Back in the Query Trenches
The publishing industry is a complicated and difficult monster. I have a unique experience of self-publishing and traditional publishing, but there is one thing I have not experienced: Getting an agent.
If you’re not familiar with all the intricacies of publishing, you might not understand why getting an agent is important. I already have published books so why don’t I continue to just publish books that way? And you actually may be right. I might make more money and I’ll get my books published faster if I just published myself or published through small presses. But with an agent, there is a small chance that I could get published by one of the top 5 publishing companies. That would mean a lot of exposure and would really create a full-time career in writing. Of course, that’s the dream. Even though there is a very small chance that will happen, that still is the dream.
Right now I am querying my middle-grade magical-realism novel, A Story Unfinished. It’s about a twelve-year-old writer who can never finish her stories. She is going through her parent’s divorce, moving from her childhood home, and dealing with her first same-sex crush when she discovers all of her unfinished stories have come to life. She has to find a way to get them back to where they came from before some of her characters hurt the people she loves.
I really believe in this story and I actually feel so much more confident about it than I did with A Girl Called Ruthless. I’m going full force in querying. Right now I have queried 70 agents since the end of November and have already received 21 rejections. Yikes, I know. These stats are not at all what I expected to see especially since Ruthless’ stats were so much better.
However, I’m not letting these numbers hold me back. I’ve got a plan. I am going to continue to query until May 1st. If I don’t receive an offer by then or have a serious prospect of getting an offer. I will be publishing under The Publishing Room. I’m actually pretty excited about going this route since I can have a beautiful hardback edition just the way I want. I know how to marketing and I would be able to keep all of my royalties. Of course, I’m holding on to me dream for a little bit, but I have peace knowing that regardless of what happens, A Story Unfinished will be in the world and I can continue sharing my words with others.
Stay tuned as I share more about my journey!
