How do you stay sane while querying agents?

[CakeRage]

I finished my first book earlier this year (after saying for years I was going to write it), and started submitting to agents 3 weeks ago.

I’ve had a couple of replies, both really encouraging, but ultimately both rejections, and I feel like I’m losing my marbles. How do you keep it together while waiting? Not sure I can take the emotional rollercoaster

The first agent replied within hours to ask for the full manuscript, emailed again the following day to say she was halfway through and absolutely blown away by it, then a few days later to say she did love it, but thought it needed a few changes making. I revised the whole thing (10,000 extra words of work), then she replied just to say it wasn’t working, and she wouldn’t be taking it further.

To be honest I’ve been pretty gutted by it. How do you stop the little judgy voice in your head which tells you you were an idiot for getting your hopes up?

The second agent replied to say she was really impressed by my writing, but didn’t feel I was a good fit for her list at the moment, and recommended another agent (different agency) who she thought would like it. I handled that one much better, even though I guess it was more of an abrupt no.

Please tell me how you cope with this stage - or come commiserate with me at its horribleness!

(Sorry for my crazed rambling - feeling all my feelings this week!)

I doubt it. Have more confidence in yourself. I know how you feel, because a lot of the time I feel the same, but when I’ve got my rational head on, I know I’m not looking at it in the right way.

Look for the positive in it. You wrote a book. A goddamn BOOK! So it didn’t turn out the way we hoped it would. So what? That doesn’t take away a single thing from the achievement of doing it in the first place.

I had this on my bucket list: ‘write a book’. I didn’t put ‘write a good book’ or ‘get a book published’, because to me that wasn’t the most important part. The important part, for me, is that I took thoughts and words and feelings which only existed in my head and turned them into a tangible thing. And then I gave that thing to people and those words connected, those words which could have stayed in my head forever. And it made the people I gave it to laugh and cry and love these characters and places which were once nothing but figments of my imagination.

It’s not over yet. Keep going. And if no one picks up this book, write another. And then another, if you have to. Use everything you’ve learned from this experience and make it bigger and better and with the hookiest damn hook that ever hooked anyone.

You're right, of course, Cake. I need to pull myself out of this negative mood and just crack on! Thank you for your wise words.

Preparing,

I went to a talk by agent Juliet Mushens and she said she has no issue with someone sending her their 2/3/4th novel to her. In fact she said sometimes she prefers it as writers have learnt their craft more.
Ialso remember reading Jodi Picoult's 14th book and Chuck Palahniuk's 7th book were the ones that first got published.

Hollow,

Very interested hearing about the big commission author that didn't sell well. Was their writing career over?

I looked up Chloe Esposito, she's had a baby hence why the final book is delayed but am wondering what will happen with regards to the planned movie etc?

That's good to know, Matey!

Understandable that Chloe Esposito's 3rd book is taking its time if she's having a baby! Perhaps her publishers will be able to do a big relaunch when it's finished, and get it into the bestsellers by promoting it as a trilogy - or if the film does come out, that should re-ignite interest in the book.

On a different but slightly related note (in as much as Chloe Esposito made me think of it), do you ever think that some people just have really good author names?

I guess that’s one reason why people might write under a pseudonym, but mine’s boring as all hell. Almost makes me want to go full deed poll!

hellomatey I went to one of her talks as well! I found it so helpful.

Yes - a name which is memorable counts for more than a name which is elegant, in my view (though if you can capture both that would be ideal). I don't really know whether mine would be a good one - I don't think there is anyone well known already using it. I always thought that would be one thing an agent could advise me on - I'd happily use a nom de plume if my real name was thought too boring.

I have a rare name, so rare googling it and you can get my direct office line (actually happened!). If I ever did get anything published I would definitely use a pen name!

My married name is common as muck - inelegant and forgettable! That said, I think there would be a certain something about seeing your own name on a book. My maiden name is rarer but no more elegant. Eh.

I’m in the midst of another radio silence, and feeling torn about my second book. I now have four separate ideas I’m equally passionate about. How do you choose?

How’s everyone else getting on?

I posted a few weeks ago (finished my novel, haven't submitted it yet) and thought I'd take advantage of the August lull which someone mentioned upthread to give the MS to some friends to read. Two were very enthusiastic, one less so as she said she didn't find the main character that likeable... my intention wasn't to make her likeable but just an honest portrait of a flawed person, now I'm worried .

Nothing happening my end since the very rapid rejection last week. Trying to motivate myself to send out some more submissions this week. 5 still out with two due to 'expire' next week.

Cake - with your four ideas, have you tried roughing out a synopsis for each of them? That might help you decide which one has most potential at the moment, and then you'd have the other three to come back to later.

Everything - I wouldn't be worried by one person out of three not liking your main character. If your book became a bestseller, there would still be people who, for whatever reason, didn't like either the characters or the story. Personally, I prefer a flawed main character.

Everything - do the people you asked to read it normally read your genre? I found that made a big difference. I had a couple of people who wanted more drama in mine, but then I found out they prefer to read crime fiction, which made sense! Once I honed in on my friends who are also my target market (and as honest as possible), I got much more useful feedback.

And I spent most of yesterday outlining one of my ideas, and it took me in a very different direction than I thought it would, but I think I like where that one’s going. I can see the whole thing.

For my other ideas I have a premise and characters that I love, but I’m not 100% on how all the parts fit together just yet, so in essence, Preparing, you were right and I think I now know which one to tackle first

Hi all, so I'm nearly in your position. I have a fantasy novel I'm revising at the moment, so almost finished my second draft. After that I've got some minor notes to do (stuff like 'add more description' in one chapter or 'add a small moment with this character) and it should be submit to agent time. Argh! It's been such a long time that I was in this position I feel nervous.

Question - did you all submit to agents only when the whole thing was super amazing polished, or when you knew you'd have to read it again if they asked for a full? :D. I'm happy with my three chapters as I've submitted them to comps etc and nearly happy with the rest.

I've submitted to agents twice before, once years ago with a book that wasn't ready at all, and once a couple of years ago with an urban fantasy that my heart wasn't really in (I don't read urban fantasy that much). As soon as I got some negative feedback I actually agreed with, I trunked the book. I want to try much harder this time. At the moment my goal is to have something ready to submit in approx three weeks.

I've read the thread and I don't think speculative fic has a great rep here, but I love genre fiction, tropes and all (and if you don't read it, you won't necessarily know about the amazing literary writing that also exists within it).

I haven't won any comps but have had some short stories published (mostly in minor markets) so hoping it will be worth mentioning a couple of them in a query letter.

Mouse,

I would wait to get the whole thing polished then send out to aggents. Reason being if an agent asks for the full, you want to have it ready to send rather than making them wait.

Also worth it in case you decide to make later changes that may affect the first 3 chapters (you may want to seed an idea etc).

Its not long anyway just 3 weeks worth of work so I'll get it tip top before sending.

Mouse, I agree with Cake - get it as good as you can before you start submitting.

There is a sense in which you can go through your novel 100 times and still find small things to 'tweak' so don't fall into that trap, but finish any planned changes and give it a final proof-and-polish read before you send it out.

I would definitely mention the short stories you've had published.

Yeah I definitely don't want to get into the 'moving commas around' trap but I do need to be happy with the rest of it.

Going to agent research in-between bouts of editing in the meantime I think.

I have been writing like crazy and am nearly, nearly at the end of the first draft. I’m quite intimidated by the prospect of editing - I’ve been reading and revising as I go and I am confident about proof reading and tweaking sentences but very daunted by the thought of wrestling with the whole thing and figuring out structural changes and so on. I am so excited to be so close to finishing, but quite aware that I have probably rushed my final chapters as I can see the end in sight!

Captain I did exactly the same on my first draft and for the same reason as you - the last couple of chapters were seriously underwritten. It worked out OK, though, because by the time I'd pulled the book apart and put it back together for the second draft, added new chapters and so on, I was able to go back to the ending and redraft it more thoroughly.

Welcome, Mouse I wouldn’t worry about genre reputations. The fact a genre exists at all means there’s a market for it, so who cares if people look down their noses? I bet JK Rowling doesn’t give a flying shit about what people think of fantasy novels.

The only thing I would be wary of is if you give it to anyone to read, make sure that they read and love your genre as the feedback they give you will be much more useful.

I agree with the others, too. I would definitely have your story in the best possible shape you can before submitting. You want to be able to confidently fire off your full as soon as a request comes in.

And ooh, Captain - exciting stuff! Is this the one for the interested agent?

My novel is definitely genre fic!

I did write a fantasy novel (traditional not urban) a few years ago, but it didn't get any interest from agents. Like Mouse I concluded I wasn't widely enough read in the genre to know what would sell.

Cake, yes and I finished it today. So I want to get it to the interested agent ASAP but also make sure it’s good enough - definitely worried about the final chapters being underwritten like Preparing says. I feel like I need to step away from it for a couple of days and then re-read. I am so proud to have written a whole book though - that’s an achievement by itself, for all of us!

Good luck Captain! Have an idea who your agent might be so wishing you all the best!

Good luck! If you don’t want to leave it too long, have you tried changing the font or reading it on a different platform? I don’t know why, but for me that makes all the stuff I need to change jump out at me!

I write usually in Helvetica or whatever default font is in the software, check it through once as is, then when I change it to TNR for submissions it’s like reading a whole new book! I see loads more stuff.
And then I send it to my kindle and read again on there and I see new things yet again. It’s wizardry