Episode 8 | FULL MANUSCRIPT REQUEST + Final Batch of Queries
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- ΠΠΏΡΠ±Π»ΠΈΠΊΠΎΠ²Π°Π½ΠΎ: 13 ΡΠ΅Π½ 2024
- π Welcome back to my writing journey! π
In this video, I share the ups and downs of my querying journey for my completed epic fantasy novel. Join me as I discuss my experiences, statistics, and send out a final batch of queries before diving into my new historical fantasy romance project inspired by "Scarborough Fair" and "The Elfin Knight."
π In this episode:
My querying statistics: How long I've been querying, number of queries sent, and rejections received
Sharing responses from agents and my thoughts on them
Discussing the frustrations, expectations, and personal feelings about the querying process
Sending out a final batch of queries
Preview of my new project and what's to come in the following episodes
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π¬ Join the conversation:
Have you gone through the querying process? Share your experiences in the comments!
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π Check out the synopsis of my finished novel and get updates on my writing progress: alinadampt.com...
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π¨βπ©βπ§βπ¦ A little about me:
I'm a 30-year-old mom of four balancing homemaker life with my dream of becoming a published author. I write with my husband, play the harp and piano, and have a background in ballet. Join me on this exciting journey!
π Relevant hashtags:
#WritingVlog #AuthorTube #WritingCommunity #QueryingJourney #ScarboroughFair #ElfinKnight #EpicFantasy #HistoricalFantasy #WritingJourney #NovelWriting #MomLife #WritingTips #WritingGoals
Series are easier to sell, and authors are encouraged to write them
Iβm in the same boat. Wrote an epic fantasy series as a debut but on the flip side 85% of fantasy books are series. Itβs a tenant of the genre. Wishing you the best of luck on your querying journey. I anticipate possibly having to self publish or writing a standalone to enter the traditional publishing world.
Thank you so much. I'm looking at both of those options as well. Hoping you find success with your epic fantasy series!
Honestly over time, Iβve realized the bar is quite low, not high, for literary agents because of how many horrible or boring stories/plot lines/characters there are out there. On top of this, how many bad amateur writers there are, and Iβm one of them. I just started writing but have been doing it full time this entire year. Though I am concerned about that aspect of my book, it does help me sleep at night knowing most stories in that slush pile are awful, and so I at least have that going for me. At the worst, I can always just hire a bunch of line editors to shape up my prose. I think what authors need to do is first look for an iconic story, one that will take off light twilight, hunger games, or Percy Jackson. One thatβs original, missing from the market. Then, and only then, proceed to dive down the rabbit hole.
After watching half of this video, itβs easy to see the issue with your book is that itβs not very marketable and you didnβt keep in mind marketability when you initially wrote it. Harry Potter is marketable, twilight is marketable, hunger games, Percy Jackson. You probably wrote an epic fantasy that was so βhigh fantasyβ that itβs too high, itβs too βout thereβ and not βiconicβ if that makes sense. Since this is non-starter criticism, as in feedback that doesnβt help you change anything, the literary agents have no negative feedback to say other than βnot marketableβ or βnot what Iβm looking forβ. For your next book, rather than writing something too complex, remember why certain iconic movies and books are iconic and analyze what makes them iconic
This being said, Iβve never read your book. I donβt even know its title. Iβm sure itβs good, at least it sounds like it. And so, if you think about a crazy βout thereβ high concept fantasy like lord of the rings, Iβm sure at first glance it was a hard pill to swallow and didnβt seem marketable. So, I would take the literary agents advice, and remember that there may be agents out there that do know why or how it could be marketable. I hope this feedback actually helped, unlike the agents feedback π
What makes something marketable isnβt always apparent at the query stage. Harry Potter was rejected dozens of times before it got picked up and even then the publisher likely had no idea it was going to be a massive success. Books are art and art is incredibly subjective. Debuting with a series is a tough sell because the publishing houses have no idea if your first book is going to sell well and they may be under contract for more books by an author who isnβt selling well. It doesnβt mean they never pick up series from debut authorsβ¦it just means the idea needs to be incredibly strong to get any attention at all.
Its easy to tell another author βwell just make your book more marketableβ and then cite runaway best sellers as your examples. The reality is very few books hit the numbers that Harry Potter hit. Itβs like catching lightning in a bottle. This writer has very realistic expectations and clearly has done the research into the current state publishing.
Also the examples you have arenβt high fantasy. High fantasy is set in a wholly original world with no connection to our own. Your examples would be considered low fantasy because they are connected to our world or are very similar.
High fantasy is Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time or Game of Thrones.
Harry Potter starts his story in the UK.