file under 'maybe ...'

This is going to be a bit of a long one. Please bear with me. Good writing-related stuff inside --I promise.

Here's part of a post I originally posted on August 2, 2016:

"file under 'will never be published' (no. 7): 
The Girl In The Chair

Background: I work with children like the protagonist/narrator Hannah. It never ceases to amaze me that people treat these kids like they can't hear and have no independent thoughts. They do. It's just that they're locked in bodies that make it difficult to share their thoughts efficiently. They have likes, they have dislikes, they have personalities, they have ideas. In short, they are people. It's important that other people who do not have motor challenges know this. This (unpublished) book was written as a means of introducing this understanding in a non-judgmental way. In my heart of hearts, this is one of my favorite things that I've ever written, but it is a picture book and there are no pictures. I still don't think my illustration skills are up to the challenge yet. Maybe someday ...

In the meantime, if you encounter a person with motor challenges a few things I've learned along the way: talk directly to them; wait for them to generate responses (these responses may be movements or facial expression or eye gaze rather than words sometimes); give them time to initiate their own communication with you; and respect what they communicate, even if it's "no". And if you know someone with motor challenges who needs another way to communicate besides the ones they are currently using, or if you have this issue yourself, please check out the website for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association."

I attended a conference last weekend --the SCBWI Western Washington conference that is held every two years. The last time I attended, two years ago, I knew nothing. I learned a little bit, but the majority of my energy was spent trying to figure out what was going on. Everyone else seemed to know everything already. Me, not so much, and I didn't know much more after the conference was over. A lot of trial and error followed.

After that conference in April 2015, I sent out a flurry of query letters for a variety of different pieces I hoped to get agents to look at. The last query I sent out, as the flurry was dying down, was sent in May of 2016.

Flash-forward to today, April 2017: I've had time to think about agents. Are they necessary? I've learned a lot about self-publishing in the interim, and my mother has had some success taking that approach (good role model, that mom o' mine!). The conference over the weekend covered this discussion very frankly. 

I have decided to try to seek representation again with that story I wrote off as 'will never be published' in August of last year. I took down the text in the hopes that maybe someone will make it official. Of all of things I have tried submitting for publication, it's the one I keep coming back to & the one that means the most. I feel like a publishing house could do more with it than I can alone. I feel like, if someone will take it, it is worth paying someone --an agent --to make that happen. I have a full-time job and other responsibilities that are not promoting myself, and I am human (although I pretend otherwise a lot).

***HERE IS THE MEATY WRITERLY BUSINESS STUFF. GET READY, & PLEASE FORGIVE THE CAPS:

Query letters are the stuff of writers' nightmares. I wrote one in verse once. It was not cool, but I didn't know any better, so I figured, "What the heck?" [Hint: Don't do that. You won't be taken seriously.]

I am including two query letters below. One is one I sent in that first flurry, and the other was sent yesterday. They are very, very different. 

The first one has little to no content; the second has more. It's that simple. 

If you want someone to hire you to write, you have to provide evidence somewhere that you are writing or have written, besides what you are submitting. You have to. You do not have to have been published or paid for it, but you do have to provide evidence that you are serious and it's not a hobby. 

And everything counts. This blog that one of my writing partners, Les Floyd, talked me into? It counts. Guest blogging counts if you don't want a blog of your own.

Send things out to contests. It counts. If you enter things, you have a greater chance of winning and calling yourself an "award winner", even if it feels slightly ridiculous to say that. 

Self publish. Try it out. It counts. It costs very little to do that nowadays, if you're willing to put work in, and it shows you mean to be a Writer (capital W intentional).

So enough shouty preaching. Take a look at these examples. If you are wondering about queries, you can use them as models of what to do and what not to do. Please let me know if you have any questions.  I'm no expert, by any means, but I have read and thought about it all a bit. Discussion is good. Also, if you have any tips, please share them --I'm always looking to improve.

And good luck to you, if you decide to query!

2016:

I am writing to request representation with you.  I previously met with you during a round table discussion in April of last year at the SCBWI-WWA conference held in Bellevue, Washington, and your feedback was very helpful on the piece that I was writing at the time.  It was some time ago, but in preparing to query again, I thought of you.  To provide you some background information on me, I am a current SCBWI member, a certified speech-language pathologist, and public school special educator.  I have years of experience using every trick in the book (pun intended) to get kids engaged in exploring the world around them through spoken language, the written word, and visual images.  I have been developing my illustration skills in hopes of having a wider skill set to offer in addition to my writing. 

I have worked closely with students with disabilities and their families for over a decade now.  Although I do not have a disability myself, I identify as an ally to that community and am very hopeful that my picture book (title: The Girl In The Chair) will find its way out into the world to act as an ambassador for individuals who may have trouble making themselves understood.  I have been working on picture books and middle grade pieces with a variety of other themes as well, including both fiction and nonfiction, but this topic is particularly close to my heart, so I am submitting it for your consideration.

Please find the complete text of The Girl In The Chair below.

2017:

NB: All identifying information removed, but be sure to include it when you write your own query letter --be personal!

I am writing to query about representation with X.  I attended your presentation, “X”, at the recent SCBWI-Western Washington (SCBWI WWA) conference on April 8th. I appreciated what you had to say about the value of having an agent and I respect how much you love your job. You work with DP and KA, whose work I admire.  I thought I would ask if you might be interested in representing my work, as well. I am planning on querying other agents, but I would really love to work with you.

I have attached the texts for two picture books, per website submission guidelines:

• The Girl in the Chair, a 470-word story about Hannah, the narrator and a new girl at school. While this is a common theme for children’s books, Hannah’s story is different: Hannah is nonverbal and has motoric challenges that mean she needs help to move and access items in her environment. The Girl in the Chair is a story that children with or without disabilities will understand --it’s hard, but ultimately rewarding, to make new friends.
• The Life Cycle of Benjamin’s Terrible Problem, a 483-word story about Benjamin and a problem he has that keeps growing and growing. It fits alongside works like The Heart and the Bottle and Cry, Heart, But Never Break --it is lyrical but covers two difficult topics for kids: depression, and how to handle problems bigger than they are.

I am a current SCBWI member, as well as a certified speech-language pathologist and public school educator. I write as Agnes Bookbinder (Twitter: @agnesbookbinder). For writing samples, please see my award-winning flash fiction “Melvin the Destroyer”, poetry such as “Says Simon Cowell” (selected for The Society of Classical Poets Journal 2017), or blog posts such as “Great Aunt Bertha Fussbudget's Mirthless Legacy: Part One”, “One Rainy Night, Soon”, or “The Twitter Collection”. The titles are linked for you to access the samples, if you’d like to take a look.

I am also developing my illustration skills (with DP’s encouragement!), and here are some samples of where I am in that process: “Six Doodles”, “Six More Doodles”, and on Instagram. This information is included to show that I understand visual art and that I am constantly working on improving in different ways.