The Plunge

God help me, but I did it. I started the querying process on my Great Depression novel. I had procrastinated for months, using one excuse after another. That it wasn’t ready, or the subject matter was too taboo, or that the prose was crappy. All of which may still be true, but how will I know that for a fact if I don’t test the waters? I had to start somewhere. Some literary agents give feedback when they reject a project, so one of them may help me without realizing it.

I’ve been in this boat before, so I know the routine. You send off your query letter and- depending on the agent – a proposal and then you have to wait for a response. Sometimes it is a couple of hours, a couple of days, or a couple of weeks to hear back. Others never reply. I think the record for longest wait was about eight months, which by that time I had forgotten that I had even contacted them. Then there are a few agents who have rejected me twice. As if getting one rejection from said agent wasn’t enough, they decided to send that rejection to me again.

I’ve certainly made my share of mistakes in the querying process. I’ve mistaken a man for a woman; misspelled a last name; got the date wrong; forgot to attach the proposal; used the wrong words; misread the guidelines…Been there, done that. I’d like to think I’ve learned from my mistakes, but no one is perfect. Inevitably I will embarrass myself. I’m sure if I am ever land a literary agent, I’ll continue to do silly things. It’s just the way I am. After all, nobody’s perfect.

Well, I’m curious to see what will happen. In the meantime I’ve written a number of short stories that need to be sent off too, and have many others in the works.

Until next time. 

(BTW- Its my 250th post! Whoopee!)