Is the Query Dead?
So said a literary consultant at a bookfest I attended: "The query is dead."
The query has been my friend (or enemy depending upon how you look at it) for many years. Granted, its chances 0f succeeding hovers somewhere between slim and none, but then again, J. A. Konrath was discovered through the query after hundreds and hundreds of rejections, and look at him now.
The business of becoming a published author is more difficult than it has ever been before. The big five houses don't desire to take a chance on unproven talent, and the readers don't read as much as they used to. Readership is down, publications are down, and the number of creative writers is up. What's a writer to do?
I don't believe the query is dead. It is, however, limping and hobbling. Some success stories still rise from the ashes of the query method. Fewer now than before, but they are still there. Self-publishing puts out a few success stories as well. Just look at Christopher Paolini and his book Eragon. He self-published, marketed the heck out of it, got lucky, landed a traditional house after the success of his self-published work got noticed, and now has a major motion picture based on that novel.
Two key factors in every success story, however, is this. First, they market the heck out of it; and second, they got lucky.
Perhaps you need to hit the small press first. Perhaps you'll catch an agent and hook on to a larger house. Maybe you need to self-publish. Or even a joint venture with a distributor may be the ticket. Regardless of how you get there, you need to be lucky, and once published you will need to market the heck out of your work. That's all fine and dandy, but how are you supposed to get to that point?
Todd Uebele, a fellow writer, said to me that for him the key was networking.
Networking.
Wow, why didn't I think of that? Thankfully, I have this habit of going to book signings. I search them out. I talk to the writers, getting to know them. You may ask, "What good is that? Writers don't get you published. Publishers and agents do."
Knowing writers gets your name in the loop, and you just never know what will pop up for you.
I am a veteran of the United States Navy. I served proudly. No, I did not see any wartime. I suppose you can call me a peacetime veteran, or at least that's how Veteran's Affairs categorizes me. Still, as one marine so graciously told me once in a comment on my Political Pistachio site, it doesn't matter what was going on at that time. The fact is, I was in the military willing and ready to serve my country if needed. At one particular book signing I went to, where I went to meet Gary W. Moore who is the author of Playing with the Enemy, and Jeff Edwards, who is the author of Torpedo, an unexpected opportunity arose. Jeff's wife is vice president of the Military Writers Society of America. They took to me, liked me, and asked me to join. I was flattered, and recognized it for what it was: A huge opportunity to network.
The query isn't dead, my friend. A little CPR from networking, however, will bring your journey to publication back to life.
After years of darkness, you can feel your dreams within reach. I know that the odds are against you. All writers recognize that the road is a narrow one. But the dream is what keeps you writing. Failure is only the prelude to success for those that keep pushing, keep writing, and keep networking. Someday you will hopefully be like Stephen King and his wife Tabitha, standing in their living room in each others arms, crying after that first phone call that told them that Carrie was going to be published, and with a good size advance.
Or as my wife has said, don't be like Stephen King. Be like yourself, standing in your living room, arms around your loved ones, hopping around in a circle, crying profusely, because that first book finally made it.
And don't forget how huge attending events such as writers conferences can be. I have attended the La Jolla Writers Conference in San Diego, Ca, and I must say that it was one of the best learning experiences of my life. And it was amazing how much other writers, and other people in the business, for that matter, want to help. The citizens of the writing industry are the most giving people you will ever meet. Take advantage of it.
Never quit. Keep writing. Know the industry. Learn the business.
A Professional is an Amateur who didn't quit.
See you on the other side, my friends.
The query has been my friend (or enemy depending upon how you look at it) for many years. Granted, its chances 0f succeeding hovers somewhere between slim and none, but then again, J. A. Konrath was discovered through the query after hundreds and hundreds of rejections, and look at him now.
The business of becoming a published author is more difficult than it has ever been before. The big five houses don't desire to take a chance on unproven talent, and the readers don't read as much as they used to. Readership is down, publications are down, and the number of creative writers is up. What's a writer to do?
I don't believe the query is dead. It is, however, limping and hobbling. Some success stories still rise from the ashes of the query method. Fewer now than before, but they are still there. Self-publishing puts out a few success stories as well. Just look at Christopher Paolini and his book Eragon. He self-published, marketed the heck out of it, got lucky, landed a traditional house after the success of his self-published work got noticed, and now has a major motion picture based on that novel.
Two key factors in every success story, however, is this. First, they market the heck out of it; and second, they got lucky.
Perhaps you need to hit the small press first. Perhaps you'll catch an agent and hook on to a larger house. Maybe you need to self-publish. Or even a joint venture with a distributor may be the ticket. Regardless of how you get there, you need to be lucky, and once published you will need to market the heck out of your work. That's all fine and dandy, but how are you supposed to get to that point?
Todd Uebele, a fellow writer, said to me that for him the key was networking.
Networking.
Wow, why didn't I think of that? Thankfully, I have this habit of going to book signings. I search them out. I talk to the writers, getting to know them. You may ask, "What good is that? Writers don't get you published. Publishers and agents do."
Knowing writers gets your name in the loop, and you just never know what will pop up for you.
I am a veteran of the United States Navy. I served proudly. No, I did not see any wartime. I suppose you can call me a peacetime veteran, or at least that's how Veteran's Affairs categorizes me. Still, as one marine so graciously told me once in a comment on my Political Pistachio site, it doesn't matter what was going on at that time. The fact is, I was in the military willing and ready to serve my country if needed. At one particular book signing I went to, where I went to meet Gary W. Moore who is the author of Playing with the Enemy, and Jeff Edwards, who is the author of Torpedo, an unexpected opportunity arose. Jeff's wife is vice president of the Military Writers Society of America. They took to me, liked me, and asked me to join. I was flattered, and recognized it for what it was: A huge opportunity to network.
The query isn't dead, my friend. A little CPR from networking, however, will bring your journey to publication back to life.
After years of darkness, you can feel your dreams within reach. I know that the odds are against you. All writers recognize that the road is a narrow one. But the dream is what keeps you writing. Failure is only the prelude to success for those that keep pushing, keep writing, and keep networking. Someday you will hopefully be like Stephen King and his wife Tabitha, standing in their living room in each others arms, crying after that first phone call that told them that Carrie was going to be published, and with a good size advance.
Or as my wife has said, don't be like Stephen King. Be like yourself, standing in your living room, arms around your loved ones, hopping around in a circle, crying profusely, because that first book finally made it.
And don't forget how huge attending events such as writers conferences can be. I have attended the La Jolla Writers Conference in San Diego, Ca, and I must say that it was one of the best learning experiences of my life. And it was amazing how much other writers, and other people in the business, for that matter, want to help. The citizens of the writing industry are the most giving people you will ever meet. Take advantage of it.
Never quit. Keep writing. Know the industry. Learn the business.
A Professional is an Amateur who didn't quit.
See you on the other side, my friends.
