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I followed a link posted on Twitter today by agent Janet Reid. She linked to a post by Holly Root, another agent, on the Waxman Literary Agency blog. I read the post and breathed a sigh.
Last week, I decided that I needed to chill. So wrapped up in trying to write The Perfect Query Letter, I lost sight of the importance of simply telling the agent about my book. And now, I can relax a little more.
Of course, you want your description to excite and entice the agent. You want your letter to be concise and reflect the quality of your writing. But if you’ve followed read an abundance of agents’ blogs or tweets, you might have read some statements that nearly paralyzed you with fear that you’d make a typo, put your word count in the wrong spot, or use the wrong salutation and thereby earn an instant rejection.
If so, go read this post and then BREATHE …
I am not breathing because you are now 100 minutes ahead of me. Grrr. What can I clean tonight?
Oh, hush Thou Who Hast An Agent … give me something to lord over you!
Btw, my husband says you’re a good influence on me.
LOL Wahoo. That’s a first for me. I don’t think I’m a good influence on anyone. Especially not in the housecleaning department. In fact, my friends usually come to my house when they want to feel better about theirs.
But I must say, I’m enjoying the cleanliness of my house these days. Too bad it takes so much work to keep it this way.
My thinking has been unusually befuddled since I started this cleaning thing. I think my mind is rebelling. I had to take the morning off and write a blog post (an essay) for tomorrow just to clear the cobwebs.
I don’t have a spot for this, but found some delicious posts about emotional fact-checking from an excellent blog and thought of your editing process. Maybe you know it – The Intern.
http://internspills.blogspot.com/
Thanks, Pamela. I follow that blog, but hadn’t had time to read that post yet. This is partly what happened to me recently and, coincidentally, I blogged about it the same day Intern did. When you go back and insert a scene, you have to be particularly careful to make sure not only the facts, but the “tone’ of it fits with what you’ve already written. Besides the reaction in my added scene being out of character, the emotional factor of that scene contradicted and weakened the impact of an upcoming scene.
INTERN is a cool blog; thanks for that link.
Hey, Paul, nice to see you come around again.
Thanks for the link to a reminder that perfection isn’t required! Just amazing writing … hmmm. But really, a very encouraging post.
Well … yeah … the writing part factors in too.
You mean … my query letter doesn’t have to be … perfect?! But my writing has to be … *gasp!* … good?!
Oh, I’m boned! I’m so boned! I’mbonedbonedohGodI’mbonedI’msoboned…!!
Can’t … breathe…!
Oh, psshaw, you and Cathryn worrying about a little thing like the writing.
But truly, none of you should be querying until your manuscript is absolutely PERFECT! Got it?
(And no, this is not my scheme to keep you all from querying so my novel will be accepted by default. Not a bit.)
Not a bit. No querying. Got it.
Kasie–What can you clean tonight? My house. Glad I could help.
I got up the nerve to send out four queries (in the last seven months) by convincing myself to just do it. I’d close my eyes and do it quickly before I could change my mind. I need a valium if I plan to ever send out more than four.
What do you mean IF?
That was a GREAT post. Very reassuring. And since I am in and out (but mostly in) nano hell right now, it was nice to bust out and read this. THANK YOU!
Sorry to hear you’ve put yourself in such a hot spot.
Thanks for the link here, so nice to read.
You’re welcome. Nice to see you here again. And congratulations!