From the outset, my query letter met with some amount of success. I’ll take some credit for having written a solid query, but it was also the right topic at the right time. The popularity of tattoos was soaring, many of the books that had been published about tattoos were older, and the tattoo book glut had yet to begin in earnest.
To recap my timeline: At the end of month three, I had my finished proposal and query letter. At the beginning of month four, I sent out twelve query letters. Now, in month five, I received one request for the proposal. I sent it immediately and, in keeping with my plan to send to agents exclusively, I waited to hear back, and it was a pass.
So, in month six, I sent out twelve more query letters. I received another request for the proposal in month six, which was also a pass. In month seven, I had a third request for the proposal – and then something wonderful happened.
On a weekend, I don’t remember if it was a Saturday or Sunday, we got home and there was a voice mail from Jane Dystel, saying that she’d like to represent my book. After shouting to my husband, followed by jumping up and down, followed by some whooping, and then more jumping up and down, I replayed the voice mail. And yes, it was just an excuse for more jumping and whooping. Jane had left a phone number where I could get in touch with her and that’s what I did, as soon as I could breathe normally.
Out of all the days in my writing life, this is the day that I remember the best. Oh frabjous day! Calloo! Callay!
Next post: Step 6. Rewriting The Proposal
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