My Query That Worked

My agent search took me far and wide, high and low.  How far, wide, high and low? Let's just say I was beginning to worry my name might be code for "thatgirlwhowillnotgethepointnomatterhowoftenwetellherno." Luckily, it only takes one "yes," but the long trail of "no's" in my wake brought me into contact with some really awesome people, who know how to say "no" nicely.

I thought it might be helpful to share my query for Not A Drop to Drink, the one that finally helped me land that agent!

Mindy's Query That Wouldn't Be Nearly So Awesome Without the Agent Query Community:

Lynn was nine the first time she killed to defend the pond. Seven years later, violence is her native tongue in a time when an ounce of fresh water is worth more than gold and firewood equals life during bitter rural winters. Death wanders the countryside in many forms: thirst, cholera, coyotes, and the guns of strangers.

Mother and Lynn survive in a lawless land, where their once comfortable home serves as stronghold and lookout. Their basement is a lonely fortress; Father disappeared fighting the Canadians for possession of Lake Erie, the last clean body of water in an overpopulated land. The roof offers a sniper’s view of their precious water source – the pond.  Ever vigilant, they defend against those who stream from the sprawling cities once they can no longer pay the steep prices for water. Mother’s strenuous code of self-sufficiency and survival leaves no room for trust or friendships; those wishing for water from the pond are delivered from their thirst not by a drink, but a bullet. Even their closest neighbor is a stranger who Lynn has only seen through her crosshairs.

Smoke rises from the east, where a starving group of city refugees are encamped by the stream. A matching spire of smoke can be seen in the south, where a band of outlaws are building a dam to manipulate what little water is left.

When Mother dies in a horrific accident, Lynn faces a choice - defend her pond alone or band together with her crippled neighbor, a pregnant woman, a filthy orphan, and Finn - the teenage boy who awakens feelings she can't figure out.

On Rejection and Scar Tissue

Even though the days of getting mail addressed to us in our own handwriting are (mostly) behind us, we're all familiar with that sinking feeling.  I was at a point not so long ago where I would open the RE: QUERY email from an agent last (sometimes even after ads for extending body parts I don't have) simply to delay the pain.  Heave the big sigh, record another rejection over at QueryTracker -where my stats were starting to depress even my dog - and delete the form rejection.  Chin up.  Move on.

That vast gulf of darkness was punctuated by little flares of brightness - a partial here, a full there, long periods of waiting while one or two hopes floated - but mostly, BLURG!  So I trunked it - take that vile ms!!  Sit under my bed, you disappointing sheaf of paper!  I ripped off a new YA ms, wrote a query that felt electric (with the assistance of my AgentQuery beta reviewers) and started opening those RE: QUERY emails first - 'cause they were making me happy.

I recently finished reading Women Who Run With the Wolves: Contacting the Power of the Wild Woman by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, and want to share this excellent quote:

"Although there will be scars, and plenty of them, it is good to remember that in tensile strength and ability to absorb pressure, a scar is stronger than skin."

It's an interesting thought, and one that buoyed me in the Dark Age of My Eternal Rejections.  It goes hand in hand with my favorite cliched bit of wisdom - "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger."  It might sound like a farmer's daughter's tough-love, toss-off advice; but the funny thing about cliches is that they're often true.

So buck up.  Write the query.  Revise the query.  Send the query.  Get those rejections.  Revise it again.  Send it again.  And work on something new - 'cause every puncture in your writer's skin will teach you something.

And you'll heal.

Success Tastes Like Starbucks

I only say that because there seems to be some kind of backlog going on with my stomach from this afternoon, which came in tandem with a message from Patrick over at QueryTracker that my Success Story Interview was up.

Reposting here, but my fellow writer-followers, get thee to QueryTracker.  I used it to keep track of all my rejections for a good long time - my nice long list is testament to the "it only takes one yes" theory!

An Interview with Mindy McGinnis
(A QueryTracker Success Story)

Mindy McGinnis has recently signed with agent Adriann Ranta of Wolf Literary Services LLC. Mindy, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Congratulations and good luck.

QueryTracker: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?

Mindy McGinnis: The book that landed me representation is a YA dystopian about the lack of fresh water in the future. I adore dystopian fiction, but I'm really tired of post - nuclear, or highly technological worlds. I took a different approach and knocked humankind back about 100 years... eating what you can kill, subsisting on your environment and the work of your own two hands.

My inspiration came from a documentary I watched about the very real pending threat of our fresh water resources, and then I read a book about the history of water (yeah I'm a dork like that).

QT: How long have you been writing?

MM: Oh boy. Ten years.

QT: How long have you been working on this book?

MM: This particular book (right now titled NOT A DROP TO DRINK) pretty much fell out of my head this past summer. I coughed it up in about four months, I think.

QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?

MM: Hmmm.... uh, YEAH. I didn't spend ten years getting rejections and feeling awesome, I can tell you that. Ironically, one thing that helped me stay the course was a rejection. An agent who had my full (a different YA title) rejected me, but sent me the kindest, most complimentary rejection ever. That was around three years ago. I kept the email and revisited it periodically over the years when I needed a boost. I emailed that agent the day after I signed to thank her for taking the time to give that kind of personalization to her rejections. She responded to tell me how happy she was for me - agents are people too!

QT: Is this your first book?

MM: Let's ignore the four trunked ones under my bed and say.... Yeah, sure, of course it is!

QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

MM: Nope. Nada. I double majored in English Literature and Religion, so I've drawn on both of those to inform my writing, for sure. I personally think the best education a writer can get is to read - good books an bad ones - and see what's working, or not.

QT: Do you follow a writing 'routine' or schedule?

MM: I wish. I write what I can, when I can.

QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?

MM: Not many, for this one, but that's against my normal grain. I did two 'tough love' line edits on it, though.

QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

MM: Yes - I had two excellent betas that I met over on AgentQueryConnect. We swap ms's, and are all at the same level / genre, so it's a wonderfully productive trio.

QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?

MM: Hip. I'm not a big fan of formality.

QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?

MM: Well, this book definitely went against the grain (again). I only queried it for a month and a half before landing my (awesome) agent. My other books... yeah, refer back to that ten year drought I mentioned.

QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?

MM: 25 - an incredibly small number.

QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?

MM: Research - constant and large amounts of it. I used QueryTracker stats (for sure), and visited some excellent blogs that do agent interviews to get a feel for who was looking for, and liked, what. QT user KristaG's awesome blog - Mother. Write. (Repeat) was a huge help to me, as well as Authoress' Miss Snark's First Victim blog. I'm styling my own blog -Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire - in their footsteps. I want to be an inspiration to those on the agent hunt, and help others get their feet in the door. Or their fingers. Or hair. Or teeth. Whatever it takes! The agent database over atAgentQuery.com was a great tool as well, plus the Agent Updates thread over on AgentQueryConnect.

QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?

MM: A few I did, not many though. When I did it was using 'foot in the door' techniques from visiting blogs like the ones I mentioned above. 'Dear Agent... I read your interview this morning on (blog name) and saw that you are looking for gritty YA dystopian. I think my title (blah blooh) will fit your tastes!' That kind of thing.

QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?

MM: Don't give up. Which probably is overdone advice, and Churchill beat me to it, but... my journey took a decade, so I can tell you there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but you've got to work for it.