The Coming of Querying...and Writer Therapy

Aug 23, 2012

Short post this week, because I'm mere days away from finishing The Unhappening of Genesis Lee! Like, REALLY finishing this time. As in, it's been through crit group, a dozen betas, and at least a dozen rewrites. This is the final, nit-picky edit I'm doing now, and then...(gulp) to querying.

Querying always gets me nervous/excited. (Always? What am I saying. This is only my second time querying a manuscript.) Part of me thinks, "I'll get a million requests! They'll see the awesomeness of my book and beg me to send it!" Then I think, "But then they might actually read the book and shake their heads because it ended up stinking up their office." Then I think, "I probably won't get requests anyway. Sea of rejections, here I come."

Ah, the emotional instability of writers. I think I might need therapy.

And speaking of therapy, the wonderful peeps of my critique group have created just that-- Writer Therapy! It's a web series about a zany critique group and their antics preparing for querying. Check out the preview!


So, my friends, have you gone query-crazy before? Do you expect you will someday? How do you handle the crazies?

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's so hard, isn't it? I've done it twice before, though it's been a while. Probably be ready to do it again in the next month or so. How to deal with the crazies- Eat lots of chocolate? And working on the next book. And lots of crying on other understanding writers shoulders. Yup, that'll probably be my trick this go around.

Kittie Howard said...

Good luck, Shallee! I'm thinking you're going to get lots of positive feedback.

Jessie Oliveros said...

Cute video. I haven't queried yet, but I've certainly heard a lot about it. You know, I came to your blog in the first place because I liked the beginning of your first book that you posted in a contest. You'll do great. It sounds like your manuscript is definitely ready. Good luck.

Angie said...

Awesome video! Congrats on getting a manuscript finished. I think that's an amazing accomplishment no matter what happens with the querying. Good luck, though! I'm sure it's terrific.

Unknown said...

Ahh! I've yet to query, but I'm almost to that point with my YA contemporary. It's scary to think about it, but also crazyily exciting. I'm sure it will seem surreal to me when I actually get to that point. I think, to distract myself from the fear of rejection or even requests, I'll start another project. That always works. :)

Anonymous said...

I've just written a blog post with my query stats before I signed. Counting up those rejections was scary stuff!

GOOD LUCK!

Golden Eagle said...

No, but I do expect I will at some point! It seems like an inevitable step for a writer.

mshatch said...

Well, I've done this before and I am soon to do it again so I probably won't go crazy with anticipation. But it will help that I have something else to work on, a new toy. If I didn't, the waiting would be awful!

Anonymous said...

Good luck querying! The Unhappening of Genesis Lee was amazing, so don't be too discouraged. :) I love the video, too! Can't wait to see the rest.

Angela Cothran said...

I try to query about 5 agents a week, keep a spread sheet, and then forget about it. That reminds me I should check my status :)

Jessie Humphries said...

I wonder if I will ever get out of the query depths! It's a crazy place to be. You will get tons of requests Shallee! DOn't worry. You are awesome.

Misha Gerrick said...

Probably will go nuts very soon. Just need to finish my WiP so that I won't feel like I'm playing Russian Roulette while querying.

:-D

KM Nalle said...

I haven't had the joy of getting query crazy yet. I'm sure it's coming. Good luck Shallee.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

chocolate is good for the crazies. It cures all ails, in fact.

Good luck with finishing then querying!

Unknown said...

I can't view the video, but I'm looking forward to watching the webseries! Good luck with the querying and I hope that you won't need too much therapy. ;)

Akoss said...

Good luck! I'm sure you will do fine.
I really like the intro video. Must subscribe ASAP.

 
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