Pages

Monday, February 1, 2010

Stuck in My Own Personal Query Hell

Do you ever get that incredible sinking feeling? I've had it all day since I realized that the query I sent to ten potential agents was crap. C-R-A-P *capital period.* My story is pretty interesting, I think. I've got kids from 12-19 that love it, and adults from 30-55 years old that love it and wonder why on earth I am not published yet. No, I don't mean relatives and friends. The problem is clearly my shitty query letter that is boring. How do I know it's boring? Because I posted it on a forum board AND (gods help me) Query Shark, and the vote was unanimous: boring boring boring. Maybe I should feel at least a little special that Janet picked my query to review and didn't really rip me to shreds; just said I don't have any specifics which made it boring. So, on I plod, trying to formulate that shining, radiant query that will make an agent spit their coffee out and shriek "MATSUTAKE!" ....or something to that effect.

14 comments:

  1. I know the feeling. I sent my query out to three agents (as a sort of test) and promptly got back three form rejections.

    Shit.

    And my critiquers (the shark didn't bite on mine) on a couple of various boards including Nathan's said it was not awful.

    So I guess we keep on polishing the damn thing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The shark probably didn't bite on yours because it didn't suck as badly as mine did :-) I'm starting to wonder how at all my book can be written interestingly if I can't even make a frickin' letter turn out okay.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am pretty good at jazzing up query letters, but my ms sucks...lol. I would love to see yours and would give you an honest critique. Though you probably don't need it because it was sharkified! Like my new word? I love following your blog! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for following my blog and enjoying it :-) And yeah, I've been sharkified, but thanks a bunch for the offer.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for the kind words! Worry not, my pain is there for all to laugh at. And don't fret about your query, I glanced at your new version and it's already looking better. And at least you're at the query stage. I don't even have a finished ms yet :/

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks! I keep playing with it and playing with it. I'm afraid I'm going to overwork it until it makes absolutely no sense at all. And besides, I keep doing it with my manuscript, too. So, I thought I was done, but now I'm not, and I'm actually afraid I'll get a request from an already submitted query and be all 'OMG NO! I'm not done overworking it yet!"

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'd rather have a great MS and a lousy QL than the other way around. I know it blows when you figure out your query needs work, but you'll be right as rain for the next go round, I'm sure.

    As for me, queries are still in my distant future: the one I haven't written about yet.

    Thanks for stopping by my place BTW, and thanks for the follow.

    ReplyDelete