I recently finished a YA novel, called The Awkward Afterlife of Jeanie McNeal! I have done a lot of editing, and now, let the query process begin!
I have worked extensively on my query, trying to make it perfect, but I'm not sure it will ever be as good as I want it. This is an extremely stressful experience as I completely and totally believe in my work, I think it's a good story, an interesting premise, and that it's unique and pertinent. But how do I convince an agent of those things? How can I use just one page to tell them just what a great book this is?
It paralyzes me, not getting it right, and I keep my query for weeks and weeks, tweeking little words and editing sentences, wondering if it's good enough. But then I saw this: http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/2011/11/notes-from-incoming-query-holding-pen.html
In this post the wonderful Janet Reid talks about the importance of the stories, that it doesn't need to be perfect (even if it would be nice) to get a 'yes.' And so, with that in mind, I'm sending out my queries with more confidence and hope that sometime soon The Awkward Afterlife of Jeanie McNeal finds an agent that is looking for this kind of story.
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