I’M BACK!
Well, hello there! It’s been ages since I’ve seen you,
faithful readers. Re-launching my blog is one of my goals for 2018. I’m a
little late in getting there but my heart’s in the right place. How best to reboot
the blog than discuss things in my writing life. In the next few weeks, I hope
to share my Pitch Wars experience.
Since early January I’ve been conducting trench warfare;
that is, query trench warfare.
It’s not really war at all but using the word adds a little
spice to things. Essentially, as those of you know who are in those trenches
yourselves, querying involves a lot of waiting…and waiting…and waiting.
So, as a very impatient person it’s not my favorite activity
but it’s all part of the process.
WHAT I’VE LEARNED THESE PAST TWO MONTHS
I already knew about the waiting so, while challenging, it’s
not news. But I have learned a couple of things:
First, the market and subsequently, agent preferences, can
change in a year or two. The first time I queried my contemporary middle grade
novel, I received a host of positive responses. The story was much thinner in
terms of plot, but it still garnered some requests. I’m still early in the
query stage but have noticed how interest in that type of story has changed. It’s
just a reminder to not write to trends (which I didn’t).
Second, building relationships with writers, editors and agents
has helped me endure the process. Through Pitch Wars and Twitter, I’ve met some
outstanding fellow writers, some at the same stage in their career, some on
different paths and in different stages. When I queried in the past, I really
didn’t have that support and I’ve found it invaluable, just to keep moving
forward day-to-day. I really believe a lot of the connections I’ve made will be
for the long haul.
I’ll speak to this further when I share my Pitch Wars
journey but if you take anything away from this post, I hope it’s this: take
the time to build relationships, nurture them, support others and be willing to
be a sounding board. Encourage, don’t deflate.
We may all be on the journey to publication, but this doesn’t
have to be a competition. It should be---it NEEDS to be---community.
