My latest project is about a 38-year-old woman who has been diagnosed with a terminal disease. A real feel-good novel, ya know?
The premise was based upon my own childhood friendship. We lived in the same apartment building from age 10 to 16. Then my BFF did something CRAY-CRAY: she got married at age 16.
Lots of real-life situations in this project –– especially regarding estrangement (my friend and I went separate ways (only to reconnect 20 years later).
Querying this project has not been as successful as I'd hoped. I believe the subject matter is a "Debbie-downer" for a lot of people. There's a silver lining at the end of this story, but getting a full request from an agent hasn't been easy. Only two full requests and one partial request thus far (which have all crashed and burned).
During this process, I met a someone online through the QueryTracker.net forum who also writes women's fiction. Okay, and this is weird: we share the SAME birthday. *cue Twilight Zone music* She has a query that rocks and has had multiple full requests for her project. Just based on her query alone, I would buy the book if I saw it in a store, so she has a lot going for her.
Recently, we decided to read and critique each other's projects.
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STOP.
We interrupt this program to announce that critiquing her novel is no longer necessary. She has been offered representation by a New York agent.
We now return to a jaded view of publishing, already in progress...
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Yay for my critiquing partner (seriously, way to go Susan Gloss)! *WhiteGardenia sniffs, feeling uber sorry for herself*
I will continue to query this project, but in the mean time, on to the next idea.
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