Nobody Said It Was Easy

I may be querying an entirely different project, come the new year.

[cue Coldplay]

Illness collided with other life factors, and I haven’t queried WSD since early July. I have sent a handful from pitch contest engagement, but other than that, nothing. During the times where I wasn’t too sick to do anything, I started revisiting old manuscripts. I’d been drafting at a truly astonishing pace since 2021, completing 6 separate novel manuscripts, as well as starting several others, in 2 years. That’s not counting my short stories and poetry. All that to say, I’d been working at a ridiculous pace, and my health has forced me to pause and really take a look at where I’ve gotten so far, consider a few important things, and decide where I want to go moving forward.

WHERE I’VE GOTTEN SO FAR

WSD

I sent my first batch of queries for WSD in February, and by July I’d sent out something like 40 of them. In the grand scheme of things, that’s really not a lot, and with a decent request rate (~15%) I could theoretically land an agent if I queried another 40 agents. This novel does have broader appeal, in that it pretty easily fits into the upmarket genre, with speculative/light fantasy elements. And based on feedback from my beta readers who have read several of my stories, this is the easiest to read and allowed them to enjoy the mystery/suspense while still offering a cozy-ish, warm experience in the end. I love this story, and though I’m sure there are plenty of areas where I could improve it, I think it’s a solid project to debut with.

Seen & Unseen (TMC book 1)

That said, while revisiting old files, I pulled out one of the very first full-length novel manuscripts I completed. I’d written very rough drafts of other novels in the past, and had half a dozen of them sitting in a folder on my hard drive, but Seen & Unseen was the first one I’d consider fully drafted. It came after I’d already written about 60% of another book in this same future near-utopian world, when the idea struck and wouldn’t let me go. So, I shelved the first book and began S&U. I’d never drafted so quickly before, and within 6 weeks I was holding a printed copy of the first draft of my 120k word fantasy novel. It had a lot of issues on the readthrough, and I knew it would require major structural revisions to get an actual story people would want to buy and read. It was clear I really focused on the characters and the world, but not on making sure the actual plot beats and pacing were solid. I did have alpha readers take a look at it, and they had wonderful suggestions, but I didn’t dive into heavy revisions at that point. I shelved it and moved back to the other story, finishing that additional 40% a couple months later.

S&U wouldn’t leave me alone, though, so when I had an opportunity for another author to do a developmental edit on it in exchange for a sensitivity read, I welcomed the feedback. At that point I’d joined writing groups and found a few really solid beta readers (one of which is an editor, so I’m very fortunate), but I hadn’t done any real edits on it prior to this developmental read. It had been ages since I’d even looked at it myself by the time we did the exchange, and the combination of her fantastic feedback and my fresh eyes allowed me to be able to completely rewrite it from the ground up. I did a few rounds of edits and even paid for a line/copy edit before realizing I wasn’t sure I could successfully query it as my debut. That’s when I shifted gears to WSD.

While querying WSD, I figured it was a good idea to stay busy, so I wrote a whole other book and then decided to take a look at this one again once that first draft was finished. S&U was even better than I’d remembered, and after sending it off for a 50-page manuscript critique, I’m entertaining the idea of really giving this story a chance! This editor had fantastic feedback, but also offered a ton of encouragement regarding the quality of this project. I won’t lie, her belief in it sparked a new excitement for it. As a result, I’ve spent the last several weeks making edits, tightening up scenes, adding more interiority, and adjusting some of the tension/pacing. I’m beginning to think it won’t leave me alone for a reason…

WHERE I WANT TO GO

Right now, I’m leaning heavily toward querying S&U, starting at the beginning of the year, after holiday season. Originally, I’d planned to keep querying WSD through the end of the year. I’m not sure now. While I love that story and truly believe it deserves to be in the hands of readers, my heart is currently in this other world and with its stories. In fact, I’ve drafted 2 more books in this world that could one day act as a companion duology for S&U. I’ve spent years worldbuilding and getting to know these characters, and the thought of them never making it off my hard drive is unthinkable. Even if it’ll be a harder road to representation and publication.

I guess I’d hoped to find an agent for WSD as my debut, who would be open to these other stories down the line. I thought I’d query the “easier” book to pitch, and hold off on this one. But it won’t leave me alone! So, for now, my tentative plan is to do another round of edits/revisions on S&U. I want to get the word count down a little bit so it’s comfortably under 110k, and I want to make sure the ending is resolved enough to be satisfying in the event that I don’t get another deal for subsequent books in this world. The editor who did my 50 page critique opens up in December for full manuscripts, and I’ll be jumping on that. Hopefully, once it’s gone through that process, I’ll have a better feel for what I want to do with it moving forward.

For now, I’m putting together a query list for S&U. I have a feeling it’ll take a long time to really research and find agents who will be the right fit for me and this project, and I want to give myself that time. Since I won’t be querying till 2025, I’ll be able to really curate a list that gives this story its best shot.

IT ISN’T EASY, BUT IT’S WORTH IT

I knew when I decided to pursue publication that it wouldn’t be easy. I’ve done the research; I know the stats. And I know what gives me slightly better or worse odds. But ultimately, there’s a healthy amount of luck involved, and my life has proved time and again that the universe supports me most when I follow my heart and trust my gut. No matter what comes of it, or what I ultimately decide, I’ve learned and grown so much as a writer these past few years since diving in head-first. It’s wild to think I hadn’t written a manuscript since college, and then in 2021 I chose to give it an actual go again. More than 15 years lapsed between my early manuscripts and these ones, but all that life lived has not only given me plenty of material to work with, but the maturity and emotional stability to be able to handle the rigors of this industry.

When I sign with an agent, when we sign that book deal, and when I hold one of my books in my own hands, it will be a literal dream come true. But in the meantime, it’s still worth it, because I get to do what I love: write stories.