Don't mind me. An entire day of querying Gargoyle Moon has made me go a little nutters. I'm pretty sure I don't have a story, if I do it doesn't have a plot, the characters deserve to die, and the query doesn't even look like words anymore.
Thing is, I'm done with Gargoyle Moon. It's done, it's edited, it has a shrine on my computer made up of tens of folders and hundreds of word documents. GM's had several full and partial requests, a couple near-misses of representation, some small-time blog fame, and one interested big-time agent who loved the name, but did not, unfortunately, love the story. It's done, and I still love it, but I need to move on.
I've been working really hard on two works-in-progress. One of them, Double Trouble, is moving along at record speeds. (Erm, record speeds for me, not for like, Stephen King). And still... and yet... breaking up is hard to do. I'm having trouble burying Gargoyle Moon when it's not even dead yet.
So I devoted today to querying every poor agent who hasn't had the chance yet to reject Gargoyle Moon from their inbox. I want to say in my queries,
"I know the markets flooded with vamps and werewolves and what not, but you don't understand! I've been reading YA fantasy before Twilight, before it was cool! When I was a kid, no one even knew the books I read existed--and now all of 'em are being made into movies, WTH? Every sixteen-year-old girl wants to read this book because it's the YA fantasy I couldn't find on the shelf when I was sixteen. SIGN ME, darnit!
Xoxo,
Crazed Writer"
But I don't. I just send out my little queries and sample chapters, waiting for the instant rejection because it's just another YA creature feature. (That's not entirely fair--I did have an agent who loved it, but was having a tough time selling YA fantasy. Even if she was just being nice, that R made my day.) And sending out these queries is satisfying. It's like, the closure I need. And who knows, maybe one of those responses won't be a rejection.
Anyway, I think there's a good chance I'll be writing Witch's Moon, Gargoyle Moon's sequel this fall or winter. Because you write books that you want to sell, but even more, you write the books you want to read. The ones you read when you were a kid. The one you wish you would have found at the library book sale when you were sixteen.
Xoxo,
Crazed Writer =)
I like this writing blog--I have one too. And you cover the very core topics that I do. It's fun and enlightening to see another point of view. I just find these topics interesting because I want to know all the magic that goes on inside the industry as well. I too, am on the writer's side. Yes, write what you would find wondrous and stimulating. YA fantasy is also my bad, but it sure has a lot of competition out there.
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