Friday, April 27, 2012

Query Letter Submissions -- Round Two

Unless you're a new reader to my blog, you probably know that I finally completed my first manuscript The Assassin of Aldarhaij (back in  the beginning of September, actually), but most of you may not know that right before I started this blog sometime in February, I sent out my first batch of Query Letters to potential agents--about twenty total, a mixture of snail-mail Queries (call me old fashioned, but I prefer this) and eQueries (which, because of the lack of a formal format, it lends itself to misinterpretation by the recipients).



Sadly, all of them came back as "Form Rejections."  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the process, a "Form Rejection" isn't quite so much a "No" as a "Not right now."  To be honest: even though I knew deep down that my chances of getting a "Yes" my first go-a-round was very unlikely, the series of rejections appearing in both my mailbox and inbox was disheartening.

I was in the process of plotting out my new endeavor, Valkyrie, when the rejections were starting to come back.  It gave me a horrible case of insecurity mixed together with a heavy dose of the dreaded  Writer's Block.  I began to re-think my career as a writer altogether.

Lo and behold, however, it was my case of  Writer's Block  that birthed the idea of The Bearded Scribe, and as they say, the rest is history.

On Thursday I compiled yet another list of Twenty Agents to which I will send another round of Query Letters, so I am currently tweaking my Query a bit, hoping to catch the eye of an unsuspecting agent long enough to get one of these:


Wish me luck, Y'all!



5 comments:

  1. Wow, best of luck, Joshua! Been there, done that. You have my profound commiseration. I've got my box of rejection letters tucked inside my desk. It's just waiting for me to add more to it. :D

    Keep at it. That magical acceptance is in there somewhere!

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    1. A box of them, eh?

      I debated on whether to save mine. I perhaps would have if they had given any sort of feedback... But alas, I did a bit of "tucking" myself--right in the shredder. The purr of it sounded loverly! ;)

      Thank you for the encouragement. I will definitely keep at it, not to worry there.

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  2. Personally...I want to read anything with "Valkyrie" in the title. :-) Unfortunately, sway over the publishing industry is not in my list of Librarian Superpowers. Best luck!!

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    1. Although "Valkyrie" is still the working title, I am a bit partial to it myself. It's an Urban Fantasy, set in NYC. Paranormal/Religious overtones (or undertones?) with a severe twist on the "Valkyrie" myth/concept. It's pretty much still in the "outlining" stage, though I have dabbled with the prologue and the first couple of chapters.

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  3. Best of Luck Joshua! Never give up on your dreams <3

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