PitMad and an Update from the Query Trenches (Otherwise Known as Rejection Report #1)

Metal-lined trench winding among tree trunks
WW1 Trenches at Hill 62 from Wikipedia (used under GNU Free Documentation License)

While working my way through the June posts in the IWSG Blog Hop, I found a wonderful post on Emma Louise Gill’s blog, in which she summarizes her querying experiences so far. I just started querying last month, and I found her post both encouraging and informative. Oh, and inspirational, in that it inspired me to post my own (much shorter and less eventful) query update here. I’ll try to make it a monthly tradition, so you can share my pain vicariously.

I’m currently querying Vanishing, Inc., a time travel romance in which Alex Collins flees to a tiny town in the Arizona mountains to escape an abuser. There she finds a home, a community–and a time portal in her basement. Or, as I pitched it on Twitter for PitMad last week:

DON’T TELL+HOME AT CHESTNUT CREEK+OUTLANDER

Hiding from an abusive ex in a tiny AZ mountain town, Alex finds a time portal and falls in love with a widower from 1910. When her ex finds her, she must choose: run again or face the man who wants her dead.

#A#RS#TT#FWC#PitMad

How did it go? Not so well. The only “like” I received from an industry professional was from an editor at an indie publisher with an unusual business model. After doing a little research, I chose not to follow up with her and to continue querying agents the old-fashioned way.

Which brings me to the query update. I sent my first batch of queries on May 9, and I’ve queried 7 agents total (which sounds low – I could swear I’ve queried more than that, but Query Tracker doesn’t lie). Results so far:

  • 3 form rejections (at 1, 2, and 18 days)
  • 4 queries outstanding (oldest 28 days, newest 14 days)

This report is much less interesting than Emma’s, but she’s been in the query trenches since January. And I need to get busy sending more queries.

Anyone have any good querying or PitMad stories to tell? Drop ’em in the comments. I’ll gladly celebrate/commiserate with you.

And if you want to learn more about PitMad (the next one’s in September), check out my last post.

4 Comments

  • Emma Gill

    Well done on your first queries! Pressing that Send button is so hard, but doing it in batches is a good idea. I’m glad my post was inspiring, and lots of luck for your own querying. Rejections suck, but each one is a step towards the right place for your book (which sounds great, btw). I look forward to hearing how you go 🙂

    • Janet Alcorn

      Thanks! And yeah, sending the first few was really hard. But it also felt really good to take the next step with my project.

  • Lidy

    Congrats on querying. It’s both a bit scary and exciting to take the querying plunge. Good luck with your future queries!

    • Janet Alcorn

      Thanks! (and sorry to reply so late – this one slipped in under my radar) Scary and exciting are definitely the right words.