Selling My Soul (In a Good Way) is a weekly journal
about my efforts to get a debut novel published.
I am worried.
I am wondering.
Now, with over thirty query letters launched into the wild and wicked and randomly wise internet, to people I don’t know, who live in places far from my zip code, who don’t care about me, I’ve basically heard . . .
Too much nothing.
A few form rejections.
A few standard “It’s not for my list” responses.
By now, I’d hoped to get some tidbits of what’s good or bad or intriguing or confusing about my novel from a few of those strangers who are also gatekeepers for traditional publishing.
Hope can become a tricky four-letter word.
Woe is me?
But I also wonder . . . what if my obviously debut and my equally obvious coming-of-age novel is really a literary novel? Why do I think that? Less because of what category it might fit in, and more because I’m confident of what FINDING JOHN MUIR is not: not a romance or romantasy (yeah, that’s a genre), not a fantasy, not sci-fi, not speculative, not for younger readers. It has a smidgen of mystery, a dollop of being a thriller, but to call it either of those would be unfair to the many novels in those genres.
The thing that really got me wondering was when I looked (again) at some of the information about the novels I’m comparing mine to, like William Kent Krueger’s Ordinary Grace and Eileen Garvin’s The Music of Bees. Both of those novels have clear similarities to mine. They have a coming-of-age theme. Their locations become a kind of character in the stories. And here’s potentially the most significant resemblance . . . in various reviews and descriptions and tags they are identified as (wait, wait) literary novels.
So, now, at least for a worrisome, wondering period of time, I will send queries to agents who are more open to the literary category.
Am I just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic?
First, how dull of me to use an oft-used cliché, eh? Second, we use (and overuse) clichés because they do have some merit. Third, how dull and pretentious to compare the sinking of a ship and the death of over 1,500 souls to a measly little novel. Fourth, gimme a break . . .
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Since last week’s Selling My Soul, I’ve sent out queries to Agent #27 through Agent #35. Agent #14 and #16 rejected me during last week:
Larry,
Thank you so much for submitting FINDING JOHN MUIR to me. While there is a lot I admire here and it does touch on a few points from my MSWL [Manuscript Wish List], I don’t think I will be the best champion for this novel. This is subjective to me and not a reflection of your work. I’m sorry I don’t have better news!
Agent #14
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Dear Larry,
Thank you so much for sharing FINDING JOHN MUIR with me. After carefully considering your project, I didn’t end up connecting with the story materials in the way I need to move forward, and so I will unfortunately have to pass on the project at this time.
While this may not be the best fit for me, reading preferences are extremely subjective, and so I encourage you to always continue writing, and to keep submitting your query to other agents. Please also feel free to query me again if you have any new manuscripts you’d like me to consider.
Thank you for trusting me with your work — I wish you the best on your publishing journey!
Best,
Agent #16
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HOWEVER! Agent #33 sent my first positive response, though with qualifiers (like not using my name and having the IF word appear:
Hello,
Thank you for your query. I look forward to reading your work, but because of the current volume of submissions I may not be able to respond quickly. If I’m interested in reading the full manuscript or proposal I’ll reach out, and if you do receive an offer of representation please feel free to let me know.
All the best,
Agent #33
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“My writing process, such as it is, consists of a lot of noodling, procrastinating, dawdling, and avoiding.” – Amy Bloom