hang in there and good luck.
It's SUCH a battle... but we HAVE to put ourselves out there--otherwise it's obviously not going to happen! Keep the faith, and keep pushing, and KEEP writing!!!!
Hi Misha,
I wish you well with all these agent endeavours, Misha. I don't need to worry about such things because I know I couldn't handle having myself being accepted for all my um amazing writing :)
Stay strong and know your motivation, your passion for the written word, will see you realise your dream.
In kindness,
Gary
How many queries did you send out? It's usually recommended to send out only 5-6 at a time in case an agent provides input that might substantially change your manuscript, or the query letter itself.
Misha, the good thing to remember is there are thousands of agents in America. There are less than 20 in Canada. Don't worry about not finding an agent for now; you still have a ways to go. You don't want just any agent, you want the one who will be very excited about your work. I've had 3 and I swear the wrong agent is a nightmare and far worse than no agent at all.
Misha! Shamey-Poo on you, Sister! Don't let yourself get down! Pick yourself up by your bootstrappers and keep going. There will always be more agents. You will always write more words. There's always tomorrow, for dreams to come true! (Okay--Feline from "Rudolph" is lame...I admit it.) Find the tenacity and the strength to go sit down and write one more page. Just like you did here. You reached out and got all this love and warm fuzzies from people who totally understand what it is like to be living the delusional life of an unrepresented/unpublished writer. (Ever feel like none of it is real?)
I'm in the same boat as you--as far as seeking a rep. Hang in there. Email if you need a reader, or feedback or just a cyber-hug.
Never give up. Stories are told by the survivors.
~Just Jill
Okay--I'm down off my caffeine-induced high-horse. I think perhaps I came on a little strong but what I really, really, really wanted to say is please don't stop. Not now. Your blog is lovely, and besides holding forth wonderfully-crafted words, you also offer others a place to connect and share. That is something special in a world of boring blogs, where people blog that they have nothing to blog, and then blog some more. You, my dear, have something to share--and that's worth fightin' for.
~Just Jill
P.S. I'm done now.
Good luck! I'm such a chicken when it comes to taking big risks, but with big risk comes big rewards
I tell you, I'd never get anything done if I posted on my blog every day. I try to post 1-2 blogs a week :-) Good luck with your queries! I know it is a very daunting time. I've been through it more times than I care to admit. Focus on what you can control!
It's pretty scary, but I know I have to get this out of my system so I can go on with my life.
I like that analogy! Just hopes it works out. :-D
Thanks! I definitely need cheerleaders. :-D
Right now, I can almost say I'd settle for some interest. But we'll see. Maybe I'll hit upon the right agent soon.
Hahaha except I hardly ever write the same genre twice. :-D
The closest I have to Doorways is an Urban Fantasy and a paranormal... So... not even remotely close.
Good luck with your query!
Hahaha so I'm almost not the only one insane enough. :-D
Thanks!
Thanks! I definitely will keep writing. Just need to get off the adrenaline so I can concentrate.
I really hope so! We'll just have to see, I guess.
Hahaha not exactly sure, but since the previous 21 only landed me form rejections, I decided to do the band-aid method and query the entire remainder of my list. So I estimate it's about 60-90 queries.
Insane, but it also makes sense. No one agent is going to make a suggestion that'll please a substantial amount of others. So I'll make exclusive revisions for one agent and see where that goes.
Highly doubtful that more than a few will request submissions any way.
Seems people just won't give my subgenre a chance.
That's true. And the precise reason as to why there are certain things everyone told me to leave out but that I don't regret adding in.
It is a portal fantasy. And a damned good one. If someone will just open the freaking book and read it.
And it will be part of a series, so if an agent doesn't want to take that on, I don't want to wrestle him/her about it later.
At the same time, I'm feeling a little sickened by the rate at which form rejections are coming in.
BUT! My dream agent hasn't said anything yet. So there's still hope.
Awe Jill, thanks for coming back, but really, your first message was great.
I know that it's not the end of the world, but it's just annoying that I know with everything I am that I have something good, but everyone who currently matters refuses to even see.
Still, I'm definitely marching on. Writing and starting to check if I find any small publishers who might be interested in my story.
I really hope so, because deep down, part of me is fearing a thumping.
Thanks! I'm definitely trying to focus, but it's early days yet, so I'm jittery.
Congrats for being brave and good luck, Misha. Keeping my fingers crossed for you.
Best of luck with your querying, Misha!
I always feel instant admiration at writers who have summed up all their courage to submit to an agent. Good for you! I have published some of my writings through small publisher, but I'm still deadly afraid of agents... though I'm thinking to try that for my most recent project. We'll see.
Best of luck!! I'll follow closely for the update. =)
Good luck!! Such a long wait must be hard. Crossing my fingers for you.
The end process of writing is a bit like fishing, waiting for a bite, waiting, waiting. Sometimes it's worse, more akin to putting a message in a bottle, tossing it in the sea, and wondering whether ocean currents will ever bring a reply. On that basis I prefer to send off queries in smaller batches - hope lives longer : ) Good luck!
Thanks!
Thanks!
Thanks for the support! I sort of see agents as one means to an end, which is why I'm not all that scared. :-)
Yeah it is hard, but hopefully it'll be worth it. :-)
Hahaha yeah, but hope lived loooooong while I took years to draft the novel. Now I need to do something with it and fast. :-D
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