What I did the last month:
Started my novel, scrapped my novel, started again, changed perspective, scrapped the changes, started again
Made a super sweet character building sheet based on RPGs complete with basic skills and perks
Built a successful desk
Knit a failed skirt
Played the perfect Dragon Age Origins rogue in anticipation of DA2
Tried acupuncture, and didn't outwardly panic when my acupuncturist began talking about her past life regressions and how they helped her to see "prophetic visions of the future" while she was sticking needles in my neck
What I didn't do:
Put my first novel behind me
Stats:
Queries sent: 100
Rejections received: 42
Requests still pending: 4
I'm still inexperienced and all, so I can't say for sure, but I think part of my problem in moving on to my second novel was because the first one is still haunting me. According to Douglas Adams, forty-two is the answer to the unspecified question of life, the universe, and everything. In my case, the question appears to be, is this novel, as it currently stands, publishable? And the answer is a pretty resounding "no."
So I must move on,* and in moving on, I probably should put all aspects of that book out of my mind for the moment, including this blog. No doubt I'll be firing it up again the next time I query, but for now I need to stop being The Querier and start being The Unpublished Yet Diligent Novelist.** So thanks to everyone who read my querying adventures and, until next time, good luck with your own!
* Right after I obtain my last rejection cupcake/beer, I'm thinking chocolate orange creamsicle and Rogue's Mom Hefeweizen
**I know, I know, it doesn't have quite the same ring.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Stats Part Thirteen: I've run out of Italian
What I did this Xmas vacation:
Ate entirely too much Mexican food
Became the Savior of the Wastes in Fallout New Vegas (Neutral Good for all my gamers)
Refrained from murdering the mother of a small child kicking me on a Xmas day flight
Knit socks, taught my niece to knit
Listened to advice on fight scenes from my delightfully tipsy in-laws
Wrote the first scene of my next novel
What I didn't do: Blog.
It's been very quiet on the agent front lately,* and there wasn't really anything to tell.
But after much silence, I got another email yesterday. Luckily it was a full request! That brings the totals to:
Queries sent: 100
Rejections received: 36
Requests still pending: 6
Anyway, hope continues to abide, and I'll continue to try to ignore the whole thing and concentrate on moving onto my next book.
*Almost too quiet. I've never been to New York for the holidays, but I bet the annual fleeing of agents makes a significant dent in the population.
Ate entirely too much Mexican food
Became the Savior of the Wastes in Fallout New Vegas (Neutral Good for all my gamers)
Refrained from murdering the mother of a small child kicking me on a Xmas day flight
Knit socks, taught my niece to knit
Listened to advice on fight scenes from my delightfully tipsy in-laws
Wrote the first scene of my next novel
What I didn't do: Blog.
It's been very quiet on the agent front lately,* and there wasn't really anything to tell.
But after much silence, I got another email yesterday. Luckily it was a full request! That brings the totals to:
Queries sent: 100
Rejections received: 36
Requests still pending: 6
Anyway, hope continues to abide, and I'll continue to try to ignore the whole thing and concentrate on moving onto my next book.
*Almost too quiet. I've never been to New York for the holidays, but I bet the annual fleeing of agents makes a significant dent in the population.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
A New Hope: Stats Part Dodici
Rejection treat update: Banana with cream cheese frosting and a salted caramel filling from Kara's Cupcakes and Rogue Chocolate Stout. The salty/sweet combo was unspeakably* delicious.
Queries sent: 100
Rejections received: 35
Requests pending: 3 full** and 2 partials! Both partials are new requests, one of them from a DREAM AGENT (squee!). One of the partials also requested I send the first three chapters by post. Although it sucks to have to pay postage, it's always kind of awesome to print out a gorgeously formatted piece with your name on it. If I squint, I can almost pretend it's really published.
I also got to write an author bio for one of my requests, which unlike the synopsis and the query, was actually kind of fun. I recommend that my readers who are also writers try it for kicks.
In other news, I actually started working on a new book. I decided the best way to go would be to write from a different viewpoint in a completely new genre. Take that year of hard-won experience!
*Though apparently, not un-writably
**I've decided to include the Word-challenged agent in this category even though I'm not sure she's still considering me. Hey, a girl's got averages to bump up.
Queries sent: 100
Rejections received: 35
Requests pending: 3 full** and 2 partials! Both partials are new requests, one of them from a DREAM AGENT (squee!). One of the partials also requested I send the first three chapters by post. Although it sucks to have to pay postage, it's always kind of awesome to print out a gorgeously formatted piece with your name on it. If I squint, I can almost pretend it's really published.
I also got to write an author bio for one of my requests, which unlike the synopsis and the query, was actually kind of fun. I recommend that my readers who are also writers try it for kicks.
In other news, I actually started working on a new book. I decided the best way to go would be to write from a different viewpoint in a completely new genre. Take that year of hard-won experience!
*Though apparently, not un-writably
**I've decided to include the Word-challenged agent in this category even though I'm not sure she's still considering me. Hey, a girl's got averages to bump up.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Stats Part Onedici
What I did this week:
Bought an Xmas tree
Went to a museum
Listened to endless stories about Gymboree sales
Tried to change the subject everytime my mother brought up me taking the CA bar
Yes, it's company week at the Querier's house. Good thing I finished all of my queries last week. But the rejections, they are not finished with me yet. Here's the stats:
Queries sent: 100
Rejections received: 31
Requests still pending: possibly 3. I got a new request for a full, but after I sent the agent my ms as a .doc file, she wrote me back to request I send it as a Word file. Confused, I sent it out to a couple of friends to make sure they could open it. Then, as politely as I could, I resent my email and told the agent I had already sent a Word file. No response from her, so I'm not sure whether my impudence has caused her to mentally reject me or not.
31 means another cupcake and a beer. I'll post back with the details later!
Bought an Xmas tree
Went to a museum
Listened to endless stories about Gymboree sales
Tried to change the subject everytime my mother brought up me taking the CA bar
Yes, it's company week at the Querier's house. Good thing I finished all of my queries last week. But the rejections, they are not finished with me yet. Here's the stats:
Queries sent: 100
Rejections received: 31
Requests still pending: possibly 3. I got a new request for a full, but after I sent the agent my ms as a .doc file, she wrote me back to request I send it as a Word file. Confused, I sent it out to a couple of friends to make sure they could open it. Then, as politely as I could, I resent my email and told the agent I had already sent a Word file. No response from her, so I'm not sure whether my impudence has caused her to mentally reject me or not.
31 means another cupcake and a beer. I'll post back with the details later!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Stats Part Dieci
Queries sent: 100. That's right one fucking hundred.
Rejections received: 24
Requests received: I got a new full request this week. So that makes 6 Grand total, with 4 still out there.
So that means I've had a non-response rate of 72%. But I guess no one ever wanted to be a writer because it was easy. Plus, just because I haven't heard doesn't mean that some agents won't come across my query a couple of weeks from now. They can reject it then ;)
Either way, I'll keep updating the stats on the blog as I hear back. Especially on cupcake/beer time. For those interested, my 20 rejection combo was a gingerbread cupcake with cream cheese frosting and little tiny sugar maple leaf candy sprinkles from Susie Cakes. My beer was Hitachino Nest White Ale, which comes from Japan and has the cutest owl on the bottle. The beer tasted citrusy with notes of coriander, like a nice Belgian white. And the owl is sure to ward off rejection!
Rejections received: 24
Requests received: I got a new full request this week. So that makes 6 Grand total, with 4 still out there.
So that means I've had a non-response rate of 72%. But I guess no one ever wanted to be a writer because it was easy. Plus, just because I haven't heard doesn't mean that some agents won't come across my query a couple of weeks from now. They can reject it then ;)
Either way, I'll keep updating the stats on the blog as I hear back. Especially on cupcake/beer time. For those interested, my 20 rejection combo was a gingerbread cupcake with cream cheese frosting and little tiny sugar maple leaf candy sprinkles from Susie Cakes. My beer was Hitachino Nest White Ale, which comes from Japan and has the cutest owl on the bottle. The beer tasted citrusy with notes of coriander, like a nice Belgian white. And the owl is sure to ward off rejection!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
The Mechanics Didn't Quite Work
Today I got a rejection from one of the agents who had requested a full. She actually had several positive things to say, but at the end of the day, she felt the mechanics were a bit off, and the story didn't really get moving until my fourth chapter.
Nice words, but I still need that cupcake. Stat.
Nice words, but I still need that cupcake. Stat.
Stats Part Nove
What I did this LONG weekend:
Ate homemade Chinese food for Thanksgiving
Tried to walk off the million extra calories by hiking in a redwood forest
Sabatoged goal by stopping at the first diner on the way home and getting a cheeseburger/milkshake platter
Played Uncharted 2, closed my eyes and tried to pretend Harry Flynn was Alistair from Dragon Age
Tried (and failed) to not compulsively check email
Queried like a troglodyte*
Queries sent: 80
Rejections received: 20. No interesting rejections this week, but 20 is 20 and that means a cupcake and a beer!! I'll report back later as to the specific type and deliciousness of each item.
Requests received: No new requests, but 4 agents still have my work.
And we're 80% there! Once I reach 100 agents queried, I will be taking a break from anything to do with my first novel. While it's super fun to query**, I'd like to write something other than a business letter.
*I've sent several queries by USPS to agents who apparently hate trees.
**ALL LIES!
Ate homemade Chinese food for Thanksgiving
Tried to walk off the million extra calories by hiking in a redwood forest
Sabatoged goal by stopping at the first diner on the way home and getting a cheeseburger/milkshake platter
Played Uncharted 2, closed my eyes and tried to pretend Harry Flynn was Alistair from Dragon Age
Tried (and failed) to not compulsively check email
Queried like a troglodyte*
Queries sent: 80
Rejections received: 20. No interesting rejections this week, but 20 is 20 and that means a cupcake and a beer!! I'll report back later as to the specific type and deliciousness of each item.
Requests received: No new requests, but 4 agents still have my work.
And we're 80% there! Once I reach 100 agents queried, I will be taking a break from anything to do with my first novel. While it's super fun to query**, I'd like to write something other than a business letter.
*I've sent several queries by USPS to agents who apparently hate trees.
**ALL LIES!
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