Back in the Saddle Again: Querying Literary Agents, Round 2, and Writing Novel #2

All I can think of is that scene in Sleepless in Seattle: Tom Hanks summons up all his manly courage to call a woman and ask her out on what’ll be his first date in quite awhile, as the old-timey song “Back in the Saddle Again” plays jauntily in the background.

Because, that’s about to be me. I’m getting back in the saddle again, continuing my quest to find my perfect literary match.

Yep, that’s right! I’m going back for Round 2 of querying literary agents for Novel #1.

But, this time, I’m armed for battle.

Thanks to some lovely little things called “social distancing” and “self-quarantine,” my job has been letting me work remotely since the middle of March…AND I’M LOVING EVERY FREAKIN’ MINUTE OF IT. While I get the occasional pang to see friends or leisurely browse the aisles of my local Target, I can’t pretend to be sad about the fact that my daily commute has gone from 3 hours to 3 seconds.

Needless to say, I’ve been given the gift of TIME, my friends, and I’ve been using it wisely. Last we checked in, I’d pumped the brakes on writing Novel #2 because I wanted to focus on revising Novel #1. And focus, I have — I’ve recently completed my 7th (!!!!!) round of revisions on that manuscript.

Sound like a lot? Mmm, yeah, to me, too. However, based on the writing research I’ve done over the past few months, having even a dozen drafts of one story is pretty par for the course.

So, Novel #1 is out with a few beta readers for feedback, which will hopefully be glowing, and then I’m going to begin Round 2 of querying literary agents. *headdesk*

I’ve tweaked my query letter to the point where I think it can be tweaked no more, and I’ve also done in-depth research about which literary agents I should query this time around. Since Novel #1 is historical fiction — specifically, a retelling — I’m narrowing my focus to agents who really love that genre and subgenre.

I’m ready to go! So, wish me luck, Tartlets, and let’s hope that the 7th time’s a charm.

To take the edge off of querying agents — and waiting to hear back from them – I’m using the remaining summer months to write Novel #2.

If you’ve been following along with me on Instagram or Facebook, you’ll see I’m taking part in the “A Summer In Writing” challenge, where I chat about my WIP, or “Work In Progress” for this summer, posting a photo and related blurb each day throughout July. The challenge gives you a topic to post about each day; most are related to your WIP, but sometimes the topics are just about writing in general.

Although I usually avoid challenges like the plague, I’m pretty darn psyched about this one. It’s really helped motivate me to work on Novel #2.

Which, I should tell you, has a working title now: Desserted.  *jazz hands*

In case you’re not following me on IG or Facebook (which you should be. C’mon. Pretty please??), here’s the mini-synopsis I posted about Desserted:

“When Hazel’s suddenly dumped by the boyfriend she thought was The One, she finds solace in dreaming up and baking decadent desserts for a newly opened dessert bar in town. The more time she spends in the kitchen, the closer she grows to the charming, attractive owner, who’s recovering from a heartbreak of his own. As their friendship grows, so does Hazel’s understanding of her past relationship and what it really means to be in love. As she contemplates recipes and romance, hot fudge and friendship, Hazel discovers her passion not just for baking, but for the life she wants to live.”

Women’s fiction and foodie fiction fans? THIS ONE’S FOR YOU.

When I stopped writing the then-unnamed Desserted in February, I’d already gotten down about 40,000 words. I started working on Desserted again in June, and I’m happy to report that after an at-home, five-day writing retreat, I cranked out a good 45,000 more. (That makes 85K words total, for those of you who are like me and lack basic math skills. Truth: after adding the numbers in my head, I was convinced I’d written 95K words. While drafting this blog post, I finally used a calculator and was reminded of just how much I suck at math.)

My word count goal for the first draft of Desserted is between 100-120K. Most women’s fiction novels are between 80-100K words, so I have some trimming to do during the editing stages. But, that’s fine. I’m not daunted; it’s better to write it all down first and take things out later.

So! The rest of the summer will be devoted to completing my first draft of Desserted. And, once that happens, I’ll be able to say – as bat-shit crazy as it admittedly sounds to me – that I’ve written not one, but two novels. *falls down in dead faint*

Buuuuuut, that’s enough about me. Fellow writers, what are you working on this summer? Have you also eked out extra creative time during this pandemic?

And, I hope you’ll join the #asummerinwriting challenge on Instagram!