I’ve spent the last few weeks researching agents, preparing my proposal and sending off queries. The first query I sent was to a publisher that accepts unagented submissions. I hope that this will not be a bad mark in my search for an agent. I’ve read that agents don’t really want manuscripts that have been shopped around. Is one submission to a publisher considered shopping around? I hope not.
For now, here are the numbers on this non-fiction project. I started querying a month ago. As of today, I have sent the full proposal to one publisher and two agents, and queries to nine agents. I’ve received 2 rejections. Next week, I’ll be sending out more queries.
On a different note, I have another project that I’ve put on hold for a long time. I’ve recently taken it up again. It’s a 30,000-word fantasy for the middle-grade audience. I have written approximately 10,400 words and would really like to finish the first draft within a month or so. That means I’ve got about 20,000 more words to write. I have the outline and plot for this work laid out, with character descriptions and settings. I’m really lagging behind on this book. My goal now is simply to lay down the story as quickly as I can. I know I’ve been doing a lot of telling instead of showing, and that’s what I’ll be working on as part of my first revisions.
