I sent my first query!

Well, I did it! I spent hours poring over my letter, choosing the agent to approach first, checking and re-checking everything until finally.... I clicked "send". I actually had to take a five minute break after drafting the email to calm down before coming back and hitting that send button. It felt like such a momentous occasion.

If you are a writer and have ever crafted a query letter, you know that it is in itself an artform to be learned. You might write draft after draft after draft, and still not get it right. There is a ton of information out there on this subject and several editor's blogs to turn to for tips. I submitted an early draft of my query to two such blogs and had the fortune of making it onto one of them and receiving some excellent feedback. You can read that here (then bookmark the site or follow the blog for future help). [I removed the link to my query after remembering how much of the plot is given away within it!]
The two blogs I read and check most are:

Evil Editor (with frequent updates and plenty of humor)
Query Shark (fewer updates but more direct help- she'll tell you exactly why a letter isn't working)

There are many many more, but these are a great start.

As you are crafting your query letter, you are probably continuing to do whatever you can to polish your manuscript. You almost never feel like it's as good as it could be, or is perfect. And if you are a first-timer like me, you long for reassurance that what you've written is more than just a lot of drivel. So you probably seek out feedback from readers and other writers wherever you can. If you want to ask someone other than your mom (no offense Mom!) how good your book is, you might hop on over to Faithwriters.com where you can join for about $5 a month and take advantage of their critique circle. You give as well as receive critiques on sample chapters, queries, synopses, or other articles/poems you want feedback on. It's a great place to meet other Christian writers. It can be hard to find input that is on-point from a writer that is not a believer. They don't understand the audience you are writing to a lot of times. Faithwriters connects you with the readers you are writing for as well as authors who will give you an honest critique.

So, there you have it. Tomorrow I will post again, so check back often! And let me know if you like what you read. I'd love to hear from you!

Good night!