Things I've Learned (so far)

While I haven't been lucky enough to land an agent yet, in all the months I've been researching them and going through the query process I've definitely learned a thing or two about the business of it all. I'm by no means an expert, but here are a few of the things I've picked up in my quest to write the next great YA novel and get represented by someone who believes in me and my writing:

1) DON'T GIVE UP. Perserverence is what ultimately pays off in the publishing world. You may get rejected 60 times (like Kathryn Stockett did) but all it takes is for ONE agent to like what he/she reads. It's such a highly subjective business, hopefully, sooner or later your manuscript will land on that agent's desk (fingers crossed!!).

2) DO YOUR HOMEWORK. I can't believe how many agent blogs I read where the agents have to reiterate over and over again what kind of work they are looking for. Do people really just send mass submissions out to whatever agents they may stumble across on the internet, without even glancing to see what kind of material the agent represents?? I mean...that's just common sense. Why would an author waste their time (and the agent's time, for that matter) sending a YA fiction manuscript to someone who represents adult mysteries? Just seems silly to me.
a) Along these same lines, pay attention to what the agent requests. Do they
want your query & the first 5 pages? The query, your synopsis, and the
first chapter? Attention to detail is very important!!

3) CLEAN IT UP. Before you even start sending out queries, make sure your work is as polished as it can possibly be. Have some trusted readers help with this. After writing 80,000 words or so there are bound to be some errors and typos. Having a second or third (or fourth, even) set of eyes going over your MS can only make it tighter and cleaner.

4) KEEP WRITING. Start your next project while you're querying your first. From what I've read, and as heartbreaking as it may be, your first novel has a good chance of getting shelved. The more you write, the better you get at it. Well, hopefully anyway. I personally feel that my WIP is showing a lot more potential than IMME already. I'll always be proud of IMME- how many people can say they finished writing a novel??- but in the back of my head, if it doesn't go anywhere I know that I'll still be proud of it. And I will move on with the next one.

5) GROW A THICK SKIN. Look, rejection sucks on any level. It hurts, and it's soooo hard not to take it personally. I'm still getting used to it myself. It's hard to remember that the agent is not rejecting YOU, it's your work they aren't feeling passionate about. Again, it's a subjective business and you just have to find that one person who does connect to it. AND, even once you do get published you still have to deal with bad reviews and people who hate your books. People can be freaking brutal. You just have to be confident that you wrote the best book you could and go on with your life.

That's about it, for now anyway. These are all tidbits off the top of my head, so I may think of more to add later.

Happy Friday and happy writing!!