Wait. Don't send a query yet. The manuscript's not been re-written all the way through.Resist the temptation to get those opening pages in front of an agent. Sure, the critique group liked them, but they liked them the last time and not a single agent agreed.
Hold off until you've read every word, looked carefully for errors and little slips in continuity. Don't hit that send key. Don't do it.
Just three agents, that's all, I swear to Jaysus only three agents who want the first few pages in the query. If one of them bites, well, the first three chapters are ready to go in their new and improved condition. How else will I know that I've taken the novel in the right direction?
I know better than to query before the manuscript is finished, but I did it anyway. A test run, to see if I've managed to compose an intriguing hook paragraph and a synopsis that explains the key points of a convoluted comedy.
It's the waiting, that's the problem. Waiting for the agents who are sitting on fulls and partials of another manuscript, and maybe this other novel is the better one to break into the business with. It's all the short story editors who've been thinking about some of my pieces for months and months, going beyond their average time so that I don't know if there's a chance for another publication credit or the paperwork got lost.
I need something, some action, some reaction, some reinforcement. Bless me Father, for I have sinned. I haven't been good, quietly waiting and working on something else like I should. What's the penance? Three agents ignoring my query? Can't I just say three rosaries instead?
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