So,
I haven’t been writing in my blog as frequently as I theoretically would like
to. What have I been up to? Well, writing query letters to try to get my book
published.
Back
in 2017, I wrote a children’s picture book that I had thought a lot about and finally sat down and put it on paper.
It’s called “My Dad Digs Dinosaurs…But I Don’t.” It’s about a kid who likes construction and playing with trucks (yes, Rye was my inspiration) and a dad who is always asking if they can play dinosaurs instead (no, Josh is not the inspiration for the dinosaur part because he hates dinosaurs and thinks most of them are made up, but that’s a discussion for another time), and the boy learns to humor his dad because he wants to make him happy. I think it’s a very funny tongue-in-cheek concept because we parents are always playing things the kids want to play that we are not interested in but we do it because that’s what you do for someone you love, and I thought the role reversal would be humorous.
This is an AMAZING piece of
original art that my sister-in-law Julie made me for my birthday this year,
which so wonderfully captures the flavor of my book:
 |
| Who wouldn't want to read this book?!? |
I’ve
had two friends that are children’s librarians as well as two writer friends read
it and suggest edits (really just cuts—I’m always overly wordy in my first draft
of anything), and I told myself that I was going to pursue publishing with it
in 2018. And then I did nothing. Like really nothing, the whole year. I’m
pretty sure that if I knew how to check my Word file history it would have
shown me that I didn’t even open the file in 2018.
And
then this year, I sort of woke up and decided to go for it. After all, there is
absolutely nothing to lose by trying.
So I started researching how to get a book published and it starts with finding
a literary agent to represent you because pretty much all publishers will not
accept unsolicited manuscripts, but they do work with agents who have
pre-vetted things. So 20 minutes here and there during the kids’ nap times or
video times, I have been searching across the internet for literary agents that 1) are
accepting unsolicited manuscripts for picture books and 2) seem like somewhat
of a match. Most agencies ask you to send your manuscript to a specific agent
in their company, but then say if that agent turns you down, you are welcome to
send it to another agent in house, which I guess is kind of them, but then it
also tells me that the agents don’t share — there’s no “hey, Bob, this book
wasn’t my style but I know how you’re a sucker for dinosaurs so here you go.”
It’s best to carefully look at all the agents, see what authors or books they
already have represented, and send it to the one that whose books are similar to your style or audience.
I
submitted my book to my first agent on Feb. 12 of this year, and got an
immediate response that they read all submissions but not to expect a response
for 4 to 6 weeks. They say if you don’t hear back you can send a follow-up
after those 6 weeks, but I know how it works — they’re not just “forgetting” to
respond to someone whose work they love and are ready to offer a contract to. I
prayed over my book and my endeavor to have it published as I submitted it to
that first agency, and decided to give it 4 weeks before sending it to the next
agent.
And
on March 13, I did send it to my next agent. And on Friday, a day I was feeling
particularly restless and productive at the same time, I sent it to 3 more
agents. And it was after sending it to that third (or really fifth) agent that
I refreshed my inbox and saw that I had received my first response! The
subject line simply said “Query Reply from [Agent Name],” (I think it’s
probably in my best interest not to name names), but it was the second agent I
had sent it to, and it was such a carefully worded (though obviously a form
letter) response of rejection, and my heart still kind of leapt a little! Yes,
I know that this industry (and all forms of the creative industry) are highly
subjective and I should be encouraged to send it to another agency where it
might be a better fit and they "can be an enthusiastic champion for me and my
work!" I was so excited to see that letter, even if it was bad news, that I kind
of couldn’t wait for Josh to get home so I could tell him. Getting that rejection
letter made it feel real! Someone in the biz has read my work, and thought I at
least deserved to know that they gave it “careful consideration.” I’ll take
that—that’s better than having it sit unopened in my laptop. I even printed the
rejection letter out to save in a folder of rejection (you know, for those days
when I’m suffering from a swollen head). Thank you, Agent 2, for acknowledging my
work and getting me even more excited to keep seeking out more agents.
I
know it’s a real longshot to have my book chosen by an agent, to even have the
possibility to be marketed to a publisher, but I’ve got nothing to lose in
trying. In fact, the energy of sending out this first attempt at getting
published forced my creative juices to get flowing again and I have a second
book that I’m really happy about, “The Boy Who Talked
to Squirrels,” on the off chance that an agent might say “I like your voice,
but I think this dinosaur book would be a hard one to sell, what else ya got?” It’s
not 100 percent yet, but I at least have something that I’d be happy to show as
another sample of my writing, something that could be a second chance to get my foot
in the door.
So
here’s to impossible (or hopefully just improbable) dreams and taking first
steps!
