10 posts tagged “querying”

Thought it was time for an update on queries. Dream Agent #2 passed. Oh well. I have to stop calling people "Dream Agents." I did some more research last night and found another agency that feels like a perfect fit. I made a list of "try" agents, ones I'll possibly send something to after I check out their sites & authors. I sent two new queries last night as well. This means I have three out, one with 100 requested pages and two plain old queries.

DA#2 said in part, "However, I'm afraid that your story just doesn't resonate with me. I'm going to pass. However, I'm sure there are other agents out there for whom this would be a better fit." Then in her blog she wrote this, "However, while I often share agent Nathan Bransford's dismay at the state of dreadful query letters I've been receiving, I do want to thank those of you who not only put real thought into writing your queries and pitches, but actually made a genuine effort to research my submission guidelines and personalize your query letters a little, too. Maybe you think I don't notice. I do. Even if you received a rejection from me, I did notice all the effort that went into your query. And ultimately that effort is what will help you finally land the right agent for your project."

Well, I did that. So I'll assume that I'm among that group.

I also have a couple of subs out right now. I sent "Curve" to an online journal (it's also out at a print journal with a long turnaround rep) and excerpts from RFM and Nine are out to a themed issues of different journals. I have a flash piece out too but it's a place so big that they usually don't send accept/rejects; they just publish and you can assume it's a reject if you're not there. Meh. But hey, free to enter w/ a prize so why not?

Remember Dream Agent? Dream Agent fell off the face of the earth. To be truthful, it wasn't so much Dream Agent and Dream Agency but for clarity here, that's the term I used.

So since my second follow-up e-mail went unanswered, I decided I had nothing to lose by contacting the agent whose name is on the letterhead. I told her that I'd queried this guy, that he asked for a full and that I never heard from him after that. Told her I contacted him twice since. I asked if he was still there. I asked if not, should I query the agency again? And I explained why I'm keen on the agency (they represent a certain author whose work I like). I sent this e-mail this morning.

This afternoon -- a Saturday -- she wrote back and apologized. She said that he left the agency about 6 weeks ago (which is after my January follow-up). She also told me to send her my query and the first 100 pages. So I prepped it tonight and it'll be on its way. She told me she'd be out of town for a while but that she'd get back to me upon her return. Even if she passes, hey, I know someone's definitely going to read it this time ;)

I still haven't heard from Dream Agent #2 and that's the only other place I have an active query.

I just sent a new query. Maybe I'm not supposed to pore over every single agent, research the agency, figure out if the agent might actually like my stuff, etc. but I really do pick and choose the agents I'm querying. So I think sometime in the next 10-20 years, I'll be able to exhaust the querying process for RFM and switch over to WS.

I never heard back from the one who still has the full via e-mail. I wrote and asked him if he could tell me that he got it & never replied to that either. So I don't know to be passive-aggressive and sit back & wait in a case like that or get all up in his grill. I think I'm going to do some more querying and then if nothing pans out, I'll send a brand new e-mail asking if his silence means he's passing or what the deal is. *sigh*

Ah, querying. ;)

I currently only have one active query out there and it's in Dream Agent's hands (or more accurately, his inbox). As I said before, I don't query far & wide. I research carefully and look at who's a good fit for what I write.

The rejection on the partial includes this: "Though I found your material to be unique and intriguing, unfortunately I've decided this project is not right for me. As a reader, I did not connect to your narrative enough to take on the project." Then he said he was sorry it wasn't a good fit and it was signed.

So that's a pretty good rejection. I know the story isn't for everyone and it's going to take a certain agent with a certain level of chutzpah to say "Yeah, I'd like to shop this around to publishers." More than WS would take, I know.

What else I take from the letter (and maybe I'm reading into it) is that it's the story he didn't dig, not the writing. Thing is, as an editor you can help fix up bad writing. You can't really change the story and if you don't like it, there's not much that can be done to remedy that.

But I was waiting to hear from this guy b/c I sent out this ms (land mail) on the same day I got the "yeah send me a full via e-mail" from Dream Agent. So I'm hoping that's a sign that I'll hear from DA sooner rather than later. He never responded to my nudge but I'll give him until March before I nudge him again.

I got a request for a full from my #1 choice of agent.

*deep breath*

Of course it stings a little but it's most definitely not the end of the world. WS spoiled me. The first query I sent asked for a full; the second they wanted a partial. Maybe it's worse to be rejected on the work than the query. It was also a form letter. So it goes.

But hey, nothing to lose. No time wasted and one agency to be crossed off the list. I didn't expect to get picked up by the one that's already responded. They say they want lit fic but their site was full of chick lit. I figured it was worth a shot anyway since maybe they were looking & just didn't have anything yet (or sold yet). It was a beautifully-worded and encouraging rejection though. The only other form rejection I got was cold & had a note scribbled on "20k too long," so I got something useful out of it.

If I could change one thing about the rejection it wouldn't be that it is a rejection but that there'd be a note like that. Not for us. Not my style. No lit fic kthxbai. Hate your name. Hate your font. Badly-written synopsis. Whatever.

Back to editing...

... which is slightly different from the welcome wagon.

I've been working on a short story and it's been like trudging through thick pudding to get from one line to the next. I'm pretty sure it sucks but I'm going to write through to the end and let a friend tell me whether it sucks or not and how much.

More importantly, I've been querying! I sent three e-queries this afternoon and printed one. For the printed one, I need to include my first three chapters. So I'm taking a break from the computer (after I write this) and I'm going to sit & edit tonight. I thought my edits had taken but apparently not. I may have done them in Word instead of Open Office or something and just printed the wrong version when I went to print a copy not long ago. In any case, I needs to be editin'.

Maybe I'm too picky about querying. Maybe I should just blanket the entire literary agent marketplace with my query. I don't. I've been using Agent Query. I do a search for "literary fiction" and "accepting queries" and I go from there. I read the agent profiles. I go to their websites, when available, and I read what they're looking for and what they've sold. And if it sounds good, I write up the query and I say why I think it sounds like a good match. And I send it. And maybe it'll work.

For the first time really since my previous post, I've been able to sit down and get back on track about selling RFM. I began writing my query letter with the help of AgentQuery. I managed to make a one-sentence hook. It feels run-on to me but that might be b/c RFM is full of short, choppy sentences. Let me know what you think:

In January 1992, Seth hitchhikes to State College, Pennsylvania where he blends in with the student population, audits a poetry-writing seminar and discovers that the work, plus the personal connections he creates, can help him confront his traumatic past, stop the destructive cycle he’s been on in the three years since he’s been running and look toward to the future for the first time in his life.

That was also w/ the help of Theryn's summary when she read it.

I tried the "era/location" approach, since it's set about 15 yrs ago.

So okay, I boiled the story down into a single sentence. Now I think the 2nd pp, the synopsis, is more of a "here's what happens in what order" type of thing. Once I get that written, I'll add it to this post.

Later that afternoon...

Using the Coal Run book jacket as a template, I have my one-pp synopsis started. Why Coal Run? B/c it's my current read and when I went to rock H to sleep, I picked it up and half-memorized it for this purpose.

I found this info at Agent Query:

Commercial fiction:

Commercial fiction uses high-concept hooks and compelling plots to give it a wide, mainstream appeal. Commercial fiction often has the “ouuuh” factor: summarize what happens in your novel is a single, succinct sentence, and you invariably get, “ouhhh, that sounds interesting!” Plot (the events) and story (the overall tale) are first and foremost; characters’ choices and actions create heightened drama that propels the reader forward with urgency.

Like literary fiction, the writing style in commercial fiction is elevated beyond generic mainstream fiction; but unlike literary fiction, commercial fiction maintains a strong narrative storyline as its central goal, rather than the development of enviable prose or internal character conflicts. Commercial fiction often incorporates other genre types under its umbrella such as women’s fiction, thriller, suspense, adventure, family saga, chick lit, etc. Commercial fiction is not the same as "mainstream" fiction, which is an umbrella term that refers to genre fiction like science fiction, fantasy, romance, mystery, and some thrillers.

...versus...

Literary Fiction:

If you marvel at the quality of writing in your novel above all else, then you’ve probably written a work of literary fiction. Literary fiction explores inherent conflicts of the human condition through stellar writing. Pacing, plot, and commercial appeal are secondary to the development of story through first-class prose.

Multi-layered themes, descriptive narration, and three-dimensional characterization distinguish this genre from all others. Literary fiction often experiments with traditional structure, narrative voice, and storylines to achieve an elevated sense of artistry. Literary fiction often merges with other fiction types to create hybrid genres such as literary thrillers, mysteries, historicals, epics, and family sagas.

I'm leaning more toward lit fic. RFM is character driven (so is WS), not plot driven. These stories couldn't happen to just anyone. It's b/c of who the narrators are and their choices that these are their stories.

The thing holding me back from calling it lit fic is the emphasis on the brilliance of the prose, the "elevated sense of artistry." First of all, that sounds pompous. Second, I don't know that RFM (or WS) is chock full of brilliant prose. I didn't sit back after a session, look at the writing and marvel at my brilliance. Not to say I'm not confident in the quality of what I produced but is it a staggering work of literary genius? Probably not.

When it comes down to it, I'd less like it to be labeled "commercial" not b/c I have some kind of artist's attitude toward selling my work (hell, that's what I want to do) but b/c I think of shiny covers with the author's name in a bigger font than the title, embossed in gold. That's not RFM. That's not WS. That's not me.

I'll probably query agents who represent both but I have to pick one for the query. If they ask for it & say "this isn't lit fic," then I'll know.

I finished making my changes to WS and put them on the electronic ms. I'm so much happier w/ WS now. Not that I was unhappy before but I felt I'd gone off on tangents that didn't stay close to the story I wanted to tell.

I really love the different ending & I like that there was that extra scene w/ Wilkes at the end. I always liked his character and the arc he followed but this feels more complete.

I also like Thaddea (I always did but I don't think other readers did) and the way she's written now, I can focus more on her and hopefully she's fleshed out more and might garner a little more sympathy. A little at all would be good.

Now I'm hand-editing RFM. I'm just about to the point where I began writing Jan 18. I should be done by this time next week.

Last night I was chatting w/ Jam and she asked me what it's about. I told her the basics of the opening and then I said "Stuff happens." I added that I'm bad with synopses. She said "stuff happens" is a good synopsis. Then I said, "Stuff stops happening and it's over."

Theryn wrote my WS synopsis, which was way, way better than anything I would have ever been able to do. I'm afraid that once she reads RFM, I'm going to have to ask that favor again. Last time in thanks, I got her a year membership to the Darwin Foundation. If she writes me up a RFM synopsis, I'll have to do something as well b/c I will be so overwhelmingly grateful.

I think I have a block against writing synopses. I have this mindset of "if I could tell you this story in two paragraphs, it wouldn't be a novel." Plus I have certain things I want to say with the story and I'm never sure if they come across. It's nice to know what other people get from it. Unfortunately the person who's read it that I could speak with most in depth has given me his review of "I liked it." He went so far as to add, "It made me miss State College." So I grabbed onto that and said, "So the setting is good? It's accurate? You got a sense of where things were and how things looked and were set up..." He's like, "Yeah."

He also liked the sex scenes. He said, "There's a lot of sex in it." I said, "Well yes there is but it's important to the story. Every time it happens, it has some kind of meaning." Then I counted and said there are six sex scenes. Hawk said, "Seven. Are you forgetting the guy in the truck?" Yes I was. I didn't think of it as a sex scene b/c Seth doesn't consider it as sex. Anyway, I did do some cutaways. I didn't show every single little thing (some "literary" sex). I had in mind something Theryn said when I took up knitting. I said to her that I would probably have characters now who knit (Thaddea took it up in the rewrite but we never see her do it). Then I said, "How do you describe knitting?" She said something like, "It's not about showing the knitting. It would be about the motion of the hands, the knitting project, how the knitting is part of the scene, etc." That's how I approached the RFM sex scenes. If something was important, I had to show it. I did some blocking and I tried to go inside Seth when he'd let me and when he stayed external, I did as well. I also tried to add some realistic details. Like I finished the dorm scene last night and I have the details about the narrow bed being right up against the wall (and the wall was always cold, ya know?) and the books falling off the shelves and stuff like that. None of the sex scenes are gratuitous. If I wanted that, I would just write an erotic short story.

Anyway, he also said, "There's a lot of drugs." Yes, there are a lot of drugs. Or a lot of one drug really. It's important too, when it shows up. It's never arbitrary when Seth decides to toke up or get drunk. Same as it's never arbitrary when he's working on his poems. I have a strong feeling Hawk read the story and that's what he took away: just the story. He made an edit note on his copy and he'd told me about it when he read it. He said, "I think you have the wrong sister's name in one place." Entirely possible. I said to mark it and I'd read it on my edit. Here's the line, from the August 1989 flashback chapter:

“Kristen,” I say, staring at the money. “He hurt Kristen. I don’t know where my mom and Jessica are. That bitch left Kristen behind.”

He thought the first two Kristens should be Jessica. That he thought that was a typo means he missed the entire impetus behind the scene, the crucial moment in the main character's life that influences the entire action of the story and the development of the character.

Here's the rub: at first, when I saw that correction last night, I thought "I didn't do my job." Then I realized that he wasn't reading it to get all of the literary stuff out of it. He read it (1) b/c I wanted him to (2) to see State College circa 1992 and relive his glory days (I don't think his college experience was much like mine, even in the same place) and (3) to read the sex scenes. I don't think it's saying anything too inappropriate that I had gone to bed when he stayed up to finish it and he came to bed "ready to celebrate." Sure, I'm happy that element of the book worked but I don't know if "horny" is the primary reaction I want from a reader.

When Erin said it made her cry, I was overjoyed (sorry Erin) b/c that meant I had done my job. That meant that I'd created multi-dimensional characters, showed her what happens to them and made her care about them. The only review Fredlet had for me was a spelling correction and "sell it." I assume she liked it.

I'm so needy and desperate. I just want someone to tell me that s/he got something out of it beyond the story, fell in love with a character, that I captured something perfectly... anything. Even "I liked the names" would be a boost to my ego.

The other reason for this post title is that once I finish my edit on RFM and I get fb from my writery friends (after the UPOP, of course), I'll start querying again. I posed the question on a related entry at Miss Snark (but I don't think it'll be answered) about whether to query two mss together or to query one and say "btw, I have another completed ms here waiting"). And then which do I query? Hawk refuses to read WS again; I don't know why. I told him it's all changed and I need the fb. He loved it the first time & had more to say about it than about RFM so I don't know why he's being a stubborn prick now except that he's just being a stubborn prick in general. I've told him there's sex in it and still... I say, "You could read Jake for me" and his response is always, "I already read Jake." I say, "But it's changed." He walks away.

I think he thinks RFM is about him (and he likes that). I know he does. Beyond the fact that he attended Penn State, grew up in a trailer and once held a baseball bat in a threatening way against Jed, the similarities end there. I'm more Seth than he is. I had to tell him just the other day, "You are not the bright, shining center of the universe." Seriously. Ugh. Yeah, there's more there than just the self-centered reading but this isn't the place for that rant.

Anyway, I have to write new synopses, which I suck at, and start querying again. I assume that the way to approach it would be to query RFM. I don't know which I have a better chance with. RFM is more me, more indicative of my style and the stories I want to tell from here on out (yes I have a new one in mind, vaguely) but I do think that WS would have a broader appeal, as I wrote before.  When it comes down to it, if someone said to me, "Will WS sell?" I would respond, "I think so. I hope so." If someone said to me, "Will RFM sell?" I would say, "Yes."

I might play around with this new idea but the main thing I want to do now is write some short stories and publish. I need fresher credits.

So that's where things stand, kind of whimpering in the corner and saying "Love me." ;)