Q is for Quit and Query
Novel queries are scary.
I have no problem writing them. In fact, I have written several novel queries and synopses for clients and for myself. But sending them out is another matter.
I have written four fiction novels to completion and I have never sent a query letter out for even one of them. This makes me a rarity among many fiction writers. It seems everyone finishes their first draft and then mails off a series of query letters. It frustrates me that so many authors clutter up the agent’s in-box with unpolished manuscripts. But if I am honest, I am mostly jealous of their confidence.
Querying is asking the popular boy to go steady–something I only did once in middle school to fantastic failure. It is inviting someone to tell you No. And it is believing your work is polished to the best of your ability.
The problem is that I don’t know when to quit. I am a handful of chapters away from finishing my next draft of Zone Trippers, the novel I started in November. Technically, this will be draft three, even though some chapters have been reworked 5-6 times. This will be the first draft that can be considered cohesive. But its still not safe for public consumption.
I’ll share this draft with a small selection of readers who can point out its story issues and gaps. Then I will go fix those problems, while revisiting the language. And then I will start all over again, revising, editing and tweaking. So far, on my many drawer novels, I have yet to reach a point where I feel it is work worth sending out.
I have given myself an ultimatum this year. I am attending a query class, taught by the fantastic Katrina Kittle in May. And then I am attending the Midwest Writers Workshop in July, where I have a schedule pitch session with an agent. Hopefully this is the boot in the butt I need to finish a novel to my best abilities and then QUIT so I can query.
I think part of the challenge is NOT knowing if your work is ready. You do the best you can, then you take a leap of faith. And you wait. And you expect rejection because even rejection means you’re in the game. The work, even when polished, probably still isn’t ready- it will always have places for improvement and will go through agent edits, editorial edits, and even reader edits (as they decide what they like and don’t like about the book.) Writing is a vulnerable life, but that’s kind of what makes it wonderful, too. Proud of you for stepping out of your comfort zone. Best of luck with your pitch!
Ooh yes. Querying is a scary idea. I have one story that is nearing the end of the rewrite. It’s at the point where it’s pretty cohesive, but needs polishing. When that’s done, I hope and fear to start querying.
Scary stuff. It’s not so much the No that’s got me jittery. It’s the possibility that no-one will want the work I’ve spent more than three years on.
You mean my first draft isn’t query-ready? huh?