How I Am Distracting Myself From the Querying Process (And Whether or Not It's Working)
QueryTracker should have never been invented!
Hello! The month of January is wrapping up, and I am still deep in the querying trenches. But instead of wearing a helmet covered in sticks and smearing mud on my face, I want to be the opposite of camouflaged. (I don’t know how real trenches work.) Querying, or sending a manuscript out to literary agents, is a slow, grueling, humbling, frustrating, and maybe one day rewarding progress.
Here is how I’m distracting myself as I wait for rejections full requests.
Checking QueryTracker
For those unfamiliar with the querying process, most of it happens through a software called QueryManager. For a small fee, you can upgrade and access QueryTracker, in which you can literally see how many queries an agent has received, and whether or not they have responded to them, in order. This is not a feature that should have seen the light of day. It’s like read receipts on professional emails. I told myself at the beginning of the year that I would not buy QueryTracker, and here I am, checking it every day. Thumbs down, self-control!
Verdict: Not Helpful!
Watching Camp Movies and Writing My Next Murder Mystery
I have given myself the very silly deadline of June 21 to put together my next murder mystery, because I want to have a big blow-out three-day birthday party/fundraiser/murder mystery extravaganza with three separate parties. (More on my plate? Why not?) For inspiration, I decided to watch Wet Hot American Summer for the first time. The next day, I watched it again. How had I never seen this movie before? It is so stupid. I love it!
Verdict: Helpful!
Thinking About Self-Publishing
I am querying agents in the hope of being represented. Agent representation is the first step toward pursuing traditional publishing (for the most part). But what if I said, screw this all, I’m publishing myself?
Not helpful! I haven’t heard back from a lot of the agents I’ve reached out, and dedicating my time and energy toward self-publishing won’t be productive until I’ve made the decision to do it. Better to distract myself rather than devise my plan B…I think.
Verdict: Not Helpful!
Climbing
Metaphors write themselves when you are climbing. Every time I get one hold further on a route, or flash a 5.11, or fail to send a 5.10, I see how the journey toward success is a slow, steady, chalky process. That last sentence might as well have been another language, and that’s the way climbers like it. I feel supported by the climbing community at Crux in Austin, and even if none of them know what I do for a living, that support carries over into every area of my life.
Verdict: Helpful!
Reading
Comparison is the thief of joy, but fortunately, I stop myself before trying to compare my work to the work of Pulitzer-prize finalist Daniel Mason. I am currently reading North Woods and although skeptic, I believe I’m going to enjoy it. It is hard not to let my mind wander to the publishing details at the front of the book or look for an author’s agent while I’m reading, but I guess the best books are escapes. And I am happy to escape to a cabin in Massachusetts if that means I don’t have access to QueryTracker.
Verdict: Not Very Helpful, But I’m Going to Keep Doing It!
For those who have queried or waited to hear back about a job or have an ounce more patience than I do (most), how do you distract yourself?