Have you ever been so excited by one of your works-in-progress that you queried before the book was finished? And if you got a request for the full, what did you do?
I haven’t, but I can understand the urge. I’m really excited by the YA I’m working on now, and can’t wait to see how agents respond.
Of course, most of us know this is a complete no-no. That along with calling your work a “fiction novel.” Uh, what other kind of novel would it be?
And while I’m on the subject of queries, do you only share them with your crit group, or post them on other writing sites? I hold everything pretty close to the vest and only share with my trusted group. Same goes for writing excerpts. I know there are sites out there where you can get feedback from other writers, but I’ve never shared with strangers. Of course, complete strangers will read our books eventually…hopefully.
Just curious to hear from other writers on this.
3 comments:
I am paranoid, so I don't usually even go into much detail about what my story is ABOUT, much less share it on a website! I have shared tiny excerpts on my blog before, but that is rare.
I've never queried a book that wasn't finished, though I have been tempted to. Resist!
Hi, Ron! So happy you're digging your new YA - it feels good to get excited by the writing, doesn't it?
When I started blogging I didn't share anything online. But, after querying A LOT, getting really close and then nothing, well, I turned to the online writing community for feedback. I enter everything I can and have gotten incredibly insightful feedback. Now, I only enter reputable contests and such: Miss Snark's First Victim, Query Shark, Evil Editor, #YALitChat, agent contests, etc...
It's absolutely terrifying on every level, BUT, its when you hear feedback from complete strangers, that owe you nothing, that you hear the hard stuff (the stuff that pushes you to become better at the craft, to look hard at your writing...the stuff that hurts like hell).
Speaking of putting stuff out there, I'm entry #48 in Miss Snark's Secret Agent contest...right now. Go on, throw your two cents my way : )
Rebecca, I understand where you're coming from.
Kate, I'll check out your submission on Snark. Good luck!
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