How I Query (Part 2)

 May 8,
 I just got my first rejection from an agent in just under two weeks after it was sent. It's definitely hard because when you finish your book you think that there is nothing more you can do so either your writing at its best is not good enough, or your story isn't strong enough. But since it is polished to the best of my ability, there is nothing more I can do if someone doesn't like it.

The response I got was a form rejection since it was copied and pasted to whoever they rejected. That means that it didn't get any comments to your situation so the only reason you know why they didn't pick your manuscript was because they have so many coming through.

I still have four more that went out at the beginning of May so I am hoping to hear back from them in the next couple weeks. If they all reject my manuscript as well I will be looking to change my query letter to make it more appealing.

May 12,
I am now up to three rejections. The second was like the first, she did not say why she had rejected my book, only that she received hundreds of queries a week. Although, the third rejection added that they didn't connect emotionally with my characters so they didn't feel like they could connect emotionally with my story. I have slotted this criticism away in case all my queries get rejected and I'll have something to work on.

But I don't know how I would change it because the story only works because of who my characters are. If I change their personalities I cant' guarantee that they will behave the same way and there will be major editing involved. Plus, I love my characters the way they are so it would hurt me to have to dismantle them.

With three rejections under my belt I did momentarily consider self publishing. But before I consider any of that I really want to give this a go. I am planning on sending out five more queries at the end of May if the other two I sent out a few weeks ago also get rejected. If all of these queries are rejected without even a request to see a full manuscript, then I might consider self publishing more fully.

It's difficult to go through this process because now that I've typed out my entire process, if I fail it will be public. But that was a risk I took when I started this blog and it's only fair that I continue.

May 13,
At the moment I've decided to keep writing the sequel. I am now just over 20,000 words in my first draft. One thing I've learned from the first novel is that I should force myself to write every scene in order. I did a lot of jumping around before and it only caused the whole process to be longer and more confusing. But if I do get stuck somewhere, I won't hesitate to move ahead but not writing anything for an extended period of time is worse than writing ahead.