I envy my fellow Red Room authors who have to look back through the mists of time to reflect on their first books.  It's always easier to share youthful missteps.  Accordion Dreams, my first book, still feels very new, since it came out in January--and I was certainly no youth at the time!

My agent and my publisher did right by me.  I feel very fortunate to have ended up with them--especially when I look back on some of the missteps I made during the querying process.  It could have turned out very differently. 

I once heard a rabbi give this sage but progressive advice to a group of thirteen-year-olds:  "Don't sleep with someone you'd never consider marrying."  He went on to explain that it will probably take time to find the right person, and you don't have to marry the first person you sleep with.  You might even have more than one spouse in your lifetime.  (He had several.) But don't waste your time with someone who doesn't  at least seem like a good prospect. 

I'd read all about the uphill path to publication, the tough odds.  So I fully expected to do lots of querying, and I prepared myself for rejection along the way.   I thought I had a good submission strategy: query in small batches, consider the response, revise if necessary, and query again.

The trouble was, I approached my first batch of queries as though they were "trial balloons."  Also, I'd put together my list like someone applying to colleges.  You remember how that goes.  I had a couple of "famous" agents, a couple of solid ones, and one I thought of as a "safety school."  I  also did a couple of direct queries to university presses: one suggested by my writing teacher, and the other to one of my alma maters. 

I hadn't done enough research.  None of these agents were really a good match for my book.  But figured I was just getting my feet wet.  Besides, it was two days before Thanksgiving, so I figured everyone in the publishing world would be on vacation.

Wrong.  I had immediate interest from two agents and  a university press.   Excitement!  Panic!  Send the proposal! Send the first hundred pages!  

And nearly a disaster.

I ended up getting a tepid offer from the "safety school" agent. (Note: There is no such thing in publishing!) This agent went from wildly enthusiastic to very critical during a phone call that left me feeling uneasy.  I did more research and discovered the agent had almost no track record  and an "iffy" reputation on the writers discussion boards that track these things.   (But gosh, the agent was listed in a reputable publishing directory...)

Fortunately, I politely declined the offer.  I wasn't that desperate. Yet.

I also came close with one of the university presses.  The editor, who was initially enthusiastic,  reluctantly told my that my Cajun music memoir wasn't deemed "academic" enough.   He was very encouraging and offered suggestions.   I've recently read that this particular university press might have to shut down, because of state budget cuts.  So I'm relieved this one didn't work out, either.

If took some more months of querying  until I found a reputable New York agent who was ready to take a chance on my quirky little book.   And then it took more months of  pitching until we found a publisher:   a university press, as it turned out, with an excellent reputation--especially for books about Louisiana's music and culture.  

I feel I've ended up in a great position: the best possible home for my first book, and with a fine agent.  I'm getting ready to send her the draft of the mystery I'm completing.  (Yes, it has some accordions in it, but it's aimed at a broader audience.  A little more of the "sex, drugs, rock and roll" stuff.  A change of pace, for sure.)  

But the ending might not have been so happy.  So be careful how you query!