RUN AWAY FROM QUERYING IN AUGUST!!
Here’s why. All the big publishers and many of
the medium publishers are headquartered in New York City. In August, NYC becomes unbearably hot and humid. So, what do most of the top editors do? They get out of town.
NYC has this wonderful vacation destination close by. It’s called Long Island. Hundreds of miles of beaches. Quaint towns. The quaintest of all are known as The Hamptons. South Hampton, East Hampton; you’ve heard of them. If you have money, that’s where you go. So, anybody who could buy your book is there. You’re not. Neither is your manuscript.
Top agents, many of whom live in NYC or its burbs, also go to The Hamptons. One big literary getaway. And whom are they getting away from?
You.
You can’t afford to be there, so no schmoozing for you at cocktail parties.
Lesser agents and the lower echelons of publishing houses go to the lesser towns that are not The Hamptons. Towns with names you don’t need to know and don’t need to care about because nobody who could buy your book is there.
Let me not forget to mention one step up on the food chain: Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. People in The Hamptons are flattered to be invited there. The people who summer there are the ones who hire the ones who summer in The Hamptons.
Get the pecking order?
So, don’t waste your time querying in August. My advice? Spend August polishing your manuscript, your query letter, and your blurb. And don’t forget spending time in your backyard spraying yourself with your garden hose while dreaming of when you can afford to go to The Hamptons.