I finished my book in early September, and sent my first query letter to a literary agent the day after I proofread my final chapter. I realize now that this was extremely premature. Although I consider myself a printer-ready writer, I know nothing about the publishing industry and need to do more research before pitching my project any more. I sent queries to about eight agencies, and if I didn't get any requests for my manuscript, I planned to tweak my query letter to make it make irresistible. However, after receiving two form-rejection letters (and assuming the other agencies have passed on my project), I believe I should focus on my manuscript before sending out another round of queries.
I looked up The Atlanta Writers Club and have joined the Buckhead Novel/Fiction Critique Group. It's my first time working in a creative circle (other than as part of a newspaper/magazine), and I'm looking forward to getting the input of other writers on my work. I also hope to offer valuable feedback and support to other writers, despite my novice status as an author. I've also subscribed to Writer's Market and have started reading agent blogs and other industry websites.
The most glaring dilemma my early research has unearthed is how frighteningly well-endowed my manuscript is. There seems to be a wide consensus that a first-time novelist should aim for 100,000 words and max-out at 150,000. My Life As Who currently comes in at a virile 278,000 words, so I have to cut more than almost half of my divine prose in order to make it more marketable. It seems like a blasphemous challenge since I believe every word that I wrote is ESSENTIAL to the story that I'm trying to tell. However, I imagine those agents reading my first-round query letter and trashing my e-mail as soon as they see the massive word count. So that is my most immediate focus: reining in my manuscript.
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