Monday, February 3, 2014

Venturing into the trenches...

So... as I've been mentioning on and off for the past few days, I'm moving towards querying again.

Call me weird, but I've been looking forward to this for some time. However, I've forgotten how soul destroying it can be. (And I haven't even mailed my queries yet.)

I spent most of today going over my old agent list to see who'll actually represent Adult Urban Fantasy. I'm about half way through the list, and it feels like my brain is turning into goop.

"I'm attracted to stories with a fresh voice and strong story." At which point it takes me five more minutes to find the small sentence at the end saying "But not Fantasy." 

Or... "I'm not specific on what I like." Except he/she doesn't sell any fantasy. Which I have to check, because it's just not said. 

I can go on, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who went through this. Yes, I know that they can put whatever they want onto their websites. Just saying that it's mind-numbing when you've screened over a hundred agents in one day.

So yeah... needless to say, I'm going to go curl up with a book.

20 comments:

  1. They like to make you work for it, don't they?

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  2. Keep going, I'm sure there is a perfect match out there for you.

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  3. Sounds like a good way r
    to take a break.

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  4. Have you checked Query Tracker? It's the best for sorting that stuff out. If they list that they rep fantasy there, then you can research that group and narrow it down quickly.

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  5. Yup. It's gets even more frustrating when it's more along the lines of epic fantasy. >_>

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  6. Very frustrating, but hopefully worth it! (and yes, definitely use Query Tracker!) Good luck with everything!
    erica

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  7. Sounds like you need a spread sheet with little 'Xs' in genre columns beside their names. Hang in there...

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  8. I know! It's like writing 50+ marketing emails in a single day. Brain suck. Of course, the results are epic when things turn out right, eh? Here's to slogging through the hash and finding the rainbow. =)

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  9. Haha, Misha, I've totally been there. Total brain mush syndrome indeed. :) A book sounds like the perfect cure.

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  10. Oh yeah, it's a similar story with sci-fi. Some come right out and say it (no fantasy or sci-fi), and some make a point of stating they represent the genre, but so many don't say and leave you guessing. Even the sites that list agents and let you search by genre aren't always helpful and sometimes the information they give is contradicted by the agent's site. *Sigh*

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  11. I know how you feel, Misha. I should be hitting the query trail soon myself. NOT looking forward to it.

    All the best! Keep us posted!

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  12. I personally don't like the query process, because like you say, it can be soul destroying. Unfortunately it is an essential step. I wish you the best of luck and I know it won't be long until someone scoops you up. You have been through this before and you came out on top. So there is no reason you can't do it again. You can do it.

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  13. I hear ya! It's a frustrating process!

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  14. A book sounds perfect right about now :) good luck with the numb brain

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  15. I know exactly how you feel. I have a spreadsheet of over 250 agents and it's so time-consuming and infuriating sometimes just trying to track down the information! Best of luck with it!

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  16. It is unfortunate that you cannot just google "genre you write in" with agents and have all of the appropriate ones just pop up.

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  17. Ooh, exciting! Good luck with your queries!

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  18. Best wishes with the queries!

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  19. I know how you feel. I'll be querying again soon and I'm not looking forward to it. It is soul-breaking.

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  20. Just what I blogged about for February's Insecure Writers Support Group - except not so eloquently :)
    Suzanne @ Suzannes Tribe
    xx

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