I have officially begun the querying process, and though it feels quite personal, I wanted to record something of my current experiences in the hope it may benefit someone else out there soon to be submitting to agents and/or publishers for the first time.
I'm not going to lie, I’ve found it all rather nerve-wracking, anxiety inducing, concentration zapping … - and I freely and openly admit, I have already made some potentially costly mistakes which will probably haunt me forever.
While I have accepted I most likely will need to write those submissions off as a lost cause. It is really only the very start of what could be a very lengthy process. I am assuming there will be many more setbacks still to come, or perhaps, it is more accurate to say, I am assuming nothing!
Upon receiving my third Form Rejection, I seriously questioned whether I had approached people with the right level of necessary diligence at all.
Did this suggest there is something wrong with my query letter? Or, perhaps the Plot of the novel itself is the problem? Had I spoken with enough specificity in my query about things like Conflict and Stakes? Had I sold the premise of my novel in a clear, concise and enticing manner? Then you have to take into account the fact that, it's not just the novel on show … -I have to make myself look enticing as well!
In the end, after all this soul-searching, I concluded, I need more data.
Truthfully there is no way of knowing what the reasons for rejection might be.
It is possible however, to interpret the type of rejection you receive and infer meaning accordingly. As such, upon receiving that third email, my instinct was to leap into action.
I immediately went back to my query letter and looked for other examples, good and bad, and set to reworking it. I realised, it was lacking in Personalisation and Specificity.
The question of Personalisation can be a tricky issue to address if you are a complete unknown like myself lacking in snazzy credentials, but there are a number of ways you can tease out details by thinking about the flavours of the book and why you are uniquely placed to tell the story. Another approach might be to think about why you are specifically querying a certain agent, and then let them know why.
The second thing I did was find a new agent to send my reworked pitch too - you have to get straight back on the saddle, right?
Having said all of this about trying to respond proactively and inferring meaning from Form Rejections, etc. I have read advice which suggests that Form Rejections mean just what they say, they are a kind, polite ‘No Thank You.’ There are some agents who would advise against rushing off and revising an entire manuscript based on scant to no feedback, or based on one person's subjective opinion. This, to me, seems a sound and reasonable position to take … yet again, the advice available, seems conflicting, and in the face of repeated rejection, how can a writer not ask questions of themselves, their pitch and their manuscript?
We come full circle, either changes to the query, or to the manuscript, can or will make a difference OR they will make no difference at all. Time must surely tell.
While the agonising wait for responses continues, it is always worth remembering that there are things you can control and other things you can't.
I really am learning about the industry as I go along, and I will, hopefully, eventually, find the people I am meant to find … faith, stamina and persistence is key.
- The words of a particular faviourite of mine spring to mind …
‘Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.’ - SAMUEL BECKETT
Indeed.
Are any of you entering the Query Trenches for the first time? Anyone make any mistakes they wish they hadn’t? Would love to hear of your experiences. Best of luck on your own path to Publication whichever route you take.