Knowing When to Begin Again

I have officially been querying my current WIP for a year. Which, on its own, is worth noting; I’m pretty sure my previous forays into the query trenches (an absolutely loathsome, yet accurate, term) didn’t last more than a few months before I gave up. Everything about this process has been better and more intentional. I did at least twenty rounds of edits. I got feedback from beta readers. I got feedback from a professional editor. I created this website and this blog. I did deep dives into training and learning about the craft and the process, both in-person and online. And I have truly learned so much.

And I’ve been querying for a year. I’ve sent letters and sample pages to 95 agents. I’ve gotten some terrific feedback, and multiple requests for fulls and partials (more than previous projects, another marker of improvement). Agents who have declined have asked that I send them the next project. These are all great signs that I'm on the right track.

There are still a few agents out there I will probably send it to, but I’m not the sort of person who is going to keep sending this out for the next three years, to a random assortment of people I know nothing about. Instead, I’m moving on to the next thing. That might sound like giving up, but I actually believe it’s progress.

The querying process, even more than the actual writing process, is not for the faint of heart. If you can’t take brutal rejection, unkindness, and a deep reckoning with your own shortcomings, it’s probably not for you. It is a deeply humbling experience. Even with all of that progress.

But you know what? That’s kind of work in general, unfortunately. You have to protect your own mental and emotional health. You have to decide what’s okay and what’s not okay. And, you have to recognize that there will always be gatekeepers who will either allow you or prevent you from moving forward. You have to understand that not everyone and not everything is for you. This is why I think it’s so important to be realistic with your goals.

And, you have to know when it’s time to begin again.

There’s a saying in this process: When you submit something, start the next project. So once I started querying, I started writing something new. It took a few starts and stops (I believe I started and got through a good 20-30k words of at least three new projects) but I am now about halfway through something new. And you know what? I love it. It’s fun, it’s energizing, and it’s all the reasons I wanted to write in the first place. It feels good, far better than sending out endless emails into the void. The great part about the writing process is the only gatekeeper is yourself.

Will I query it? Probably. There’s lots to be done before I get to that point. But for now, I’m just enjoying the time when it’s just me and the story, no outside voices, no editorial notes. It’s the part with the most promise. This could, literally, go anywhere. It’s the reason why I started, in the first place.

So let’s begin, again.