If any of you remember, back around the time of the fabulosity that is WriteOnCon, I had a sort of hysterical-sounding post mentioning a writer-mergency.
Basically, I was almost done with the memoir. Not really finished. But I thought I could tie up edits in the next couple of weeks, maybe. And WriteOnCon was ending that day. So I decided to post up the first page and a query just for some feedback.
The problem was, an agent requested a full.
Okay, so that was somewhat good. It meant my query letter was ready. But the manuscript wasn't. I sent a similarly hysteria-induced email to my poor abused crit-group with some pages I'd been having trouble with, asking for feedback.* Then I locked myself inside with pizza and popcorn, and revised. All weekend.
Yes, I managed to get a decent draft of the story out the door the next week. Yes, the agent was complimentary in her rejection letter.
But if I'd just waited a few more weeks, and queried her normally with a project that was actually where I wanted it to be, maybe that letter wouldn't have been a rejection.
Moral of the story? Posting samples in conferences like WriteOnCon is tempting**. Querying immediately when you finish a good draft is tempting.
DON'T DO IT. Wait until you are absolutely sure your draft is so polished that you can see your writing-weary face reflected in its surface before you send your baby out. Because chances are, there are still more problems hiding beneath that shiny surface. Problems you haven't even noticed, but that your potential agent might pick up. So you want to make sure there isn't a single problem you would've caught yourself to compound the issues they see.
I know most of you are probably thinking "duh, thanks Captain Obvious"... But in case any of you are antsy*** like me, just thought I'd put the example out there!
Now, back to polishing the heck outta the memoir. I've almost got the final scratches rubbed out!
* At the time, I thought it was just 20 pages I copied and pasted. It was 40. Note to self: Stop spamming poor writer's group with emergencies. <3
** Though you could probably post your query letter to WOC's forums and just mention that it's not 100% complete yet, so that agents don't query you expecting the full to be available. That would be fine.
*** coughimpatientcough
Thank you for posting this. It's hard sometimes, when you're in the wake of excitement at finishing a draft or revision, to remember you should make sure it's something you're happy with before jumping the gun and querying or trying to ship it out.
ReplyDeleteWishing you luck with the next query :D
Definitely agree. It's very tempting! I did post my query for my wip at WOC but I also said that it wasn't finished and wouldn't be ready for another few months. I still got a couple requests from agents willing to wait. So, in future, as long as you come out with it, I'm sure it'd be fine :)
ReplyDeleteIt was months after I'd finished my first book and spent endless hours editing before I sent out my first query. Seven months later, I signed a contract. Glad I'm not an impatient writer.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with this. It's a good thing you only ended up sending it to that one agent, so now you know not to make the same mistake. It's hard to be patient but it's usually for the best!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your revisions! Can't wait to read more. :)
Several years ago I did something similar. Boy, did I learn my lesson fast.
ReplyDeleteso, I know this was a few posts ago (and hey! How's it going) but I totally had a similar experience with WOC. I didn't (in my meager defense) post a query, just the first 250 words. And then I sent emails to the agents saying it wasn't ready and could they pretty please wait...and one is still waiting. Yup, caution is best.
ReplyDelete