On The Table Read, “the best creativity magazine in the UK“, author of The Strangled Servant and The Poisoned Clergymen, E.L. Johnson, writes how querying is tough. Here’s why you shouldn’t give up.

Written by E.L. Johnson

https://eljohnsonstories.weebly.com/

Querying

It can be incredibly demoralising for a writer to go through the querying process.

You have to:

• draft a cover letter and make sure it’s witty, smart, personable and specifically tailored for whomever you’re pitching it to
• perfect a synopsis and have a short and long version ready to go based on submission requirements
• most importantly, your book (whether it’s a poems, a picture book, non-fiction or novel/novella) should be complete, polished, edited and made beautiful to within an inch of its life.

You should have gone through multiple revisions of it, torn it apart in terms of characters, plot, motivations, stakes, and revised it so much you’re sick in the face at the prospect of reviewing it again. And then once you do that, you’re ready to query.

Some authors magically query very few times and get picked up. Other authors can query hundreds of times and strike out every time. It hurts, it sucks, it’s and it can be incredibly painful to spend your time pitching your story only to see it get rejected time and again. If it makes you feel better, I once got rejected within about five minutes of sending a query out. When it’s right, it’s right, but when it’s wrong, it’s so very wrong.

Be strategic. Do your research.

This is literally how I got my book deal. For months, I spent every Friday night consulting the 2020 Writers and Artists’ Yearbook, which spelled out what publisher and literary house was looking for which genres, and how to contact them. I dog-eared pages in that book, made notes, and created a spreadsheet for agents and publishers along with their submission requirements. Saturdays I spent writing, revising and polishing my novel. Sundays I spent hours checking out these industry professionals I’d identified on Friday. Sometimes they were open to submissions and looked amazing, other times I could tell it was a long shot and they probably weren’t right for me. But you don’t get anywhere if you don’t try, so that’s what I did.

For my Georgian-era historical mystery novel, The Strangled Servant, I queried it 87 times. Out of those, 5 industry professionals asked to see my full book, which was ultimately rejected. Two said they’d be happy to look at future work. Thirty-seven sent me rejections, and 45 never responded to my query.

I’ve had agents reject me within five minutes, an hour, six months, and even a year later. Don’t hold your breath and expect to hear from the publisher, editor or agent right away. Instead, keep polishing, perfecting and querying your story. And write your next one. There’s always a next one.

Don’t write to trends.

Don’t write a novel loosely based on or similar to a big film/tv series out right now. Even if more books come out in the same vein and are all doing well. The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Maze Runner series are all examples of this. They’re excellent stories that made it big. But it’s worth remembering that the books that are getting made into tv and movies were written years ago.

Their authors queried just like you, went into the slush pile, and were picked up. Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton was first published in 2000. Twenty years later it became a big hit on Netflix. The chances are that the next big book series trend to reach the big screen have already been written or are being written right now. It’s up to you to write the next one, so make it original.

Write the story that’s inside you, dying to get out. Write the story that’s making your fingertips itch to type up that page.

Part of it is down to luck, and having your story reach that agent, editor or publisher at the right time. But another part of it is not giving up and continuing to query. Make your own luck.

There are unicorns out there, the writers who write an amazing book the first time around that becomes an overnight success, an instant bestseller. They get the book deal, the huge advance, the tv series, the film deal. Those are unicorns. But remember that while those will exist, you are not the exception. Like me, you are probably the rule, and for us the going is tough. That’s why you keep at it.

Believe in your novel. Never give up, never surrender. Only you can fight for your characters and bring their story to life. Once you shut the cover on that opportunity, you’ve limited yourself from that. You won’t get that job if you don’t apply, and while our stories are passion projects, they are also marketable products. Think like that.

I was incredibly lucky in my querying process, but it can literally take years of querying. So don’t give up. All it takes is one yes.

Find more from E.L. Johnson now:

E.L. Johnson is a historical mystery writer. Her novel, The Poisoned Clergyman, is out for pre-order and comes out 24 June. You can follow her exploits on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Follow me on goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18090432.E_L_Johnson

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/e-l-johnson

My website: https://eljohnsonstories.weebly.com/

And catch my latest writing escapades on my blog: https://eljohnsonstories.weebly.com/eljohnsonblog

My amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/E-L-Johnson/e/B019M4GDU0/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1

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Written by Julia Vaughan

Daisy Chain

There’s no right or wrong way to write a novel. If you manage to get across the finish line with the words The End emblazoned on the page, then well done. But there is a truth and it is this.

You Actually Have To Write It

I’ve been writing novels in my head for over thirty years. Did you get that? In. My. Head.

Scribbled ideas on notepads and scraps of paper, a chapter started with good intentions. Been there. Done that. Got nowhere. Short stories? Lots of ‘em. Been published? Sure. Competitions? Had the odd success.

But an actual manuscript of 70,000 plus words? It remained a fantasy in my head. Until 2020. The year of Lockdown, stress, anxiety, fear. But, in amongst all that, I wrote a novel.

Starting To Write

It wasn’t something I had planned to do. I work as a medical secretary in the NHS and was redeployed to another service as lockdown hit. As my new colleagues got to know me, I mentioned my writing (I had recently come 3^rd in a competition and had been published in a booklet).

‘Can we read it?’ they asked.

‘Of course,’ my ego replied.

When they had finished reading, they all said ‘What happens next?’

‘There is no next. It’s a short story.’

‘But we want to know what happens to the detective. You need to write more. Have you thought of turning it into a book?’

Of course I hadn’t. Why would I? But then my creative brain went into overdrive. I had started (naturally) a novel some twenty years earlier – a few main characters and  a rough plot down on paper. I started to think that I could incorporate what had happened in the story into what I had already written. It gave an interesting twist and another layer to the story. And so the process began.

My new team were extremely supportive. Five months later I went back to the day job with a finished manuscript under my belt. The best news was, it wasn’t complete rubbish.

Getting The Fire In My Belly

Many people have asked me why I didn’t do it sooner. Basically, it’s all timing. All the planets aligned last year to create the environment for me to do it. If I hadn’t been sent to help out, I would not have met the people I did…blah, blah. You get the idea. But it’s true. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve always had support from family and friends with my writing. This time felt very different. There was urgency and desire and fire in my belly.

A huge stumbling block for me in the past had been self-doubt. The enormity of the task of actually plotting a story and characters and sustaining the readability factor was daunting. I would get so overwhelmed that I managed, fairly easily, to convince myself I couldn’t do it. Plus ,I confess, I’m a lazy writer. Discipline is something I’ve also struggled with over the years. And there was always that fact of ‘There’s so many books out there … it’s not original’ etc. But this time I started to enjoy and believe.

You can read all the How To Write A Novel books out there but at the end of the day, you have to find what works for you. Some start at Chapter One and just keep going. Some start at the end and work their way forwards. I completed an English and Literary Studies degree as a mature student and I reasoned that, with all the essays I’d written plus a 10,000 word dissertation, I had probably written half a novel in word count terms.

Suddenly, writing a novel seemed possible.

Writing A Novel

My own writing routine could be described as quirky. I write longhand, standing up in my utility room, notepad resting on the washing machine and with coffee and cigarettes to hand. I realised that, for me, starting at The Beginning was not for me, so I looked for a way that made it easier. I had the main characters, the plot, the crime and so I proceeded to write scenes. I didn’t know where they would appear in the finished book.

By writing as the inspiration came – a line of dialogue, a location – I was able to capture that excitement of getting the scene down on paper. Once I’d got about a third of the way through the book, I did start writing in a linear fashion. I type up as I go along and that allows me to edit.

Another trick for me is that I write as if I’m watching my story unfold as a TV drama. The story needs light and shade, humour and pathos, moments of stillness counterbalanced by action. The feedback from readers is that I’m getting it right.

Finishing My Book

The book was finished and edited but who to pitch it to? I’ve subscribed to Writing Magazine for years and it was within the pages that I found suitable publishers who were interested in crime fiction. Another obvious truth coming up – be prepared for rejection.

The first three publishers I tried were supportive but felt it wasn’t quite right for them. Okay. My fourth attempt went off to Cahill Davis Publishing.

Three weeks later, I got the email saying they loved it and wanted to publish. Then the hard work began. I had no idea that writing over 70,000 words would be the easy part. From the signing of my contract in February 2021 the release date was set for August 16^th 2021. I had a hand in designing the cover (the team have done a fabulous job) and I had to come up with the ‘blurb’ on the back cover, teasing the reader to buy. Another big learning curve to encapsulate all those words into a few paragraphs.

It’s all been valuable experience for writing Book Two in the series, which is finished.

So…erm… I think I just might be a writer.

Find more from Julia Vaughan:

https://www.cahilldavispublishing.co.uk/authors/juliavaughan

Twitter – www.twitter.com/JuliaVaughan_37

Publisher’s twitter www.twitter.com/publishingdavis

Donate to support The Table Read
We strive to keep The Table Read free for both our readers and our contributors. If you have enjoyed our work, please consider donating to help keep The Table Read going!