Here are the initial contacts I made as first steps to getting this book published:
Queries = 13
Rejections = 5
Requests for the proposal = 2
Waiting for response = 6
Proposal sent to agents = 2
Rejected = 1
Proposal direct to publisher = 1
Rejected = 1 (but I was told that the proposal has been forwarded to other editors in the publishing house so I still consider this active)
After initial contacts by query letter, I sent the proposal to two agents. They both said they’ll get back within this week or a few days, so by Friday, perhaps, I’ll get some feedback from them. Of course, I hope for an offer of representation, but if not, I at least expect to learn something from what they say about my proposal.
Title Changes
I sent the first proposal around this time yesterday, and the second just a few minutes ago. There is a small difference in these two proposals: I changed the titles of my book. I’ve been working with Title #1 since the beginning, but felt it could still be improved. So over the weekend, I ran a couple of ideas by the hubby. I now have a working Title #2. I sent one query with this new title yesterday, and got a request for the proposal. I probably should run with this title for future queries.
Keeping Track
So, how do I keep track of the queries/proposals I send out? I started with a Microsoft Access database. Yes, I’m geeky like that. My excuse was that it was the perfect opportunity to learn Access. I’ve muddled through, used the templates, and now have a buggy little database of agents’ names, and the queries I sent them. I have forms and reports for my active queries and the details of each. It takes up time, but I enjoy using it.
I’ve also started using QueryTracker. It’s an online database with agents’ information and ways to keep track of queries and manuscript submissions. QueryTracker has good functionality, even for the free version. The only hitch I’ve encountered is that not all agents are on it, so I still use my database to keep track of those.
