Hello, dreamers. So the first week of my querying mission passed without incident. It’s a small milestone, but a milestone nonetheless. Any rejections within the first week would likely indicate a fatal flaw with my query or novel. So far, so good.

But, as I mentioned over the past few weeks, this time around I can’t just sit around and wait. I’ve established myself publicly as a querying writer. And in today’s writing community, that brings certain responsibilities, and expectations. So this week, I’d like to fill my followers in on the life of a querying writer.

#amquerying

When I first read up on the modern querying process, I was nearing completion on my first novel. As I’ve hinted previously, my research ultimately convinced me not to query with that novel. But among the things I read about was the risks and benefits of establishing oneself as a querying writer on social media.

At the time, there was a lively debate around the subject. Many authors advised against it, advocating for what I’ve dubbed “quiet querying”: send out query letters, just don’t talk about it. The predominant thinking at the time had to do with optics. Authors suggested outing yourself as a querying writer carried serious risks if you didn’t find an agent quickly. As time passed, they contended, agents who checked your Twitter page or other planks of your platform would stop giving you a fair hearing, since clearly a lot of other agents had already passed on your work.

So, while entering my first novel in contests, and later doing the same with Seven Days on Samarkand, I kept quiet. But over time, the calculus has shifted. The rise of pitch events and the growing importance of social media engagement have tipped the scales, to the point where the benefits outweigh the risks (and indeed the risks now seem mostly imagined).

Agents now not only check a querying writer’s feed while evaluating them, but also frequently engage with them online. Being known as a querying writer attracts their attention, and can form relationships that will ease the query process. And as for the risks, well…literary agents aren’t stupid. They’re not going to pass on your query just because other agents have done so. They know their market is both subjective and constantly changing. And they’re eager to discover a powerful new voice other agents ignored.

Even then, I’ll admit I was still hesitant. It takes a lot of guts to proclaim your pursuit of a goal, especially a lofty one. It makes you vulnerable. I’ve seen a lot of querying writers who publicly share their query stats, or even their query timelines, displaying all the no’s they’ve received. And if you ask me, that’s about the bravest thing a writer can do. To step forward and say “I failed this many times”, just to help fellow query hopefuls who might be getting discouraged.

So, the Wednesday before last, after I sent out the last of my first-round queries I went ahead and added the #querying hashtag to my bio on Twitter. I knew from everything I’ve seen over the past year that meant I was publicly committing myself to this. To a pursuit in which there was a very real threat of failure. But I did it anyway.

Now, I’m a querying writer. Over the coming year (at least), I have to grow and maintain my platform. The writing community on Twitter today is vast and diverse. You have your casual writers (“day trippers”, as I call them), still uncertain of where they want to go with their work. You have a smattering of traditionally published writers, and a few more who’ve successfully queried and are now seeking publication with their agent. Indie authors represent a large and growing wing. But in the writing community, the querying writers are the rock stars.

They’re the ones who are doing it. Putting themselves out there, taking the plunge. As readers who’ve seen my posts over the past year could have guessed, query prep is hard work. Networking with fellow writers is a big part of it. When you’re a querying writer, everyone else in the community rallies around you. Whether they’ve already made it or they’re wondering if they ever could, they want to see you do it. To know it can happen. That it’s possible. Because they’ve seen you start with nothing but a blank file and a dream, and now here you are, doing it.

For me, the biggest change has involved my social media presence. The group of writers closest to me has changed; as I’ve been welcomed into the querying ranks I’ve found myself distanced from the small but delightful group of day-trippers and indie authors I’d previously interacted with. I’m immersed in a crowd of ambition and drive, hope and support. After years struggling to work Twitter into my daily writing routine (I still have a daily item on my to-do list app that reads “Post to Twitter”), I’ve found myself hopping on now and then to mingle.

And those new connections have paid off. I’ve begun fielding nightly DMs from other querying writers and hopefuls. Some have reached out to help me refine my query, create new materials to show off my work online, or just remind me I’m not alone. And most importantly, I’ve made new friends. I’ve met some of the many wonderful people going through the same long, grueling, emotional process I am.

It feels good to know I’m not alone.

I know I have a long road ahead of me. More than likely, this process will define my life for the coming year or more. But if I’m going to go through with this, I might as well own it. I’ve come this far. I know I can go a lot further. – MK