Monday, November 28, 2011

OMG I'M LIKE FREAKING OUT!!!! (and it's not even a yes...)

Haha sorry, I just wanted to update you guys on my querying progress!

So over the past week, I have sent out a query letter to twelve agents (what can I say; I'm addicted to querying haha!). But I have made some rules for myself: The main one being "No entering the double-digits!" Ie: I'm not allowing myself to querying more than nine agents at a time (for one thing, I don't want to go overboard; and for another, I don't want to find out after number like 30 that this whole time there was something wrong with my query letter which ALL of my top agents have, you know?). So you all have probably done the math, and realize that I've gotten 3 rejections so far (which isn't so terrible, right?).

After the first two rejections, I immediately recognized something though: "fantasy" is not really considered the same as "dark fantasy" (which is what I would consider my manuscript to be) to many agents. So I can sort of see why those 3 agents rejected me and said that my project wasn't right for them....not to mention my first chapter is sort of on the dark side (which is funny because most of the other chapters aren't, so it probably makes my story look darker than it actually is....).

But anyways, I'm getting off topic....THE GOOD NEWS!!!:
One of the agents I queried just replied a little over an hour ago saying he'd be happy to take a look at my full manuscript! Now, I know this doesn't mean anything...there's still a pretty good chance that he'll reject it....but I'm happy to know that my synopsis and query letter at least gives my work potential, right? :D

So yeah, that's why I'm freaking out! I opened the email and just assumed it was going to be another rejection, so I was REALLY surprised that it was pretty good news :)

Now I'm debating whether I should quickly read through it one more time (which is going to take hours, but it TOTALLY worth it!) before I send it to him; I'm a really paranoid person and I don't want him to reject it because he finds mistakes in grammar/spelling/wording or something like that (which I don't think there are...but still!). So I'm thinking I'm going to try to quickly read through my manuscript one more time, and then send it to him tomorrow....I think I'll sleep better knowing I looked it over once more, even if I do read it rather quickly!

So that's my news! I'M SO EXCITED because I've been living by the motto "expect the worse; hope for the best" but more on the "expect the worse" part; and I didn't expect any good news anytime soon! Please keep your fingers and toes crossed for me with this one guys; he's one of my favorite agents!!! :D

X <3 O

16 comments:

  1. OH MY GOSH! I'm so happy for you! That's awesome news! What did I tell you? I KNEW you would get your book published, and although it's not at that point now, it's one step closer! Ah!! I'm making my own BROTHER cross his fingers and toes for you! You're doing so much better than me, since all I do is write my own songs and sing a LOT. I should get my mom to let me make a demo and send it out to a few record labels...I could cover songs from Taylor Swift's Speak Now album, since as a Christmas present I'm getting the music on piano. (My family doesn't exactly follow the regular rules of Christmas.) Anyway, since I'm veering horribly off topic, YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY!! I'M SOOOO HAPPY, EXCITED, AND NERVOUS FOR YOU!! I hope that soon, I can be even more excited for you!!

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  2. Awww, thanks Eileen! You're the best!!! :D
    Hopefully everything works out and I find an agent soon (and by soon I mean in a years time at least!)...I can't believe that I'm that much closer to fulfilling my dream already!

    Haha tell your brother I said "THANKS!!!!" :D

    Writing your songs and singing a lot is AWESOME!!! I'd say that's what you should be doing to get yourself ready to go after your goal!!! OMG PLEASE MAKE A DEMO! I know it will be amazing and totally awesome and I have a good feeling a record label will LOVE what they hear from you!!!!! Speak Now is an awesome album to do a cover of! Mean, Back to December, and Mine are my top 3 songs from that album!
    Haha my family does that sometimes; I get presents before Christmas and my parents will sometimes be like "okay, that's one of your Christmas presents" if I get it ahead of Christmas :)

    But THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! :D
    I've decided not to re-read my manuscript all over again...well, I probably will start just for future agents that may possibly end up asking for it...but I'm not going to try to cram in more than 300 pages of reading in one night...especially since I have homework to do :)

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  3. Best of luck! Sending you lots of positive thoughts. :)

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  4. Thanks, and YOU'RE the best! :D

    And thanks about the demo! If I ever finished it, I'll definitely post some of it onto my blog. You should do Teaser Tuesdays (Tuesdays when you post a snippet of your story) so I can gush over them!

    Not re-reading your manuscript is probably a really good idea since you have homework. Besides, the agent will probably understand a few minor mistakes. You're probably a busy girl.

    And there's no need to thank me, it's what friends do, right? We have to support each other all the way.

    And about the Christmas thing (I know, I'm posting everything out of order) I really want to know, at the same time it ruins the fun of the element of surprise! But I still REALLY WANT TO KNOW!! Ah! But I can at least count on my dad's change of heart and making his present secret until Christmas. But until then, I'll just sit in torment as my brother plays with his gifts and check every return address that comes in the form of a package and Google it. ;)

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  5. Thank you Wendy!
    I hope your querying is going well. :)

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  6. That's right; friends do support each other!!!! :D

    Hmmm, I'll consider doing Teaser Tuesdays...maybe I'll post up some other stuff I've written (since I've heard it's not a good idea to post anything that you plan on getting published on the internet; just in case, you know?). :)

    Haha I know what you mean!!! I always want to know what I'm getting, but then again I like surprises too! AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

    Haha checking the return address is a good idea! I've never seen any packages that my parents have ordered for Christmas presents...but if I ever do, that's exactly what I'm gonna do!!!!! ;)

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  7. Of course you can never be too safe! When it gets to the publishing process, then you should totally start doing teasers for your book! What's your top choice for a publishing company? I have no idea what record label I want, even though it has to carry country/pop, since that's what I think I am.

    What do you want for Christmas? The plus side of knowing what you get is that you can persuade your parents to buy you something else, but the downside is you know. The downside to not knowing is that you may not like it and would have to live with it, and the plus side is...well, not knowing. It's equal, although I think I'm weighing more toward the "knowing" stage!

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  8. I don't know...I'd say one of the big name publishing companies (for my young adult book), like Scholastic, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, or Little Brown...I honestly don't really care which publishing company takes on my book (as long as they're reputable), I just hope that someone wants my book someday! :)

    Hmmm again I don't know....I've never been one to really ask for anything for Christmas specifically (unless I saw something in the store and asked my mom if we can buy it and then it'd just be considered one of my Christmas presents...). Actually, I don't think I've EVER made a Christmas list...I think as I child I just assumed everyone knew what I wanted for Christmas; I think that also plays into my love of surprises (if I don't ask for it, then I don't know it's coming AT ALL) Haha....
    But yeah, I don't think I really need anything, I never really think I do...I always LOVE all the presents I get though, and I am really happy with them even if the thought of wanting whatever I get never even crossed my mind!

    Haha but waiting until Christmas is really hard!

    Oh, I know what I want!!!!: I want an agent to want to sign on to/represent my manuscript; yeah, that's what I want...even if I get this gift a month or two, or three, after Christmas, that's okay :)


    What do you want for Christmas?

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  9. For me, I want for a record label to pick me up and turn me famous, and I'd be living the dream then! Ooh, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster are my top choices if I ever wanted to pursue writing. Harlequin Teen also is an awesome company, and the covers they make are absolutely gorgeous!

    Hmm, I wonder if Big Machine Records or Universal Studios or Republic Nashville. Those would definitely be at the top for me :D

    For Christmas, I want LOTS of books, too. If I tried to start, it would be Wither by Lauren DeStefano, Legend by Marie Lu, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare, Insurgent by Veronica Roth, Crossed by Ally Condie, the Savage Grace by Bree Despain, and Spellbound by Rachel Hawkins. The list goes on and on after that! When you read as fast as I do, you need a LOT of books to satisfy your needs.

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  10. Congrats, congrats!!! That's fantastic, and it never hurts to go over the ms. I know whenever I got a request I couldn't resist speed-reading through it one last time :D And I hear you about the queries. I kind of had the opposite problem. I'd send out like five to eight at a time, but I'd have to re-look up every single agent and make absolutely sure they were asking for something like my book. Ahhhhhh, it took forever!! Hope your subs go well, and I'll be rooting for you!
    Ninja Girl

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  11. Congrats on getting as far as you have and Good Luck with the rest of your journey hope everything turns out for you :)

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  12. Thanks Ninja Girl!
    I think I'm going to go over the manuscript starting today (when I have free time)...you're right, it can never hurt (though I'm going to be kicking myself if I do find errors, because I already sent it to the agent who requested it the other day)! Just in case I do find mistakes, why not find them for any other agents who hopefully request my manuscript? :D

    Haha the querying process can be so stressful! I actually have a list of agents that I have queried and plan on querying in the future (just to help keep track and whatnot)...and now I've been going to every agent's page to make SURE that they are asking for something like my book too!!!! :)

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  13. Thank you Kate!
    I really appreciate all the support! :)

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  14. Hi
    Thank you for the following my blog. I look forward to following your updates. I am following you back and have also added your blog on my links list.
    All the best
    Debs

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  15. Awesome news! Definitely give the manuscript a read over before sending. Good luck!

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  16. Thank you Debbie and Christine!
    I really appreciate it :)

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