Hey! Remember Me?

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m almost at home base. I’m so close I can taste it. To what are these over-used expressions referring, you ask? Querying, of course!

I’ve spent over a year editing my book, and quite frankly I can’t take any more. I feel good about it, and it is finally time to send it out. Woohoo! So, I’ve started the process of researching agents.

I’ve run across several agents whom I queried twelve years ago with my first novel, and the thought crossed my mind to write them again. “Hey! Remember me? I’m the one whose fantasy manuscript you requested and rejected back in 2003. Remember? Girl named Aislinn stuck on a rock and a dragon comes and flies away with her and she meets a couple of rodent-like creatures….No? You don’t remember? Okay, fine.”  Guess I’ll skip that method.

Writing a query letter is a challenge, and there is a lot of advice out there. I have really enjoyed seeing examples in a Writer’s Digest series by Chuck Sambuchino, and you can find them here. I don’t know how much they’ve helped, but I’ve enjoyed reading them. They’re all very different, which goes to show that there is no perfect formula. There is some obvious advice to follow: spell the agent’s name correctly, check your grammar, and give the basics of your story (that’s the hard part). Other than that, you’re on your own. You just have to hope that after two years of writing and one year of editing you’ve got a story worth telling – and the confidence to tell it well.