On Hold?

If you're only a month into querying and you've already had two fulls requested, I'd say you're doing well! Why do you feel like you should put the novel on hold?

Sounds to me like a decent request rate. But if it were me I would hold off on querying publishers of any sort until all possibility of getting a reputable agent had been explored.

Also, given that the standard "waiting time" is 3 months, those NRs have a time to go before you write them off.

Because I'm evil, I'd say that if you are willing to give up a month into Qing, it's proabably best that you do. If you can't sustain your belief and your passion with this longer than a month, how will you, in all honesty, cope with the months of revisions ahead of you? Are you going to get bored and depressed when your agent gives you a line by line edit to do? How are you going to cope when your editor does the same?

Just a thought.

Two fulls from (by my reckoning) twelve queries? In one month's time? There are plenty of writers in China who would be very glad to have those stats, young lady.

Unless you've received specific feedback that shows your novel is not ready for publication, query on.

You're feeling down with those figures?

*shrugs*

Put your novel on hold and you not only failing, you'll be doing so intentionally. There's never a good reason to put any piece of writing on hold. Ever.

elindson said:

so i am 4 weeks into querying and ive gotten 2 fulls, 9 rejections and 3 no responses, and 1 offer from an epub. now im starting to think i should put my novel on hold. not sure why but it feels like i should. anyone else have this problem? i am expecting the agent with the full to say no next week, and the epub im not too happy about.

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Why do you expect the agent to say no?

elindson said:

for one i expect the agent to say no because i accidentally sent an old version. i got a new computer and all data wasnt trasferred right. i emailed with the new version but have had no response. so i expect a rejection aminly because she has an unedited version.

im not talking about giving up on writing. i read that per every 10 queries you should get 3 requests. im not hitting that. im only talking on hold until...idk. whenever i post my work in syw i get some good but some bad feedback. to me the bad outways the good so thats a problem. i guess just on hold until my writing gets stronger although i think its good but doesnt everyone? i guess my prob is i dont want to exhaust all agents with poor writing. how do you know when your writing is good?

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Elindson,

If you are getting consistently critical feedback, then maybe instead of putting it on hold, you should revise.

In my experience, if you know your writing needs work deep down inside, then it needs work.

So, you decide - but no one here can tell you whether to keep querying or not. And no one should. If you think the book needs work, it probably needs work. So, do the work to make it ready. That's my advice.

~suki

I don't know where you read that 3 request out of 10 nonsense, but there is no good statistic when it comes to querying. There are just too many variables at play to put any faith in a 3/10 request rate.

If you truly believe that the manuscript is flawed and that it isn't your very best writing, then put it aside and work on something new. If you're just feeling insecure because you aren't meeting some made-up request ratio, well...that's something you need to work out for yourself.

A lot of folks query projects before they're truly ready, and you're the only person who can decide if that's the case.

It sounds like you may just be having a bout of insecurity. Everyone feels that way about their own writing, sometimes. I say keep up the querying and see what happens.

Elindson,

Please, pretty please, do not put anything on hold. Comparatively, you have done very well thus far. Just keep trudging ahead. Just do it, and get to work on something else while you wait. It's going to be okay. Patience is a virtue, especially in the writing business.

Wow- it sounds like you're doing very very well!

Mm.. and like everyone else, I think you shouldn't put it on hold.

Good luck!

Second guessing yourself is to be expected...

it will happen as you query for an agent - as your agent helps you with revisions - when your agent has your ms and/or proposal on submission - when your book is bought - when your editor is working with you on revisions - when your book is release - when you start querying your second book.

See? It's part of the process. We ALL go through this - self-doubt - are we really good enough - will my book sell.\

These are the times when you log onto AW, and comiserate with other writers who are going through similar, if not exact, emotions. These are the times when others will talk you down off a wall, hold your hand, or kick your butt.

Thank GOD I found AW - or else I would have given into my own self-doubt last year.

Good luck - and take a few minutes to ENJOY those great statistics on getting so many request in such a short period of time.

Hugs,
ST