And, so it begins – Agent Query Time

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The path to publication: write, write, write, research, research, research, edit, edit, edit, query, query, query, and then you cry.

Peter Parker Crying Meme Sends Agent Query Misspells Agent's NameWell, I’m currently on that first “query,” so I have some time yet before I’m scheduled to shed my special writer tears. Against the advice of one “Mr. Lardo,” I went ahead and sent out a batch of queries at the end of the week as opposed to early Monday morning. I expect I’ll be sending out many more queries, so a few poorly timed ones can’t hurt too much, can it? CAN IT?!

Wish me luck, jerks (and non-jerks).

-A.D. Martin

44 thoughts on “And, so it begins – Agent Query Time”

  3. Good luck, but I’m not sure why you’d want to invite those parasites of the publishing world to look at your work. Self-publish and take control of it all. You don’t need their approval to get your book to the masses. Put it out there and tell us about it and some of us will read it.

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  5. I too am jumping into the ocean of misery that is querying an agent, so good luck to you. We can commiserate on the tortures of waiting and receiving rejections. To the person who commented on self-publishing I would say, we all seek our own paths in this world and if some of us choose to go the “traditional” route first and save the potential for self-publishing for later, please accept our choice as we have accepted yours. There is no right or wrong way to seek an outlet for your work, unless you cheat it of the opportunity to be the best it can be.

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    • 谢谢你。Then, I guess I’m glad that I’m not a dwarf. Dwarves are natural sprinters, you know. Then again, I am also not a fan of distance running. It’s HIIT or nothing (currently, it’s nothing).

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  11. Oh man…
    Although I have no interest in masochistically torturing myself like you are, I wish you luck and hope to hear loads about the publication process. Every other blogger I come across either 1) Has a book out, 2) Is in the process of publishing 3) Is pipe dreaming.

    I can say out of the minor amount that I actually follow at least your entries are cohesive but slightly secretive.

    Tricky squirrels hording those nuts.

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    • Yup, I’m mysterious and enticing that way.

      I’ll definitely release more details on my novel once I either snag an agent or decide to self-publish (I’m seeing so many people writing about how traditional publishing’s business model is no longer viable for authors, and they’re starting to affect my perspective—maybe).

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      • Since I am uneducated on self-publishing I can only say this as a outsider – IF you self publish, you’d basically have to sell the book wouldn’t you?

        I assume the publishing house would arrange tours, publicize your works besides the obvious, edit, offer suggestion and design your book jacket.

        I greatly dislike Amazon; I would not buy a self published book from their site because reading influences me in many ways. That’s s bit snobbish and vague and my try at a negative suggestion I think has failed due to not being a in depth…OHMAHFRIGGINGODNOMORETECHNOMUSIC!

        Sorry – Downstairs neighbor is blasting music – cannot think –

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      • From what I’ve heard, the publisher will help you very little with marketing unless you’re one of their flagship authors. So, for a debut author, they probably won’t throw too much money into marketing unless they REALLY love your book. Supposedly, they require authors to handle a substantial portion of marketing on their own.

        The good thing with the publisher is that they supply quality editors and cover designers. Presumably, being published by one of the Big Five means your work has been polished and vetted by a handful of competent people. Makes it easier to sell right off the bat.

        Still, if a self-published author gets his or her work properly edited and has considerable marketing know-how, going indie can be a very good option (that’s a pretty big if, though).

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  13. Good luck. I will follow your escapades in the pursuit of publishing with great interest. I hope your book has lots of sexy young vampires, and wizards, and teenage girls fighting conformist expectations, and werewolf porn, because that is all I read. Anything else is shit. All the best to you and yours.

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  14. I have managed so far, with three books published, not shed tears over agents. I add my voice to those who say go the Indie route. Most of the writers I know who make money are going that way. Traditional publishers are taking advantage of writers more and more and squeezing all the profits out of being the one to actually write the thing.

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  18. Have you considered self-publishing as an option? You already have a platform for your work with over 2,000 followers. BTW…thanks for visiting and following my blog. I am in the process of self-publishing my second novel so I enjoy reading about your “first time” publishing experiences.

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  20. LOL, Yeah, I’m in the crying stage, too. Thank God I have the orples to entertain me, otherwise I’d be out of tissues by now. I could easily see us misspelling someone’s name—like the recipient of the letter you’re sending out, wanting their attention. I am so happy to know it’s not just me and the orples that do such silly things. Thanks for the laugh. 😉

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