I am a complete idiot. I truly am. I don't know how to explain the depth of my stupidity.
I broke a cardinal rule in query letters. I had a typo. It was careless. And it was in the last eight letters I sent.
I have poured and poured over my letter, tailoring it to each agent. But the offending word is in a standard sentence about my writing past. It isn't a sentence I change because my past hasn't changed.
Though I have read the sentence a MILLION times, I never saw until 15 minutes that I used the word 'with' when I meant 'work.' How could I be so stupid?
Everything -- EVERYTHING! -- I have done in the past week to find an agent is now for nothing. I would say I hate myself but it's late and I don't have the energy.
Thanks for reading. (For now, that's all I can say.)
3 comments:
I spelled my agent's name wrong in the query i sent to her. I sent a follow up (brief) one sentence letter saying I couldn't believe I spelled her name wrong when it's so important to me to have mine spelled right. She said it was one of the things she liked about me ...
a typo isn't always the end of the world. Don't worry too much. If they love the sound of your ms, the typo won't necessarily kill you.
:)
as a former journalist/editor, if I read a query or resume that I loved in every way but it had one screw up like that, I would assume that spell check did not pick up a brain blip. the thing that would lose me immediately is mistakes in grammar, or lack of effort. don't worry! things work out the way they're supposed to.
Gae, you should have called me last night. I was riding around in my MG at the time you wrote. I know a typo isn't the end of existence. It just makes me angry.
And Lori, I have always assumed things will work out as they are suppose to. But thanks for reminding me.
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