Hello Gentle Reader, a Letter from My Writer's Desk: I'm Officially Querying
Scared, Proud, and Officially Querying!
Hello Gentle Readers,
Today I come to you both overwhelmingly proud and extremely nauseous, haha, because after two years of building worlds, crafting characters, three intense rounds of edits, 108 chapters, and 194,000 words later, I am officially querying my debut YA fantasy novel.
Writing this book has taught me so much about myself, from the found family I created that I wish were my own, to the love interest that I married, to the protagonist who is both all the things I am and all the things I wish I could be. This bookstarted as a girl staring at a blank screen, wondering if it was even a good idea to start writing. Now I'm happy to say there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about writing. I've always been a quiet soul, someone who stood in shadows at parties, who enjoys the company of her cat and a good book over strangers, but through my writing, I learned to scream, to be brave, to be the center of attention.
Now that the query process has started, I'll be honest: I'm scared. I haven't shared this project with anyone but my editor, not friends, not family, and the thought of sending something off into the world that I've held so closely for so long feels like giving a part of myself away. The reason I haven't told anyone, you ask? Well, honestly, I'm scared to fail. Who am I, a certified interior designer, to write a book? To call myself a writer? There are many titles I hold with pride and confidence: Wife, Daughter, Sister, Homemaker, Interior Designer, Cat Mom, Coffee Addict, Self-Proclaimed Indoor Cat... but "writer" just wasn't on that list. So I held it close, like it was fragile. And now that it's time to query, it's time to be brave again, time to take a risk again.
The process is new for me, but I find myself endlessly looking for open submission slots, researching YA fantasy agents, checking manuscript wishlists. Maybe this sudden burst of courage is a need for validation... or maybe, just maybe, doing one brave thing, like writing the book to begin with, simply makes it easier to do the next brave thing... querying.
So far it's been... quiet. Which is normal this early on. I've sent out about ten, and every time I click that send button, it makes it easier to send the next. I'm writing this because I want all my readers to be encouraged to do the thing they've been putting off, the thing that seems too big, too out of reach. We may all be older, but we're never too old to dream. Be brave. Who knows, you might just surprise yourself... As for me, now that querying has officially begun, I'm proud to call myself Wife, Homemaker, Coffee Addict, Self-Proclaimed Indoor Cat, and WRITER.
P.S. — I'll be in touch with updates!
With love,
Jasmine