A snowboarding college student, an aspiring writer. This could be fun.

SLUSHPILE: Looking for a needle in a field of haystacks, and having to tell each stalk it's not the needle that you're looking for.

Querying.  We all gotta do it.  At some point, we ARE the slush.  But hey, why not embrace it?  I mean, I think being a grape slushie would be okay…right?

Being in the slush is what you make of it.  You can take the query rejections to heart, or you can learn from them.  You can become bitter and give up, or you can become resilient and continue to forge a path for yourself.  It’s really up to you.

Margaret Stohl, co-author of Beautiful Creatures, was part of #YALitChat‘s MADE

Beautiful Creatures

FROM AWESOME night 1 of chatting.  She said something that was really good.  No, I mean really, really good:

“Advice for ya writers: no such thing as a bad book. just a bad draft. you’re not done yet.”

You hear that?  Just because you haven’t gotten the response you want, doesn’t mean your idea isn’t good.  Keep cracking at it, making it better.  That’s the only way we grow as writers.  You’re not done yet.

So there’s some advice from an author who has one book out, another on the way, and is creating the third. Not just any books, either.  DANG GOOD BOOKS.  So listen to her.  :)

Other words of advice?  Here’s my take on the query end, in no particular order:

Don't query until all systems are GO. Really.

-DON’T QUERY UNTIL YOU’RE READY. Writing the first draft and querying is not the brightest idea.  Writing HALF the first draft and querying is even worse.  You never know what the agents will request of you, so why not have everything prepared, just in case?  Having a clean MS to send when they request your full looks good on your part.

-A QUERY CAN BE LIKENED TO A FIRST DATE. Yep, you heard me.  Would you go out with a guy you’ve been crushing on for ages in sweatpants, no makeup, and a ratty t-shirt?  Probably not.  You want a good first impression.  You have roughly three…I repeat,

Don't be that guy. Do your homework, have things prepared.

THREE paragraphs to prove why Agent X, Y, or Z should do business with you.  In the end, it IS a business deal.  They want to eat.  They’re not going to take a book they don’t think they can sell.  Moral of this one: make your query impossible to turn down.  That’s the way you’re going to get requests.

-SEND WHATEVER THE AGENT WANTS, EXACTLY LIKE THE AGENT WANTS IT. Yes, it’s important.  I’m still shocked that my agent, Dawn, didn’t come find me and beat me over the head with the hideous package I sent her.

Got everything they asked for? Double check.

Whatever the agent wants, you send it just like that.  If they want the MS on purple paper, dang it, go buy some purple paper.  Following guidelines is something that is necessary in this business.  If you get an agent, it’s not the first (or last) time there will be guidelines.  Get used to it.

-DON’T TAKE REJECTIONS PERSONALLY. This goes back to the business end of it.  You can’t take rejections personally.  I queried 57 agents, had 11 no responses, and 8 requests for my MS. Do the math.  That’s 49 declines right off the bat, not

Agents need writers. Writers need agents. Not all are going to mesh together. That's why there's more than one to query.

including the ones that potentially could turn the material I sent them down.  Mathematically speaking, that’s an 86% rejection rate. I have heard it said that this industry is almost a 99% rejection rate.  If you get a rejection, you’re in good company.  We all have.  The difference between the ones who make it and the ones who don’t?  The ones who have the strength to keep trying.

SO WHAT CAN YOU DO WHILE YOU’RE WAITING?

-Start a blog (it’s got to be more interesting than this one here!)
-Make a website (once you’re agented, you are responsible for the marketing of yourself.  Your agent is pushing your book, but you have to make youself visible.  Start building your platform now.)
-Join a critiquing group (going over others’ MSs and sharing yours can help you catch things you wouldn’t otherwise see.)
-Get another hobby (wait, we can have more than one? Scary, I know.)

I hope this helps someone out there.  I know it’s all been said before, but I thought I’d add to the peanut gallery on this one.  :)  Until next time, keep writing, and HAVE FUN WITH IT!  :)