And they’re off! My first small batch of queries for “Crying Call” are in the agents’ hands. Or at least their Query Managers and emails. Some will look at them soon, and some will look at them a month or more from now. This isn’t my first querying rodeo, so to speak, so I know what’s in store. But it is my first time using the QueryTracker website. Wow. Insightful. Like peeking behind Oz’s curtain. Perhaps more like peeking through Alice’s looking glass.

There will be more query volleys, probably. Only a sudden burst of agent interest from the first volley would change that. It’s an extensive process. A lot of hard work goes into querying, because the writer does a lot of (online) research about agents to pick the right ones. And then we personalize some of the query letters because it increases the chances of being given an honest chance (and also because it’s just good manners). And every agent wants a different bunch of things submitted with their query, such as a certain amount of sample pages, maybe a synopsis, maybe a lot of other assorted information. And we do all these things, over and over again for each query, and it takes a while.

But that’s not what makes querying difficult. It’s not the work that makes it a rough experience. After all, writing novels is a lot of work. Editing is a lot of work, several times over per novel. If large amounts of work on the same project for months or years is a problem, you’ll never make it as a writer.

The hard part about querying is that you put a lot of effort into sending everything as best as you can to an agent, putting your work in front of them in exactly the way they want it with as much painstaking detail as you can … and then you hit “SEND” … all the while knowing that the agent is unlikely to give you an actual chance. They might read your letter and dismiss you immediately, because they aren’t interested in your premise. Or your blurb didn’t titillate them. Or they have another project too similar to it. Or you just caught them when they were distracted or in the wrong mood. They’re human beings, after all.

It’s a numbers game. No matter how good your story is, you have to query a boatload of agents, because the majority of them, through no fault of their own, will just not be able to see your talent for what it is during those brief moments they first encounter it. And that’s a difficult reality to cope with. Having to hope you get a fair chance. All writers have to deal with this at some point. Most writers, as I understand it, never stop having to deal with it.

So deal with it.

In my opinion, what you have to do is see it from the positive, bottom-up perspective. You can always self-publish. There are many advantages and disadvantages to that, and it’s a helluva lot more work if you plan to do it right. But it’s an option. If you really believe in your book, and if you know it belongs out in the Literature Space for the betterment and enjoyment of our dear readers, then it will be so. You’re going to tell your story. You’re going to be an author. In fact, you will surely be someone’s favorite author someday. It is already written.

Feel better? Now for the tough love. Querying is arduous and most querying authors never land an agent let alone get traditionally published.

But it’s free. It costs nothing but your time and effort. And like a lot of other things that require effort, the effort itself improves you. At a minimum, the act of querying will teach you a lot about the industry, which is a Very Good Thing (TM). It puts you out into the space. It makes you an active entity. You’re involved. You start to be noticed. You start to gain respect, even if your work is rejected. As long as you’re honestly doing it the right way, nothing bad can happen to you. Worst case scenario: no agent recognizes your talent, so then you just self-publish.

Just make good art. And then do the query thing the way it’s supposed to be done. And don’t worry about it. Your mental energy is better spent moving on to your next good art.