The best Querying advice I got

The one advice that made querying easier for me

Querying is like being in a small eight by eight stone cell with only a sculpting chisel to help you rescue.

It’s dank, dark, isolating, depressing and takes a definite toll on mental health. You can cry all you want but no one is listening because no one knows what it’s like.

And the only thing you can do is keep chiseling.

Make that indent, keep grinding at the stone, keep doing without any guarantee that you’ll have your blue skies-green meadows on the other side.

I’m sorry for being so morose about it. But it isn’t a nice place to be. I hated it. Absolutely hated every bit of it.

But then somewhere about halfway through my querying journey when I shelved one book, and was polishing up the second book to query, I was re-reading Pride and Prejudice and this quote just sparkled to me.

There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me - Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

The words stuck with me.

I thought about it longer than I intended to.

And then I made it my mantra.

Every time I received a rejection in my inbox, I sent two more queries.

And I started working on a new book. Something that will give me the confidence that if book 2 didn’t work, I’ll have another ready by the time I exhaust my list of agents.

It’s not the end until I tell it to be.

Thankfully book 2 did work out eventually and I got my agent.

But the only thing that kept me sane while querying was to make sure I continued to create opportunities for myself. Every time a door closed, I opened another.

I am not saying this made the journey easier. No. Absolutely not.

But it gave me the strength to see myself through that arduous path.

So all I am saying is build that rejection-proof attitude, build that thick skin, be stubborn, don’t take no for an answer, believe in your book, your story.

I hope this will help you with your querying and publishing journey. Know that I am always rooting for you.

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~Toodle-oo~