When I wrote my first book, my immediate choice for publication was self-publishing. After all, I was fifteen years old, and my writing reflected that fact. No true professional would want to publish that stuff.
In my English 101 class in Running Start, I wrote an argumentative essay comparing the pros and cons of traditional and self-publishing. To me, it seemed as if self-publishing was the only way to go, because of creative liberties it allowed me, and the fact that it was generally more profitable (larger royalties). So, I self-published the next several books that I wrote, usually with minimal editing and revision. I loved the feeling of a new book in my hands, so I tried to produce those suckers as fast as humanly possible, believing that the world of readers would magically happen upon them and make me rich and famous.
What I did not realize at that time was this: It's only more profitable if you're actually selling books (a mind-boggling prospect, I know).
Now, as I transition from a fledgling writer to a real "author", I've decided that I want to try traditional publishing. I want to be able to consult with industry professionals about marketing and how to boost sales of my books, and I suppose I also want the social status of an author who has been published "for real" (self-published authors are always disparaged).
Last year, after I finished writing my most recent book, I resolved to have my book traditionally published by my next birthday (August 2022). I was super motivated and rarin' to get that book OUT THERE. After all, how much work could it be?
Lol...
So, I Googled how to traditionally publish a book, and I came across a word that I'd never heard before in this context: "Query." I followed that up with another Google search of "how to query a literary agent".
My descent into madness began.
I swear... I have never edited a piece of writing as much as I did my query letter. That stupid, 352-word letter has been beaten and mutilated so many times that it's barely discernible from its first draft. And still, even now, I question whether or not it's good enough.
And don't forget the synopsis, first ten pages, pitch, and comps.
So far, I have queried 62 agents with MANY different versions of my query letter (each of which I denote as the "best" version) and additional materials. I have received 33 rejections, and the other 29 haven't responded (many agents take 6-8 weeks to respond, so I could still receive a few more rejections from my last round of submissions).
When I first started querying, most of the rejection letters were standard, fill-in-the-blank mumbo jumbo ("It just doesn't fit my manuscript needs right now - Publishing is a subjective business, so don't be discouraged!").
Recently, it seems as if some have been slightly personalized ("Your premise was good, but the writing didn't pull me in - I like it, but I can't take on another project currently"). This gives me a modicum of hope. Maybe I'm getting somewhere. Maybe all of these excruciating revisions are pushing me closer to my goal of traditional publication.
It's only been in the past several weeks that I've realized what all this querying nonsense has really taught me: If I actually want writing to be my full-time gig, I need to put in the work. I'm eschewing my young self's arrogance of "My writing is good enough as-is, simply because I wrote it and I say so," in favor of "My writing can always be better."
This new mindset is driving me to look more critically on my own work and make sacrifices that I was previously unwilling to consider (like cutting out entire subplots or removing characters that I like). I never expected to be making drastic changes to my book based on others' opinions, but here I am! I'm hoping to continue growing in the field of authorship, now more humbly and with a greater appreciation for those who have made it big. After all, if it was easy to be a full-time author, more people would be doing it.
Anyway, thanks for your time! I hope you all have a great rest of your week, and don't forget to follow me:
- Tyler
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