So I realized I haven’t listed out my query statistics for Looking For Home for a while, so here we go:
Total presses queried: 39
Rejections (including those last year): 17
Queries/manuscripts outstanding: 22
Presses left on list: 13
So about normal, I guess? I am still occasionally searching to see if other presses I don’t currently know about are opening up to submissions. When I’m done, it will have gone out to 50+ outlets. So still lots of time for something to happen.
Total queries sent–48
Presses that sent explicit rejections–20
Presses that have ghosted me–9
Presses where it’s still being considered–19
Presses to still send to–10
Oof.
I’m not depressed. I’m not mad. But I’m sidling up next to being resigned to the book’s eventual fate.
It’s not been without its supporters. One press was kind enough to say that they enjoyed it–but they had a full slate of books already. One press noted they are waiting on a final decision from their executive director.
At least I know I tried. And I will keep trying until I run out of ideas.
Julie Liddell Whitehead 