Hello, dreamers. So, this week I passed a major hurdle: I finished my comps research. I have my comps. It’s done.

For better or worse, it took a lot longer than I’d hoped. That means the window to query this year has closed. And that means I’ll be taking part in query season this year.

Query Season

In traditional publishing, “Query Season” begins in January. There are several reasons for this, including the sense of optimism and will to accomplish that comes with a new year. But arguably the biggest reason is the yearly schedule of literary agents.

Literary agents are the gatekeepers of traditional publishing. That means they tend to be very busy people. They can read dozens, even hundreds of queries each year, and have a finite time to pick the ones they believe are marketable. Much of their year is spent passing things back and forth with prospective clients, seeking publishers, and working out book deals. Further, as I’ve mentioned before most agents close to queries several times a year, typically during the summer and around the holidays.

There’s only one period of the year when nearly all active literary agents open to queries: January. By the new year, they’ve cleared their slates, processed all queries from the previous year, and are ready to look at new work with a fresh perspective. Thus, January is the busiest time of year for trad-pub hopefuls. Like me.

One of the biggest reasons I’ve held off on querying to this point has been the timing. Often, come January I’ve been looking at new projects (or finding things about Pioneers I really want to change). By the time I’m ready to query, the time has come and gone. And, to be fair, I’ve wondered whether or not the trenches are right for me.

For the uninitiated, “The Trenches” is the phrase writers seeking trad-pub use for the query process. And for good reason: it’s grueling, it can been disheartening, and like trench warfare it’s a long, slow battle. Agents can take a painfully long time to work their way through their vast and growing stacks of queries. Finding an agent can take hundreds of queries, spanning years.

But at long last, I feel I’m ready. I still have a lot of work to do. I need to make another pass through Pioneers, then write my query letter and synopses. And I have about a month to do it, woven around all the activity the holidays invariably bring. I can do this. I know I can.

Wish me luck, dreamers. – MK