An Experiment

I’ve been circling this querying process for a little while.

I’m not unfamiliar with most of it. I’ve attempted writing a query letter (several actually). I’ve researched agents. Ive participated in workshops. I even signed up for the query tracker app.

I have had many thoughts and several conversations about publishing. Both traditional and self and even managed the Amazon KDP thing.

Tradional publishing is a long shot.

Even worse, it feels tedious and time consuming to research agents and fit a query letter to their very specific specifications. I have abandoned my efforts part way in, over and over again for no other reason than sheer intimidation. Blame it on my ADD, I have yet to complete this whole process!

Its very much a maze that I havent figured out yet. Find an agent who is open to picture books who isn’t closed to submissions, who I can find on the app, who accepts emails and attachments, but likely prefers sample spreads pasted in the body of a very limited word count email. My clerical and tech skills are always challenged.

The main warning you hear is: don’t get anything wrong. Prefection shows you did your research. anything less than perfection becomes trash. Agents are very busy and don’t have time to bother with writers who can’t follow directions.

Uh.

Is direction-following in my DNA?

I know people do this. It doesn’t even sound hard…but…well

I decided to attempt some low stakes practice. I wrote a picture book, story boarded it into the right amount of spreads and edited it down to under 600 words.

For whatever reason, throwing the manuscript I spent years working on, to the wolves of what sounds like impossible odds, is harder than floating this one I tossed off in one day.

So here goes nothing. According to research, my story about an octopus who is appreciative and curious has the right arch and the right beginning, middle and ending to fit traditional publishing.

Now lets see if I can follow through and complete the maze…