tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post37126089552112631..comments2023-09-16T15:03:34.579+07:00Comments on Adam Heine: So You Think You're Ready to Query...Adam Heinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02225813532455467868noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-2982267107354571832011-10-03T10:56:36.361+07:002011-10-03T10:56:36.361+07:00I remember Janet Reid saying people should NEVER q...I remember Janet Reid saying people should NEVER query their first novels or their second novels. They shouldn't start querying until their third. <br /><br />I totally didn't listen.<br /><br />And I'm glad I didn't. Because I learned so much from querying novels 1 & 2. What I'm glad I DIDN'T do was give up after novels 1 & 2, assuming I was a failure.<br /><br />AmyA.L. Sonnichsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11358456786727534289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-73499666329185564192011-10-03T07:11:20.421+07:002011-10-03T07:11:20.421+07:00I'm kinda with you Adam; I may have sent the q...I'm kinda with you Adam; I may have sent the query anyway, but it may not have been as much as of a sinking Titanic.<br /><br />But I don't think I would have been the attentive writer I am without making the mistakes either. <br /><br />I'm glad to read posts like this, no matter how far I am in experience. A good reminder to me of how far I've come, and how far I have to go, and you never know who's journey you may be kick starting with this.<br /><br />Thanks for sharing your experience.<br /><br />........dholedolorahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08715849844092553699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-44453275190744646152011-10-01T17:36:40.017+07:002011-10-01T17:36:40.017+07:00Great advice!
And the best advice is REVISE... s...Great advice! <br /><br />And the best advice is REVISE... so glad you really dug into that one, for too many writers think changing a character's name or checking for verb tense is revising. I've entirely rewritten some of my manuscripts several times over, and the novel I'm about to query was cut in half at one point (the second half is saved for a later book in the series), and the latter half written from scratch. <br /><br />Most first drafts SUCK, without question. And my rule is, if I think it doesn't, I need to give it a month to fester, then go back and look at it with fresh eyes. That's all it takes for me to see the flaws.Dr. Cheryl Carvajalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15323455180953109460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-9644966350381161262011-10-01T10:02:27.493+07:002011-10-01T10:02:27.493+07:00Thanks for the mention!
I don't think I'v...Thanks for the mention!<br /><br />I don't think I've screwed up anything major yet--although maybe I did and didn't realize. <br /><br />Like you, I don't see much that I could have changed. I was operating on the best understanding I had of the situation, and being as wise as I knew how to be at the time.jjdebenedictishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16950592240599703771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-49322908259106427352011-10-01T07:41:09.445+07:002011-10-01T07:41:09.445+07:00And still, even doing ALL those things doesn't...And still, even doing ALL those things doesn't guarantee success. It's a brutal business. And yet, we keep pushing onward.Nancy Thompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05735642863696266005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-67451940345832896622011-10-01T03:24:11.897+07:002011-10-01T03:24:11.897+07:00Great advice for one in the know!Great advice for one in the know!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17254228974989688426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-56660720320692059172011-10-01T02:45:37.708+07:002011-10-01T02:45:37.708+07:00This is a fantastic post! And when we are starting...This is a fantastic post! And when we are starting out, the advice is the last thing we want to hear--we just want to get the story out there. But I think the journey to pub is such a big part of the process. We can hear all the advice in the world, but until we are ready, we will not hear it. I suspect an online critique group is not for everyone--not until they understand that they NEED it because not everyone will love their work. Not until they have gotten past the story and the love of writing to the business of writing seriously. That's a hard transition to make, isn't it? We are all a work in progress :D<br /><br />Best,<br /><br />MartinaMartina Boonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03358736828122139189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-84771396010814564782011-10-01T01:51:28.349+07:002011-10-01T01:51:28.349+07:00LOL! I love the picture.
And I have to say that a...LOL! I love the picture.<br /><br />And I have to say that all those queries I wrote were great practice for querying book bloggers, but MAN are they more fun to query. (Partly because the response - yes they respond! - is so much more positive, most of the time).<br /><br />What would I do different? I agree with Jodi - in most respects, my path is what let me here, and I'm not sure I would have chosen differently.<br /><br />But I second (and third!) all of your advice. Some of the BEST things I've done: make my own online crit group, when I couldn't find one; find people online to swap critiques with; study bestselling writers like crazy; take a chance on a small publisher.Susan Kaye Quinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07348197999397141067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-76701238349439838212011-09-30T20:34:12.957+07:002011-09-30T20:34:12.957+07:00Dude, first of all: thanks for the mention!
Now, ...Dude, first of all: thanks for the mention!<br /><br />Now, this is the kind of post I REALLY wish I could have found back then. Since my first draft I've cut 317,000 words, 2 characters, 5-6 flashbacks, a prologue, and countless other things that while I may have loved, had to go.Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-79334633941390936102011-09-30T20:29:25.119+07:002011-09-30T20:29:25.119+07:00I wish I'd been pickier about the advice I too...I wish I'd been pickier about the advice I took. There are actually people writing "how to" books out there and telling aspiring authors to send gimicky presents to agents. Luckily, I never followed <i>that</i> particular advice, but I did quote my book in my query letter and made sure I mentioned the other books in the series. <br /><br />After discovering many other far more helpful sources, I've learned from my mistakes. But it's still humiliating to think of all the stupid stuff I did.Emily Whitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06478461123707071108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-8458268450688060022011-09-30T20:28:33.993+07:002011-09-30T20:28:33.993+07:00It's funny that people talk about querying too...It's funny that people talk about querying too early all the time. That has never been my issue--I've never queried. I'm on my fourth novel and am starting to think that this might be the one since I've recently broken though to the next level of writing ability. <br /><br />I guess I was clear from the beginning that I wasn't good enough yet. And I'm only just starting to feel like I've hit the threshold of really understand how to develop and write a novel. <br /><br />So I'm glad I did it this way--I spent the time learning to write instead of tracking queries and dealing with rejection. We'll see how that changes if I ever actually query.Heidi Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15056627400336997554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-88372312235000690422011-09-30T19:51:03.741+07:002011-09-30T19:51:03.741+07:00Nothing. I needed all those mistakes to put me rig...Nothing. I needed all those mistakes to put me right here right now. :)Jodi Meadowshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04592336757637067720noreply@blogger.com