Finishing Drafts & Query Letters
I recently finished the fourth draft of my current project, and this is it. This is the one that I start querying with--and I wrote up my query letter last night, so... this is it.
This is not my first time querying and I know it won't be my last, but the anticipation of sending out a query letter is so much more than the anticipation of submitting short stories to magazines. Maybe it's because I've done so much more of the latter that it just seems like nothing now; I've only ever attempted to query one other manuscript, ever. So while this isn't one hundred percent new to me, it's not exactly a practiced art at this point.
Finishing a draft is always exciting, though. The second draft is always the most exciting to me, because when I write, that's where it really starts to take shape. My first drafts are glorified outlines. My second drafts are where the meat really piles on; I completely rewrite, with an outline taken from my first draft as guideposts. Anything after that isn't completely rewritten (though, in the case of this fourth draft, may be completely retyped). But finishing this fourth draft was exciting.
This project is one that I think is the best thing I've ever written, mostly because it's the most character-driven thing I've ever written. I feel like these kids have really grown into their own, and that feels good. Maybe that's why querying it feels so nerve-wracking. When I write short stories, the care factor is way down as compared to when I write novels.
But we'll see where it goes.
This is not my first time querying and I know it won't be my last, but the anticipation of sending out a query letter is so much more than the anticipation of submitting short stories to magazines. Maybe it's because I've done so much more of the latter that it just seems like nothing now; I've only ever attempted to query one other manuscript, ever. So while this isn't one hundred percent new to me, it's not exactly a practiced art at this point.
Finishing a draft is always exciting, though. The second draft is always the most exciting to me, because when I write, that's where it really starts to take shape. My first drafts are glorified outlines. My second drafts are where the meat really piles on; I completely rewrite, with an outline taken from my first draft as guideposts. Anything after that isn't completely rewritten (though, in the case of this fourth draft, may be completely retyped). But finishing this fourth draft was exciting.
This project is one that I think is the best thing I've ever written, mostly because it's the most character-driven thing I've ever written. I feel like these kids have really grown into their own, and that feels good. Maybe that's why querying it feels so nerve-wracking. When I write short stories, the care factor is way down as compared to when I write novels.
But we'll see where it goes.
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