Throwing my Hat into the Query Ring
Working Title: Dreams come through hard work, perseverance, and facing our fears.
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We are now nearly two weeks into 2024. The good cheer and busy holidays have given way to the quiet stillness of January. Perfect. I wouldn’t have it any other way. The cold days and dark nights have given me the opportunity to think about my career goals from a heart-centered place. I might have a potty mouth and a penchant for raunchy reads, but that doesn’t preclude me from moments of mindfulness. I’m using the quiet to plant karmic seeds that, if carefully tended, should bloom in the coming months and years.
The first thing I’ve realized is that Author Ivy has been neglected as of late. Setting up a coaching business from scratch is work—hard work—but satisfying. On the back end of Book Bound Coaching, mostly everything is finally set. However, from my working desk, I see Rowena looking at me from her place of honor on my bookshelf. She’s young at nineteen—and a smidge impatient.
If you are new to this Substack, you may be asking, who is Rowena again?
Rowena, daughter of Hengest, is the protagonist of my trilogy. Book one, Rowena’s Song, was self-published in August. Book two is outlined and 20K words are written. Book three is, shall we say, a twinkle in my eye.
After a lot of input from my book/marketing coach Becky Grogan of Kaleidoscope Creative, my husband, and my heart, I have decided to land a traditional publishing contract. The first step was pulling Rowena’s Song off of Amazon. Now I’m in a process called querying, in which I will attempt to find an agent who wants to represent me and my writing.
I’ve dreaded querying since I started writing, so much so that I originally self-published. (You can read about that here). But I really and truly did mean it when I wrote that 2024 is the year for romantasy authors to shine their light and take a chance on themselves. I would be doing a disservice to both my book and my coaching clients if I continued making choices out of fear.
No more of that!
Next week, I will put the final polish on my query letter. This will be the sixth revision. I’ve gotten feedback from two other writers and coach Becky. Yes, a query letter is that important. Not only does it need to entice an agent into working with me as a person, but it also needs to hype up Rowena and her journey from quiet people-pleaser to magical powerhouse fueled by the desire to protect everyone she loves from monsters of legend.
I can do this. I will do this. But I’m the first to admit I’m scared. My heart and soul are printed in ink on the pages of Rowena’s Song. Everything from my worldview to the challenges I’ve faced as a member of a messy family inform every one of those 125K words. I flew to Denmark during a pandemic in order to see Rowena’s world firsthand, for goodness sake. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do at this point for the story.
Yet knowing I’m setting myself up to get letters saying, “not good enough”, “hard pass,” or “maybe next time” seems like an exercise in humiliation. Part of me fears my self-esteem isn’t up to the task.
Thank goodness for my husband and my writing coach Becky! Both have reminded me that I have written a book featuring a strong woman at the heart of a complicated family, that the plot is true to the time of 435 AD but it resonates with women who still face the same challenges today, and that there is a good balance of fantasy and slow-burn romance.
Will I pick up an agent after three queries like romantasy’s reigning queen, Sarah J. Maas? I’m not sure. But I do know I will return to self-publishing before receiving 473 rejections like Kate DiCamillo of Because of Winn-Dixie fame.
I know what I want to see grow in 2024. In addition to serving my book coaching clients, I want to see Rowena sold to a press who will publish the novel in hard cover with a pretty dust jacket. I would love a newly designed website that has an entire area for Rowena’s Realm, where readers can go to learn all about the lore and customs of the Anglo-Saxons. In my wildest dreams, Rowena, Brennan, Catigern, Hengest, and Kit will be as familiar to romantasy readers as Feyre, Rhys, Nesta, and the bat boys.
Will those seeds bloom? Only time will tell. A garden require maintenance, but luckily I have a green thumb, patience, and perseverance.