A Lighthearted Glance Into the Query Trenches

To soothe the anxiously querying heart.

There is a completed document splayed across your computer screen, one that has a beginning, middle, and end. You poured your blood over the keyboard in valiant sacrifice, bared your soul through a succession of chapters. You’ve brought forth characters from the void and transcribed their words so that the world might hear them. You’ve achieved something so few achieve. You’ve written.

To further highlight the magnitude of this accomplishment, allow me to put it into perspective. According to current statistics, only around 3% of writers who set out to craft a novel actually finish it. Meanwhile, less than 0.1% of the world’s population writes a novel in general. Right now, you’re in the top 0.1%.

A myriad of paths lie before you. On those paths are gateways to your wildest dreams. It’s easy to get ahead of oneself, but I urge you to take a grounding breath. Cleanse the fear, doubt, and limitation from your system and your soul. Gaze at the paths. Prepare to choose the one that is truly best for you, your story, and your artistic heart.

Remember why you are on this journey, and perhaps why you embarked on it in the first place. What was your objective when you began? Did you write your novel to process shadows so dark you simply couldn’t take them beyond the privacy of the page? Did you write it to connect with yourself more fearlessly than ever before? Perhaps you yearned for an adventure. Perhaps there were worlds you wished to explore and circumstances you wished to experience. Whatever your reason was, store it at your center and protect it fervently.

As you consider a new journey, one where you share this sacred work, think about why you’d like more eyes on it. This was once a secret and sovereign thing, after all. Sharing it is brave, vulnerable, and a little bit insane. Do you wish to be seen for who you are beneath the daily facade? Do you want to offer yourself in full authenticity so that you can align with those meant for you? Will this book be a beacon, a lighthouse of you-ness glowing in the night? Do you want to offer something to the world with this work? Do you want to help someone? Heal something? Know your intention and place it beside the treasured reason you began.

Consider Your Choices Wholeheartedly

Now, you have more options than ever. You might consider self-publishing. With a wealth of resources making this form of publication accessible, it isn’t a course of action to take lightly. Some of the most well-respected, world-renowned books were first published by their authors. Andy Weir published The Martian in serialized format on his website. It was then published as an eBook on Kindle, sold for just $0.99. In 2015, Weir’s work took on new life as a film adaptation that made hundreds of millions worldwide.

One of the most inspiring parts of Weir’s story — to me — was his experience with getting feedback as he published The Martian in pieces online. He’d been rejected by literary agents, and he could have taken this setback as a reason to give up. He did no such thing, and ultimately ended up improving his work and connecting with a community. He proved in real time that rejection is redirection. Eventually, The Martian caught attention from passionate readers, like-minded creatives, and rocket scientists from NASA. His journey might not have been perfectly linear or streamlined, but it still led him exactly where he needed to be.

If traditional publishing doesn’t appeal to you at the moment, don’t force yourself to engage with it because it is the path most traveled. Dare to pave your own way, if that is what your heart yearns for. Like Andy Weir, you might end up a success story that inspires authors for decades to come.

If you do wish to traditionally publish, honor that just as you would the self-publishing path. While self-publishing authors must learn about platforms, advertisement, cover design, promotional copy, and so on, traditionally publishing authors begin their journey with extensive agency research. As you step onto this road, you’ll need to examine resources like social media, Manuscript Wish List, and every literary agency website you can find. Your goal is to identify agents who best align with your work, and ideally, anyone who could go on to become your partner in bookish crime.

For my step-by-step guide on choosing agents, crafting a query letter, and sending it out, do check out this article. Here, I’d like to focus on what to do after you’ve already submitted your materials. If you haven’t yet, I hope you find the guide helpful. It’s where I compiled months of research that I hadn’t a clue what to do with after sending out all of my queries.

Into The Trenches

You are a heartbeat away from hitting send on every email and query form. You’ve lovingly crafted your query letter, researched agents to the edge of the horizon, and perhaps even participated in pitch competitions on Twitter/X, Instagram, and other social media spaces. Years of writing, months of research, and endless sleepless nights have led you to this very moment. You pull in a breath, and click click click…

It’s done.

Give yourself the biggest hug you have in a while. You’ve just done something braver than most can even fathom. Many advise that you whisk yourself to the next project immediately, but I implore you to take a genuine pause. All of your hard work has delivered you to this singular instance in infinity, this canon event. It’s an enormous shift, and it shouldn’t be breezed by.

Breathe. Smile. Celebrate.

Pop a bottle of champagne. Make yourself an exquisite caramel latte. Treat yourself to a decadent box of chocolates or a triple scoop of french vanilla ice cream. If the timing suits, go to your favorite childhood park and swing on a swing set. Assure younger you that you’re going to make their dreams come true. If parks aren’t your preference, perhaps go to a restaurant and order like the soon-to-be-bestseller that you are.

When I sent my first novel off, I gifted myself a homemade Belgian waffle drizzled with milk chocolate and covered with strawberries. It was nighttime, so I sat in quiet reverence at my desk, watching as the moon winked at me from above. My family was asleep. In that quietude and peace, all felt inexplicably right with the world. It was chilly beyond my bedroom window, but in my heart, I felt warm.

Then, I received the rejections.

Rejection Is Redirection

As your letter lands in the inboxes you sent it to, you must rest assured that at least one of them is right. However, the trouble with a limited number ofrightsis the inevitable tidal wave ofwrongs.

I started receiving rejections in just twenty-four hours. Thankfully, my first batch of query submissions were something of an experiment. I chose agents who weren’t as high on my “Dream List”, using my first letter to test the waters. When all of them rejected me, I went back and redrafted.

I can’t say these rejections didn’t sting. I love my first novel more than anything; having it turned away so quickly wasn’t easy. Still, it was my unbridled love for what I’d written that kept me going. No amount of rejection could make me waver on the inherent value of my novel. I loved it, and that’s what truly mattered. It made me indestructible.

As you move through the Query Trenches, you may have to redraft and rearrange your query letter. In my aforementioned guide, I explain the method I used, which I’ve dubbed The Bookstore Structure. It may work for you, but this is a deeply personal experience. Your goal is to share your story authentically, but also in a way that grabs attention and invites agents into it.

Don’t be discouraged by the first round of rejections. Take it as market research and destiny. Forge ahead. Always forge ahead.

Unless alignment links you to your agent overnight, you’ll likely send out multiple batches and drafts of your query letter. Most agents’ll reject you, but you aren’t trying to partner with every agent in the industry. You’re trying to find the right agent, of which there is only one, in a sea of them. Like in love, know that every heartbreak is only bringing you that much closer.

My agent saw the heart of my story, and the number of impossible synchronicities that brought us together are too overwhelming to put into words. When I got on a call with her, every rejection made complete sense. The other agents didn’t work out because they weren’t her. I’d sent my novel to over one hundred people, but all that time, in a cosmic sense, I hadn’t really been querying them. I’d been unknowingly, unconsciously walking through a succession of gateways leading straight to my agent’s inbox.

Trust the process and timing. Trust the synchronicities ensuring everything works out in your favor. You’ll be rejected dozens of times, but every single one of them is but a launching pad to the partner who is right for you. Remember, this is art, and art is soul. You aren’t just looking for a collaborator in business. You are looking for someone who sees and celebrates your soul.

Let Your Feelings, and Your Life, Flow

You’ll face sorrow, fear, anger, panic, and grief on this journey. You’ll shed tears and scream into pillows. Doubts will slip in seeking to corrupt you toward a life of risk-less complacency. It’s all part of the beautiful mosaic of human emotion, and the wondrous experience in flesh here on Earth.

I urge you to let these feelings flow like water. Don’t shove them into a shadowy corner at the back of your brain to rust and gather dust. Let them flow through you, but do not let them linger. As they wash over your senses, send each emotion off with a kiss of alchemy. Turn the pain into power. Turn the hurt into hope.

Here’s another brief anecdote from my own story. As my novel circulated through the dreaded Query Trenches, I gradually lost belief in myself and in my future as an author. I began to consider alternative options, something I rarely do. Usually, I only humor a Plan A, because the formation of a Plan B means I don’t believe in Plan A enough. It felt a bit like self-betrayal, but it happened, and I let it flow. I never admitted self-doubt aloud, but it was stirring within as I applied for a job at my local Barnes and Nobles.

Something miraculous happened next.

I went to work just as springtime began in New York, taking short shifts in the morning. At first, this new path activation felt like a detour, but it wasn’t. I found myself in a space of kindness, fun, and community. I took every shift as an opportunity to dress as my dream self, step into a more confident version of me, and connect with people as passionate about storytelling as I. As I drove to work, I allowed myself to experience moments of introspective meditation. Sometimes through smiles and sometimes through tears, I explored my heart and mined for my truest desires.

This short-lived part-time job gave me the chance to inhabit a cozy, kind, uplifting space in which I gently ushered myself toward the future. I made wonderful friends and priceless, ephemeral connections. I made memories with customers that I still carry to this day. I chatted with a young boy about his budding passion for science fiction and recommended books that inspired me. I told a little girl all her dreams could come true if she believed. An elderly man recovering from cancer told me my smile brightened his day. A co-worker and I discussed navagating anxiety in a chaotic, sometimes ruthless world.

I thought I was giving up on myself when I got this job, but I wasn’t. I was opening gateways to a version of self I’d have never achieved without it. I was sharing precious moments with others that I’d have never found elsewhere. After just two weeks, my agent requested a full manuscript. After just two months, while I was on a date with a boy I’d connected with over sci-fantasy, my agent reached out for an offer call. All of the panic and doubt truly was for nothing. It worked out anyway, and better than I ever could have imagined.

No matter the amount of panic that surges through you, it does not change the reality of your reality. What’s meant for you will not pass you by. What’s meant for you wants you just as much as you want it. What’s meant for you will simply find you.

Trust that, infinitely.

Write Something New

You aren’t giving up on or abandoning your old piece by experimenting with something new. One of my most beloved professors used to say that an author should always have three projects on hand: the one they’ve written, the one they’re writing, and the one they’ll write next. This maintains synergy and momentum and keeps you as excited about and engaged with your work as possible.

I have a list of concepts compiled from books, movies, television shows, and real life that inexplicably excite me. In this list, I shamelessly describe narrative tropes, character types, dynamics, plot elements, and so much more. All of them enthrall me. They are the concepts that would get me reading or watching instantly. It stands to reason that they’d also get me writing instantly.

When I’m at a loss for ideas, I splice two or three of these ingredients. Perhaps I engage with a piece that uses them well for inspiration, but then, it’s off to the pages. If I’m excited enough, I won’t be able to stop myself. I’ll be so lost to the whirlwind, I’ll forget the rest of the world exists. This is what I did while my first novel was on submission, receiving a whole new level of rejection and redirection. It’s also what led me to write my second novel, now my debut.

Don’t let yourself be distracted by your inbox and anxieties. Return to your inner child and write with reckless abandon. If you can, forget that the Query Trenches exist.

Breathe and be. Be with your art. Be with your craft. Be with your story, your world, and your characters. Be with your beautiful, expansive self. You might end up on a whole new adventure, startled back to this reality when that offer call finally comes in.