I Think I Wrote a Decent Query?


You've read the title. You know why we're here. I think I've drafted a pretty good query! I know you'll read this and knit your eyebrows and think, She's only been working on queries for a week; how can she possibly think she's already written a good one?

That's an entirely valid complaint. My brain is thinking the same thing. However, it's important to remember that I haven't been working on queries for only a week, not really. I've been thinking about how to pitch this project for months, in the nightmare-dreamscape of my head (most of the time while I should be sleeping, lying in bed). Last spring, I drafted a sample query, synopsis, and one-sentence pitch for one of my classes. I've been refining the most marketable aspects of this story with my writer friends and professors for the past six months...

Can you tell I'm trying to convince myself that I've done enough?

The fact is, I will never be completely satisfied with my query, or with my manuscript. I've scoured scores of agent websites, and all of them say to wait to start querying until, "You're certain you've taken your manuscript and your query as far as they can go," but that's...that's not... I'm not trying to sound like a special snowflake here, but I really don't think that this principle applies to me.

See, in no way shape or form do I think I'm better than any successful novelist out there--well, okay, there are exceptions, but that's not the point. The point is, I'm such a perfectionist that I could work on my novel for a decade and still convince myself that it's no better than the first draft. That's just how I am, and I know it's bad, but I can't change it. All I can do is understand it, and accept it, and take steps to achieve success in spite of it.

Hence, I will not wait to start querying until I'm certain that my manuscript and query are perfect, because that is antithetical to my entire...well, I mean, my entire being. Nothing is perfect! Ever! There are always flaws, and my brain will always find them!

So, the plan is to leave this hopefully-pretty-good query alone for the next week, while I finish my final round of line edits on the manuscript, then return to the query and examine it with fresh eyes. If all goes well, I'll decide that the query is, indeed, as good as my writer friends and professors say it is, and I'll start querying on September 10th. (Two of my "top five" agents are closed for submissions until after Labor Day, so I'm using that as a way to force my anxious brain to wait.)

In addition to my query, I have now drafted a -500 word synopsis (this was shockingly easy, once I had narrowed down the major plot beats!), as well as a one-sentence pitch. I have a few possible comp titles, but I am still working on refining those, so that'll be another thing I work on this coming week. Comp titles are the spawn of Satan; I will take this belief to my grave.

As one might imagine, this week has been hell (I've felt half dead, seeing my query run across the backs of my eyelids, much like one's life flashing before their eyes while in the throes of death), but you know what they say: the road to heaven is narrow, and it cuts right through hell.

In the meantime, let's chant it together: Excelsior! Eureka! Land in the stars!

Wish me luck--the good kind, as always--and I will wish the same for you.

Comments

  1. Monochrome Rose20 August 2022 at 18:01

    Comp titles are literally an invention of Satan, they must be.

    And I wish you luck! The scariest part of a project to me is actually finishing the dang thing, so I totally get where you're coming from with this article. This is a huge step forward, and I know you're gonna knock it out of the park, anxiety be damned!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dirk22 August 2022 at 06:55

    The pitfalls of overworking and overthinking are all too real and can create this horrible feedback loop in us where we just recycle to the point of insanity. Knowing when to say when is skill for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Darby22 August 2022 at 13:08

    Take a break! You've certainly earned it! The more you think about it, the less you'll want to think about it, and the less effective the thinking about it will be, so give yourself a few minutes where you're not allowed to think about it any more and see how that goes.

    ReplyDelete
  4. DrSFitz25 August 2022 at 19:12

    A brief quote comes to mind, Ms. Rowland: "If you're thinking about writing as soon as you wake up in the morning, then you're *supposed* to be a writer." I'm paraphrasing Ms. Whoopi Goldberg who says something similar in the film *Sister Act 2*. 😂 In any case, you certainly have the gift, and more importantly, you have the *will* to succeed. Go for it!

    ReplyDelete

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