Let’s do this. While 2021 was the year I wrote and edited a manuscript, 2022 is the year I will find a literary agent, sell my manuscript, and be on my way to having a published book.

I’ll be honest: Editing took WAY longer than I had anticipated. Maybe it is the whole newbie thing, maybe some ego as well. I finished my first draft and was sure that I had something good on my hands. And I still think it was good… for a first draft.

In fact, it was a PERFECT first draft. Because the entire job of a first draft is to exist. Just to be. That, in and of itself, makes a perfect first draft. But as far as manuscripts go, it was far from perfect.

And I’m not just talking about spelling errors, embarrassing grammatical mistakes, and the occasional stray graf with [MORE HERE] highlighted at the end. Oh no. I am talking about edits that have ripple effects forward and backward in the story.

But (and I am cautious to say this) I think I am done with editing. Well, not done done. But the manuscript is polished and complete.

So as the new year begins, I will begin the process of looking for a literary agent. This will involve the dreaded query letter and summing up the entirity of my manuscript (currently around 122,000 words) into a synopsis of less than 1,000 words.

Yet I am optimistic. I am hopeful to find the right agent who will be a partner with me, who believes in the manuscript as much as I do, and who is as excited to see it get published as I am. I know the right agent it out there. Now is the time to find them.

Let’s do this.