xerinmichellex

I've been mum about queries because...well...there's really nothing to say. I haven't sent anymore out since Agent Z's request, but there are about 10-12 still floating around. I received one rejection last month from a query I assumed got sucked into the internet black hole. Since then, nothing.

Because it has been two months since I sent in my partial, I sent a status query to Agent Z's assistant this morning. So...yeah... Status queries can either bite you or help you. Sometimes you find out Ms. Agent never received your emailed submission. Sometimes the email on their end got lost in the internet stratosphere. Sometimes you hear back from Mr. Agent, sometimes you don't.

It isn't fun to send a status query because you don't want to bug Mr. or Ms. Agent. (My fear.) I contemplated sending one, but didn't commit to it until I read this blog post by Jessica Sinsheimer of Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency. Her post calmed my nerves and helped me craft a non-bugging, polite, and concise status query.

That's done then. I will update when I hear back from Agent Z's assistant.

I meant to take it easy today. I really did. I was planning to play on my Sims 2, relax and unwind. Most importantly, not write because I feel like I needed a break. First though, I had to check my email. Cause, you know, I'm psychotic. There were three from literary agencies--two declines and one from an agency that I sent via snail mail. I thought it was odd...but, could it be? Could it be a request to see more?

Long story short, it was, it was! Another partial request (brief synopsis and the first 50 pages) from Agent Z, who happens to be MAJOR! I mean, MAJOR! as in representing some MAJOR! clients and part of a MAJOR! literary agency. MAJOR! as in I thought I was pissing into wind by sending her a query. MAJOR! I tell you! Which sent me into a MAJOR! panic attack. I am still hyperventilating.

I soooo want to impress Agent Z (did I mention she's MAJOR!?) that I scrambled to check over my first 50 pages. Unsurprisingly, there were things to fix. There are always things I need to fix. I have a problem with leaving well enough alone.

So, that partial has been zipped into an email bag and sent. Oh, gosh! I don't know how I'm going to sleep. The rejection--if it comes--is going to be so painful, I can already tell. Oh, gosh, I think I need a drink. Or a dozen.

Playing a quick game of catch-up because yesterday was busy. First, I received my cat's ashes. My mother felt the need to open the can once we got her home. There's not a whole lot of her in there (I'll spare a photograph). She was a tiny thing when she died--only four pounds--but I thought there would be more, considering the size container they gave us. The vets also did this paw print for us, with her name on it and everything.

( Kitties! )

What else could possibly happen yesterday? Well, I received another request for my querying manuscript. Yes, it seems Agent Y wants to play in Submission Apocalypse! Given it's taking me a couple years to get any positive responses, I am not complaining. Agent Y wanted a brief synopsis, first 50 pages, and...an author bio. I bit my nails at seeing that in her email. I'm the first to admit I do not live an exciting life. Nothing I've done has any baring on my writing. And agents don't care if your junior year English teacher said he liked a certain line in one of your papers and that has been your best compliment you've ever received and that's what keeps you going.

I ended up hobbling something together that looks like this: Erin _____ grew up under a steady diet of stories about supernatural creatures and superhuman heroes. She found she had more freedom in telling her own stories about extraordinary people, once she ditched her plastic dolls for a computer. THE WATCHER is her first novel.

Yeah, me? Not so interesting. Also note, agents want the bio in third person...which opens up all sorts of awkwardness while you write it...

Now that package has been sent out. I am still waiting on 7 more queries, so I'll keep you, my two little friends, updated.

Oh, I also broke our coffee pot last night. Though, it was my father who set it in the dishwasher so precariously that it wasn't my fault it fell out when I slide the top shelf out. I'm just sayin'. So, my parents broke out this coffee maker they bought when they got married.


Say hello to this sexy beast circa 1984.

I've had an interesting morning. I fired off about six more query letters around 10 o'clock in the morning. Within two hours, I got two rejections and...wait for it...A FULL REQUEST! I finally got a request for my manuscript! Ahhh! After two years, I don't feel like such a moron for sending out query after query. And, it's not a partial. IT IS A FULL! Meaning the whole, entire thing!

Oh my gosh. I could paint the whole picture of me checking my email on my phone, sipping my Starbucks, after I returned home from picking my brother up at school, being disappointed--but numbed--to my two rejections, and nearly falling out of my chair from reading the nice request from Agent X. Instead, I'll just say my heart has never beat so quickly. Well, okay, it was about as fast as when I'm careening to the end of finishing my manuscript. But it was still thrilling and means so much more than typing that final sentence.

I just...wow! The most I had to look forward to was The Vampire Diaries premiering tonight and then Supernatural. So, I'm going to make sure my manuscript is tightened up and then I'm sending it off to Agent X. (I'm being superstitious about naming the agent just because...I am. Of course, writing this may just curse me. Great, now that's in my head.)

I still cannot believe it...I may need to lie down...