March 16

I mailed the book off yesterday-which means it will go out this morning and it is out of my hands.

I checked my thriller e-mail and found that I have yet another "Not right for us at this time" response to the thriller query. So, I'm working out whether the query is not right, or the book idea is not right or this is a bad time to be looking for an agent or am I looking at the wrong agencies? I've heard other people getting requests from agents- but they are writing a different genre and querying different agents. Hmmm. I will try a rewrite on the query letter and send out a few more- (FYI stats- of the 14 queries out on the thriller- 8 have replied- all have the exact same wording..."Not right for this agency at this time.")

It could be a timing issue. In the romance genre Spring and Fall are the best times to query-as Summer is eaten up by vacations and conferences and Winter is eaten up by the holidays. Do you know if this is true for all genres?

It's a puzzle. Cheers!

February 27

It's Friday and I promised to update you on the great agent query. To give you all some background, I have been writing seriously for 15 years. During that time I've signed with two very different agents-neither sold a single book for me. I sold all nine books, myself. So, why still agent hunt? Because editors take you far more seriously if you have someone else pitching you. Sad but true. This particular book is a new genre for me-thriller vs. romance. So I am hoping to find representation to launch me into the genre. Note the word-hoping- if no agent has the time or inclination to represent this venture. Then I will send off queries myself. To be honest at this point I trust myself to rep me far more than I trust an agent. Both of my ex-agents were well researched- no fee charging and NY based-one was with a very big agency. One was with a boutique agency. So, I'm a little jaded. *shrug*

Here's the key- keep plugging. So far I've sent out five e-queries and received one answer..."Sorry, this is not the right project for me at this time."

Today I'm mailing out eight queries- some with five pages, some with twenty- one with fifty per their submission guidelines. I expect to hear back by June-yes, June is reasonable in this crazy business. In the meantime, I've got another book to work on. Cheers!

February 24- Fat Tuesday

It's Fat Tuesday- time to party like it's 1999... oh, wait- I guess that's 2099 now.

I went to a writer's meeting last night and listened to two wonderful readings. The critique that followed was lively and thought provoking. It's good to get out of the house and be with friends.

Today, it's back to querying agents. I am reserving judgement on electronic queries. Only about 1/3 of the agents want e-mailed queries. I am leery of them, to be honest. The agents who want them make no promises- they say if you haven't heard from them in two to four weeks-send another e-mail if you don't hear after another month consider it a rejection... What? um, How do I know you even got the e-mail?

I personally prefer snail mail. I can track that it went to their building. I think a stack of queries on the desk are more likely to get attention than a single e-mail in the 500 messages a day received by an agent.

Still electronic e-mails are quicker to send out and cheaper. So, I am sending them to those who prefer electronic e-mails- meanwhile I'm compiling a list of snail mail queries to go out. I'll keep you posted on which one got the most responses.