Not My Strong Suit

I'm not so good at writing about myself.

I get hung up on the formality of it. Especially in the confines of something as important as a query letter. That's right, I'm working on a one-page document that I'll probably agonize over more than anything I've ever written. All 'cause this is my first impression. This is the only shot I get at these agents.

One page. Three paragraphs. That's all I've got to get this right. To snag the right agent's attention. Thank God I know people who are good at marketing, well, anything. I imagine that when I get an offer from a publishing house, I'm going to hire a few of my coworkers to be my publicists. Kid you not - I think some of them could sell anything to anyone.

So as I sit on my computer, going over and over my query while "Idumea" plays on repeat, I just wonder if it's worth it. Sure, I know whenever End Game hits the world and I market it properly, it's gonna get devoured. I know there's little out there like it. That's not me trying to be arrogant. The story God gave me is awesome. The world just doesn't know that yet.

In the past three weeks, two of my closest friends finished all five books of the End Game thread. They both offered resounding enthusiasm on how I chose to end the series. I can't even properly describe how great it is to have feedback from three very different people and to have them all come around and very honestly tell me what they did and didn't like. (An aside, but I do have awesome friends. They're so brutally honest with me that I can't help but trust them when they tell me things like, "I loved your books.")

Despite me literally trying to avoid writing the query (I just don't like how complicated this formula is! I always feel like a robot when I'm writing the third paragraph about myself), I've had nothing but encouragement to push forward. Three customers have asked me what I write and talked with me about what I do outside of work and two of my friends have attacked me - in a good way - about how they feel about my books.

I kind of have no choice.

I'll sleep on my query for tonight. I always see things better with fresh eyes. So tonight I'll continue to slowly chisel away at one of the histories and then tomorrow I'll hack at my query again. Then I'll go to work, talk nonprofit, then I'll go back to hacking at my query. Then I'll write up some website stuff, then I'll go to work, then I'll work some postcard design, then I'll attack my query, then I'll have a day off and apparently go to Asher's so my mom's life is complete.

Happy adventuring everyone!

Currently Writing: 1/8 of Zero Point
Currently Listening to: "Idumea" by the Millikin University Choir