A Rookie's Take on What You Should Do Before You Start Querying

It's that wonderful moment...the moment when you've edited and revised your manuscript ten times. The moment when you read over the closing line; the last sentence that you think is smart, witty, magical...just pure genius. Surely an agent or publisher will see that and snatch you and your manuscript right up. That would be great if an agent or publisher even get's to see that genius last sentence.

A few months ago, I was ecstatic to finally reach the querying phase. I had started to draft my letter countless times while writing my book and then countless times while revising it. Each time I would stop myself and opt to write it when I was actually ready. So when I was ready, I wrote it and sent it off. I took the no's with grace, remembering all the great authors dealt with rejection.

I took Chuck Sambuchino's advice and queried only ten...okay eleven agents. Make sure to check out all of his advice on querying and more. He's a great resource. I got no requests for the full MS so like Sir Chuck said, I blamed my query letter and found an editor to help me polish it up. For forty dollars, I had a gleaming query letter and couldn't wait to send out a fresh round.

Still, I got no requests. I worked on the query letter a bit more (really only needed tweaking) and sent out yet another round. I continued this process until I got a request for the full MS. The agent wasn't interested in the end but since then, I've been receiving more personalized rejections, which believe it or not, made me happy. After months of silence and generic rejections, I was happy to get SOME feedback. Guess what, most of it was positive.

There's so much to say about what I've learned so that's why I dedicated this post to what you should do before you start querying.

1. REVISE: I'm so happy I had the patience to revise my book more than five or six times. My book is fuller, brighter, and just soooo much better. This is one thing I did right.
   
2. GET OTHER EYES ON YOUR MS: I resisted this. I wanted to be able to show my book on a shelf in a bookstore, not a Word document. Here's the thing; others will see what you can't. The story is yours so it's easy to miss the holes in your description. They help you eliminate the reader's 'why's' that don't contribute to suspense, just to the reader's frustration. I got a friend to look over my work and she has helped me improve it immensely. Everyone has an avid reader/grammar Nazi (I say that in the most loving way friend o' mine) for a friend. Take advantage of that.
   
3. JOIN A WORKSHOP: Yet another step I desperately tried to resist. It really is worth it and I can't stress how much good it could do for your MS. I had gone to one and read the first six pages of my MS and got the most amazing feedback. Now I'm in another and have more than six people reading my entire book and I will be meeting with them in a week so they can give me feedback. Fellow writers helping fellow writers, it's just what writers do.
   
4. GET YOUR QUERY INTO A WORKSHOP TOO: Never even thought of this! The writer that leads the workshop I attend suggested I use the opportunity to get some extra eyes on my query too.
   
5. WRITE A SYNOPSIS: Yes, something else I was avoiding. You need it, make sure to have it ready.
   
6. RESEARCH YOUR MARKET: It's important to know who your audience is. With that kind of knowledge, you'll know how to sell your book and how to find an agent that will represent you. Which leads to...
   
7. RESEARCH AGENTS: You cannot pitch your YA Fantasy MS to an agent that represents only non-fiction. It is so important to find the agents you feel will match up well with you and your book. Don't just read their bio; look into the books they represent. You don't need to read every book out there, just read the synopsis and/or sample pages to get a feel of what kind of writing and concept grabbed that agent.
   
8. WRITE WHILE YOU WAIT: This isn't a must, but it really helped me settle down while I waited for responses. I had spent the first few days stalking my inbox and that's not healthy. On a less sentimental note: you need to keep yourself writing, whether it be for a blog, for fun, or your next project. Writing is like a muscle, you need to keep it working. AND on an even more serious note: you can't put all your eggs in one basket. Don't set yourself back, and get working on your next project. A lot of authors claim their first published book isn't really their 'first' book. You can always be the exception but why ride on that hope when you can broaden your chances by doing what you love...write, write, and write some more. 

Well, that's pretty much what I've learned so far and can't wait to share with you what I've personally learned during my querying journey. I'm still trudging through it but those who persevere will succeed.