The Kind List: The Waiting Game
No, YOU're checking your emails every five minutes
The Kind List is a feature for paid subscribers - a monthly feature which will go to paid subscribers every first Tuesday of the month with curated recommendations on ethical living - beauty, fashion, things to read and watch, petitions to sign, and more.
So, at the end of January I started sending my novel out to literary agents.
Or “querying”, as it is for some reason called. Basically, what I do every evening these days is scour the web for a literary agent who might be in the market for a lit-fic debut delving into with living in London as an EU migrant, creative careers, and the concept of home. And then I bombard them with my highly professional (well…) query letter, my thoroughly crafted synopsis (writing that damn thing is one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done) and my way-too-long sample.
And then, the waiting begins.
Unlike many other writers, I love the querying process. It’s like job hunting - I love refreshing my email, even on a Sunday, each time with fresh new hopes of a response. It’s like the good old days of having a crush: has he texted? Every day there’s a chance that a literary agent might like my book! I even enjoy the rejections. In some weird way, it feels like each no is bringing me closer to the yes.
Some of you (especially those of you with book deals) will sneer at this. Don’t I know how competitive the market is? Don’t I realise that agents are inundated with hundreds of manuscripts every day? Have I not considered the fact that this is my first novel, and as such, it probably isn’t very good?
Well, yes. I am aware of all of that. But if I didn’t enjoy every step of the way, I would not be doing this. You might as well shoot for the stars, right? I don’t have very high expectations and I embrace rejection: my only goal here is to improve, grow, get better. But I’ll be damned if I don’t give this my best shot. And also, I’ve been through this before - and it worked out!
Needless to say, I do have a plan B for the likely event that no agents will like my book. But until then, I will keep doing the send-outs, and keep enthusiastically checking my emails, collecting my rejections, and re-igniting that little spark of hope that gave me my first book deal.
Next week I am taking a break from querying to jet off to Rome - on a girls’ trip with one of my dearest friends! I can’t wait. But what it also means that I’ll be taking a break from this Substack for the next two Fridays. A little breather to recharge my creative batteries (and eat my weight in vegan carbonara).
But for now, here are this month’s recommendations: