I’ve been finished with my book for a few months, and working hard on the editing and the revising. I’ve sent it out to several beta readers and so far the response has been quite positive.
So, now is it time to query?
For my first manuscript I queried way too early–totally jumped the gun, and I kind of feel like I didn’t do the book justice. Had I spent more time worrying about the revisions and less time trying to find an agent, I think it would have come out way better, but then I fell in love with my second novel, and couldn’t stop writing.
I wrote every day… busting through pages and pages at a time.
I fought back and forth with past and present tense, and I turned the ideas floating around in my head into a story. Now, I have started querying. I feel like my story is ready to do that, but I just don’t know.
How do people know? How does someone look at a story and think:
“This is the best my story can be, and I am ready to show it to the big dogs.”
I am not sure I will ever think that. I think every time I go through my story I will find something else I need to change, or something that makes me smack myself upside the head. But, that’s just my nature.
Is your story ready to query? Are you sure?
Jamie Harrington is an aspiring author that spends her days frantically writing about super heroes and band geeks. She blogs at Totally the Bomb.com. You can also find her mindlessly chatting away all day on twitter.![[del.icio.us]](http://giveagirlapen.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
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5 Comments so far
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I’m not ready to query simply because my book isn’t completely finished yet. What I have done is rather polished, but it’d do me no good to query w/o a product to send, if requested.
Every time I read my work, I find something to change—something I can switch up to make it just that much better!
but I would hate to read it and see something that I want to change. And I know I’d find something… Just how I am.
I was just saying the other day how if I ever get published *crosses fingers* that I won’t read my book after my final submission. I’ll open it to sign for all my adoring fans, of course
As far as being ready to query, it’s kinda like love, to be corny about it. When you know, you just know. Something inside tells you it’s right.
Plus, if you’ve had good responses from betas, then it sounds like you’re in a good spot!!
I’m sending luck your way =)
[Reply]
By Eden on 06.25.09 11:20 pm | Permalink
Eden says it’s like love, you’ll just know. Well, I thought I’d just known with a couple of guys before I met John. Needless to say, they didn’t work out. But I learned something from each of them.
It is the same. And as long as you are always learning, then you’re okay.
Trust your gut, and if you find ways to improve it, do. But query and then write another great story.
Always write, and you’ll get an agent.
[Reply]
By Sarah on 06.26.09 12:17 am | Permalink
I was just thinking about this myself today! Everytime I think I’ve got it down, something else comes up that makes it better. (a lot of it thanks to your edits Jamie!)
I’m not so sure we’ll ever be 100% with any of our own writing. Not that there’s major revisions you’d want to make but those little things that you want to fuss with. It can make you insane if you keep going over and over it. There’s such a thing as overworking a story. Hmmm, I think I’ll stick with that theory next week as I wait to resubmit my partial.
[Reply]
By Rebecca on 06.26.09 7:55 am | Permalink
This is hard. Even though I’m not even remotely close, it’s kinda scary.
How many re-reads does it take?
A ton.
Good luck!
[Reply]
By Liz on 06.26.09 11:18 am | Permalink
Hahahaha! I am so not even close to being done with my book to even think about this part yet. When I do, you will be the first, along with Liz and Sarah to read it and let me know what I need to do. Sound good to you?
[Reply]
By Brenna on 06.26.09 11:32 am | Permalink
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