She's Crafty: When to Query

Querying is a necessary but, at times, excruciating part of the writing (for publication) process. Gives me hives in my mind. I want to scratch but I can't. 

For me, the fun part is getting the story out of my head. Editing can even be fun because it gives the story depth and color. But querying is the beast. It's super subjective. I respect that but it also makes me paranoid, anxious, exhilarated, and mad. Straight mad. But all the best people are, right?

I'm currently querying a MG contempory adventure. Happy dance. And I'm getting requests. More dancing. I'd post a video but it isn't pretty. I've polished until my eyes wanted to bleed and I've sent what I hope is a great book that kids would love to read. 

But after I click send, the self-doubt editor inside me wants to rip each chapter apart because I believe you don't stop editing until the cover is bound around it. Then I found this fab checklist by ABLA agent Lara Perkins:

Knowing When Your MS is Ready to Query

This calmed some of my self doubt and I would have loved this checklist before I queried my first manuscript. Rookie bucks spent in large rhetorical amounts. Brutal, brutal amounts. I'm grateful though, thickened my skin.

To manage the query madness that strips away the fun of writing, I'm writing another story. Too many characters fighting to get out and it helps a ton. The story consumes my thoughts and I prefer it that way. 

How do you soothe query madness?

She's Crafty: Querying

That's right, I'm finally ready with my manuscript. Cheers to heaven. I have a few beta readers ripping my partials one last time, but it is time. So this week I'm revamping my query.

Thankfully the blogosphere is there for me. There is a ton of info out there on querying, and Nathan Bransford helps you sift through contradictory advice. So keep in mind this is not gospel, just guidelines.

My Top 10 Fave Blog Posts on Querying

1. Avoid the Obvious in a Query @ Kidlit.
2. The Submission Process @ The Other Side of the Story.
3. Query Don'ts @ BookEnds.
4. Two Quick Tips on Writing a Query @ Pub Rants.
5. The Difference Between Pitch and Query @ Janet Reid.
6. Hints for a Great Cover Letter @ The Steve Laube Agency.
7. Ultimate Blog Series on Novel Queries @ There Are No Rules.
8. 7 Things Agents Want to See in a Query, & 9 Things They Don't @ Guide to Literary Agents.
9. Loglines @ Random Notes from Holly Bodger.
10. How to Write a Query Letter in Five Easy Steps @ Writer Unboxed.
11. Plus: BookEnds does a Query Workshop every Wednesday.
12. Plus: Query Shark...must follow.
13. Plus: SlushPile Hell is a great resource for a laugh and what not to do.

When I finished my first draft of my first MG novel, I queried it to about 25 agents. Burned loads of rookie bucks. Hey, I thought I knew. I had read a few blogs, researched queries, found my agents on querytracker. So innocent then, so naive. I actually started my query with a rhetorical question. Oh yeah, I read on some blog it was a great thing to do. Suckers.

Have you committed a query crime? Don't know them? See Tahereh's fab list of 50 query tricks. [wink. don't do them.]