Querulous querying
I couldn’t resist: it sounded better than nervously optimistic querying, although that’s closer to the truth. I am nervous. I am also optimistic, because as the NY Lotto ad used to say: “You gotta be in it to win it.” And now I’m in it.
I imagine some people move through life in a measured, thoughtful manner. They probably consider their choices carefully. Perhaps they even weigh options and decide what might work best for them in the long run. Only then do they buy the couch, accept the wedding ring, move to Pakistan.
I don’t. I don’t know if I think diving is a good idea until I’ve actually jumped off the cliff. It’s the doing of something that makes me capable of thinking about it, weighing it, adjusting to it. I was all chirpy and peppy about having a child and only did the ‘oh-my-god-what-have-I-done-can-I-still-return-this-I-have-the-receipt-somewhere’ bit of the adjustment after the poor child was born. At which point (she said wisely, halfway down the cliff and accelerating) there was no convenient way to turn back. This doesn’t mean that I do ridiculous things (on the whole). It just means that I spring forward using only instinct and energy, and engage the rational brain somewhere down the line.
There’s no turning back now. I’m halfway down the cliff and accelerating. Hope the water’s warm and deep.
Very nice! I’m there with you, sister! You alway say it in the best way. xo
Good luck!
I’m a mixture of the two… mostly I’m very prudent, but every now and then I’ll do something unexpected. Like go to Singapore with one of the boys between Christmas and New Year.
Just because we could…
I was like this with querying, too. Sure, I did homework, learning about which agents wanted what. Still, I queried wider and farther than might have been prudent to others. I found my agent via a blog article listing what she was looking for. While my manuscript wasn’t it exactly, I liked her upbeat approach and shot off a query (along with five or so others in response to other posts I’d read…see, not prudent).
Two and a half weeks later, I signed.
Now I’m on submission, but along with my agent’s feedback am plugging away at some re-writes on other things.
I say, jump in! If the story feels ready, there is really nothing to lose.
Hi Francesca – very randomly I ran into someone you know, a colleague of Ed’s named Jim. This was in a small neighborhood jazz bar in Copenhagen. He happened to sit next to me and he said he taught at Dickinson. My tired synapses finally made the connection. Small world huh! Rahul
It is SUCH a small world. Really. Almost scarily so. Hope you’re doing well.