tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post9067548695044316426..comments2024-03-17T06:03:00.362-04:00Comments on Fiction University: Wait! Don't Query Too SoonJanice Hardyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-60366005754026713992012-08-10T17:02:37.378-04:002012-08-10T17:02:37.378-04:00Bluesky210, and thanks for sharing your story. The...Bluesky210, and thanks for sharing your story. The pressure to race to the end is so strong, but we need to fight that urge sometimes. Best of luck with your novel! I hope it all works out for you.Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-57953291172743112312012-07-24T15:19:14.113-04:002012-07-24T15:19:14.113-04:00I wish I'd seen this post last year! I made t...I wish I'd seen this post last year! I made the mistake of querying way too soon (you wrote a lot of my thoughts, there!) with my first novel--I think I had some sort of imaginary deadline in my head. After numerous rejections (even after requests), I finally got a reject & resubmit from a really kind agent. I, AGAIN (!), turned the ms around too quickly (I was afraid she'd forget about me), and she rejected it again, of course--but also gave me 7 pages of edits, saying that if I wanted to rework it, she'd look at it again. That was last spring, and I'm till plugging away (even though I'm pregnant with my 3rd child and would really like to beat this "deadline"!). I messed up, but thanks to this agent, I still have an iota of a chance. But you're right--I'm working slowly, will get betas, will reread and rework until I'm certain it's up to standard. <br /><br />It's a hard road, at the beginning. Some of us are so afraid of failing it's like we set ourselves up for it! Thanks for this, though. You'll help a lot of people.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-80939210427886775662011-05-17T13:48:55.034-04:002011-05-17T13:48:55.034-04:00Mary Kate: And I bet you remember all the lessons ...Mary Kate: And I bet you remember all the lessons that much more because of it :)Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-57447514016670535172011-05-16T21:32:35.203-04:002011-05-16T21:32:35.203-04:00Such great advice. I wish I had read that before ...Such great advice. I wish I had read that before I sent some queries. :) But I have always been a school of hard knocks learner :)Mary Kate Leahyhttp://houseoflaoch.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-19930968425577954352011-05-16T13:33:30.910-04:002011-05-16T13:33:30.910-04:00Megan: Critters is wonderful. I got some great fee...Megan: Critters is wonderful. I got some great feedback from them years ago. Confidence does make the waiting easier, doesn't it?<br /><br />Amanda: Hang in there! It's hard. I've queried too soon myself (heck, I bet almost everyone does) Best of luck when you do hit send!<br /><br />Natalie: Anytime. That's cool that you were under consideration like that :)Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-15774803783079837862011-05-16T13:30:09.246-04:002011-05-16T13:30:09.246-04:00Escape Artist: Oh boy! That happens to a lot of wr...Escape Artist: Oh boy! That happens to a lot of writers :) I had no clue what I was doing when I sent off my first queries for my first novel. Back then I didn't have all these wonderful online resources. People were just starting to accept email queries!<br /><br />Tami: Good for you! That's awesome that you're taking the time to do it right. Query Shark is awesome.<br /><br />Sara: He's so right. Good luck is often just being prepared for opportunity.<br /><br />Sara J: I bet! That's great that it worked out for you. :) More proof how fast this process can go.<br /><br />Robin: Exactly :) You really should assume that, even if you prepare for the opposite. What a weird business this is, huh?Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-90774890146615467382011-05-14T17:02:52.216-04:002011-05-14T17:02:52.216-04:00Yes, I sent my whole manuscript to Little Brown af...Yes, I sent my whole manuscript to Little Brown after a SCBWI conference. They seriously considered it but said no. It has given me lots of hope but I don't want to make the same mistake again. Thanks for reminding us.Natalie Aguirrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03756087804171246660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-13056962253890511032011-05-14T15:02:26.526-04:002011-05-14T15:02:26.526-04:00This is very timely for me. I am *this* close to b...This is very timely for me. I am *this* close to being ready to start querying, but every day I have to remind myself to not press "send." Yet. :)Amanda Hovinghttp://amandaswrinkledpages.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-9018199555090032212011-05-14T12:30:13.795-04:002011-05-14T12:30:13.795-04:00I used to do this with short stories before I foun...I used to do this with short stories before I found Critters.org -- I'd edit it to the best of my ability, get a reject, edit again...now I send every story through Critters, and when that round of revision is done, I can confidently say that the story's the best I can make it and turn it around as soon as a rejection comes in. That confidence -- that the story's getting its best possible chance -- is great.MKHutchinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07715686902529938959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-15588473844688784592011-05-14T12:02:51.280-04:002011-05-14T12:02:51.280-04:00I love this advice! I love mostly that I'm alr...I love this advice! I love mostly that I'm already following it. :) I'm polishing my query (version 8.0 and counting) while editing, have another round of betas and more editing planned, and won't send out my query until the whole thing is ready to go.<br /><br />Because, of course, agents will love my query so much, they'll immediately want the full, right? (Why would I assume otherwise?)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09413777557796110450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-40690195437482102082011-05-14T10:37:41.189-04:002011-05-14T10:37:41.189-04:00Ha! The same thing happened to me. I sent out quer...Ha! The same thing happened to me. I sent out queries, thinking <i>Oh, I'll have weeks at a minimum to keep tweaking the manuscript</i> - and got requests almost immediately. I spent about two days nonstop reading and polishing so I could send it out. Fortunately it worked out, and I signed with an insanely wonderful agent, but it made for a nerve-wracking several days.Sara J. Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145626175256433448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-58235569188758114502011-05-14T09:39:11.847-04:002011-05-14T09:39:11.847-04:00My husband is a musician and he says the same thin...My husband is a musician and he says the same thing about music. Years playing for tips suddenly turns into an opportunity, but that opportunity is only available to those who are prepared (he argues strongly for artists to have a professional CD available asap for just this reason).<br />I agree Janice! :)<br />SaraSarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18206353461676087250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-57310220440734397252011-05-14T09:35:21.145-04:002011-05-14T09:35:21.145-04:00Ever since I've been fully invested in my book...Ever since I've been fully invested in my book I've also been reading all the advice I can find and this is one that crops up frequently. As a result, I've held back from querying or even thinking about querying while I polish my draft (why yes, I do have an anal sense of self control, why do you ask?) <br /><br />I haven't even drafted my letter yet which I know will go through it's own set of revisions. I've bookmarked Queryshark!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06722557426104272152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-71702731654076797782011-05-14T08:54:54.734-04:002011-05-14T08:54:54.734-04:00Yes. Yes. And yes! I had about six requests. Gr...Yes. Yes. And yes! I had about six requests. Great concept but complicated to pull off. I got so excited, off it went, but I didn't know then you could actually ask people for help, get critiques before sending it off. I had no idea of the community of writers that exists and the incredible amount of sharing and giving. I'm so glad I do now!Write Lifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11243460609179141414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-67314715857643031892009-03-11T12:03:00.000-04:002009-03-11T12:03:00.000-04:00Don't I know it. :( You're so right. Everyone sh...Don't I know it. :( You're so right. Everyone should take this advice.Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.com