Kids are home from school. Yesterday I banned them from videogames of any kind for the rest of spring break. It's like the DSIs turn them into banshees, and I can't have that. Not when I'm this hyped up on queries.
Last night the hook on my bathroom wall that holds my hairdryer fell, so I woke up to a loud crash, in a panic. With all that adrenalin, I still might have been okay if I hadn't thought about the queries I've sent this week. Some agent, on the night after Passover, might have sent an email to me at three o'clock in the morning. The thought was killing me.
I fought and fought against getting up, and then my head got really involved in possible fixes in my WIP, Breathings, which project I am excited about again after writing a blurb (per an agent's request about other projects I'm working on!) that makes it sound really... exciting. To me, anyway. It seems like I laid there for hours, just thinking. I finally started counting. Not sheep, or anything, really. Just counting. It worked.
And speaking of counting...
Query stats on WAYS TO FALL-
42 queries sent
15 rejections
7 partial/full requests
2 partials and 1 full out there, possibly being read RIGHT THIS MINUTE
I've gotten one request (for a full!) off of my new query, which I put into circulation last week. I'm starting to query widely and hope to have 70-80 queries out there by the end of the month, and then I'm shifting focus back to finishing the first draft of Breathings. That's the plan anyway. My query finally has that special something it was missing, my first few chapters have been seen by an editor and declared worthy, so I'm not holding back anymore.
I also realized I'd made a few email address mistakes last round. I was going to close out some queries as no response, but I checked the comments on Query Tracker, and it looked like people were getting auto-responder emails that their query had been received. As a result, I checked my sent emails and found that for one query, I'd recorded it but apparently not sent, plus one I'd sent to the wrong address. Point being: it doesn't hurt to doublecheck before marking someone as a no response.
And the partial I've had out there to Ms. Big-time for six months? She just got a new assistant, so I emailed the new assistant, explained I've done revisions and that I'd never heard back, and could I resend my partial? No response yet, but I'm sure that with the pacing problems I've since fixed, it would have been a rejection if they'd gotten to it. *shrugs* We'll see if anything comes of it.
And I'm critting a friend's manuscript, and it's really good. I love that.
Thanks for the support, guys!
What are you up to? Are your kids home from school, too? Pull up a chair and tell me all about it.
A Tale of Two How-Tos
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As a connoisseur of writing how-tos (and yes, I had to look up how to spell
connoisseur – and okay, “addict” might be a more accurate word), I have
read ...
1 day ago
Thanks for sharing your stats, Kelly. Sounds like you're going to throw on the wetsuit and jump into the slushpile! Best of luck :D
ReplyDeleteSo excited about those requests! (But you already knew that:) )
ReplyDeleteWe're in Utah for spring break and having a great time! My sister-in-law's senior recital was last night (she's got one of the most beautiful soprano voices I've ever heard; she'll graduate from USU with a music degree later this year), and then tomorrow is graduation for my sister and brother-in-law (who, thankfully, are both graduating from BYU and not two different schools). Exciting, exciting!
Hey Lori- Thanks for the well-wishes. Getting a wetsuit sounds like a good idea!
ReplyDeleteKrista- all those graduations! congrats to your family! I have some voice majors in my family, too, and they're really handy to have sing at baptisms and such;) Have fun!
Kelly, Yes, I understand those middle-of-the-night panic sessions. :) Those are great query stats!! How exciting.:)
ReplyDeleteWe were on spring break a couple weeks ago. We had to cut off TV privileges for the same reason you had to cut off video games. The kids were getting WAY too crabby. They were much happier using their imaginations and running around outside, even though they'd never admit it. :)
Have fun surviving the rest of the week. :) Isn't it funny how we love to have our kids home, but then when they go back to school, the house is so much more quiet and peaceful? But it's still fun having them home.
Amy
Yes, those middle of the night worry sessions are tough. But your stats are looking good.
ReplyDeleteRight now, I'm waiting to hear back from a friend on a query. Everything else is ready to go for my latest novel (even the hated synopsis). It's so hard to wait. So I'm researching journals to send out my short stories to--anything to keep from losing my mind about my novel and getting it out there.
Hey Amy- I love spring break. I love not having to rush rush rush the kids out the door in the morning and signing them in late anyway half the time! They just need me a little more involved, a little less glued to my email;)
ReplyDeleteConnie- Good luck as you get ready to query! I've not really tried to go the short story route, but it's a great way to get some publishing credits. And it can be fun to explore ideas without thinking, "this idea has to fill 300 pages." Thanks for the comment:)
Kelly good luck! Isn't waiting fun, ugh. What I'm up to...kids were on school vacation and I to am playing the waiting game. Have a lovely weekend.
ReplyDeleteGood luck Kerri! I hope you're having a great weekend, too!
ReplyDelete