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Query Letters… yes/no?
NaNoWriMo completed, completely overindulged in the holiday festivities, check and check. Head cold still in full swing but will dim in time, suck it up buttercup. Time to get back into the swing of things.
Next task-Query letters. dum-dum-dum-dummmm.
How scary can two little words be anyway? Pretty scary when you have never completed one. I am in the position this spring/early summer, to write my first (I am sure of many) query letters to publishers… I have bookmarked dozens of pages on the topic, and will take a few weeks to read through everything. It sure isn’t like the old days thank goodness. No more typing out works and mailing in a pouch. Now it looks like the process is finally electronic as it should be. I know to expect dozens to hundreds of turn down letters for any or no reason, and to know that there will be a ton of unanswered emails. I’m ready for that.
I’ve been advised that February through June is best time to query, and that it won’t be a speedy process. I understand it might take up to 18 months from the time I do get a response (when that happens) before anything hits the shelf. I also have come to understand that even if I get accepted, a number of nightmare scenarios are possible. I’ve heard stories from the clerk who sent the response to send my works in quitting, and no one following up, to the agent working with writer quitting or changing companies, to the editor making writer completely rewrite, or the publishing head changing the title, cover and even the genre to suit the taste of the times. Yikes! Here we go, 2016, time to buckle under, finish the present works, put on my leather skin, and begin the query process… Going to be a wild spring/summer this year I can see! :)
