Thursday, July 16, 2009

OOOOOPS!

Okay, so I've never actually made the mistake of wearing two different shoes, but I've made plenty of other ones!
One of my favorite posts I did a while back was about all of my late-night query mistakes. I love laughing about these mistakes now. It read something like this:
I'm a night person and always have been. I hate mornings, and it usually takes at least three cups of coffee before I can function. My wake-up-at-the-crack-of-dawn husband just doesn't quite understand this, but we manage to get along anyway. At any rate, I often find myself querying after midnight. Apparently, my head isn't as clear as I think it is at night.
Here are some of my late-night query mistakes:
I sent three chapters in the body of an e-query to an agent whose guidelines specifically state: QUERY ONLY. I knew this, but I meant to send the query to a different agent. (A rejection soon followed.)
I indicated that I was enclosing a SASE for the agents response in an e-query. It's kind of hard to send an envelope with an email, wouldn't you say? In my defense, when I checked the agency guidelines, they specifically asked for snail mail queries, but upon further investigation, I learned that this particular agent preferred queries by email. So I copied and pasted my original letter from Word into an email. Unfortunately, I forgot to take the part about the SASE out. (I haven't received a reply on this one yet, but it's only been a couple of weeks.)
I sent five e-queries with the same typo. Keep in mind that I read, re-read, and re-read again without catching the mistake. That is, until I hit send on the last one. (Three of the five were rejections, and I'm still waiting on responses from the other two.)
I addressed and e-query to someone named "Mitchelle." Yeah--it was supposed to be "Michelle!" Again, my midnight mind didn't catch it until the next morning. By the way, did I mention this query also contained the same typo mentioned in the previous example? (No response from this one yet!)
Now, here's one about a snail mail query. I enclosed a SASE or, actually, an SAE. Yes--I forgot to put a stamp on it! How do I know? Well, because I was out of stamps before I even wrote the query. Now, why I didn't realize it until after I went to the post office, bought stamps, put them on the query to mail, and stuck it in the drop box is anyone's guess! Apparently, my head isn't so clear in the morning either. (Hm...I wonder if I'll ever get a reply.)
So what mistakes have you made?
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24 comments:

LaFleur2009 said...

OK, I have made each and every mistake on your list. Oye! I never catch my errors until I have sent it to EVERYONE under creation. Yikes!

Diane said...

All completely forgiveable mistakes. You are trying to make the most of your time, morning or night!

Mom2Peach said...

Ha! I haven't made your query mistakes (I haven't gotten to the point where I've actually put anything down on paper that isn't required for my job as a medical writer/editor, although my mother swears I've got a book in me). I have, on the other hand, worn two different shoes. I dropped my son off at day care and realized my error...they were both mules, but one was black and one was burgundy, and the heels weren't even the same height. I hope none of the other mothers saw me before I had a chance to go home and change.

Lillian Robinson said...

Now I'm frightened! I can totally see myself doing those things, especially the stamp one. I'll try to remember this post and do a triple check! I too am a night owl, Hubby a morning person. I recently posted a 2am blog, calling a friend's dog a shi* Tzu. (It didn't end in 'H') Oh well, live and learn.

Clementine said...

LOL! I love this post! I've made the SASE in the email mistake too. Although I wish I could say that it was because I sent it at night and I'm a morning person. But that wasn't the case.

Terri Tiffany said...

Thank you for stopping by my blog. I had to laugh at some of your admitted mistakes! That is really brave! I have only sent out a few queries--once I emailed when it said snail mail only--ugh--she quickly told me--haven't heard back yet. Another I threw it together quite unprofessionally--didn't have a clue how to do it--they again told me. No rely after that one.

Rae said...

LOL Sounds like me. I have to reread directions about three times before I know that I have read them correctly. Although I haven't enclosed the SASE with email, it's only a matter of time before I do it. I have often wished there was a retrieve-back button next to send.

Mrs. Major said...

I completely forgot to include an SASE eventhough my letter indicated I had. No response but can I blame them? Maybe we should have our husbands check our work. Oh, did I actually type that? Bad idea!

Anonymous said...

"I indicated that I was enclosing a SASE for the agents response in an e-query." :)

I haven't yet, but I'm sure I'll make all these mistakes some day. I'm known for the copy/paste mistakes.

I'm a night person too and combine that with my lack of attention to detail and you have trouble a-brewin'.

Deb said...

I'm not ready to throw myself into the world of queries yet. I love that you can laugh about those mistakes. I won't feel so bad now when I make them!

Danyelle L. said...

Don't you love how nothing stands out while you're looking over the query, but the moment you hit send, it all appears in flashing neon? >.<

JAlexander said...

"enclosing a SASE for the agents response in an e-query."

ok - this made me laugh out loud. So funny.

Are you a snooze-aholic?

I am. I hit it at least five times.

Jenna

Roni Loren said...

I left in a line as I was cutting and pasting about how much I loved the agent's blog to an agent who doesn't have a blog. Doh.

Joanne said...

I think we've all had a query slip-up here and there. I like your attitude though, finding the humor in it. It makes them a little easier to take, and it's nice to know we've all been there :)

Janna Leadbetter said...

*snort* Oh, Lazy Writer, I can only laugh because I once did the same thing. Got all fired up, thinking, "Wow, this is really good! I'll just go ahead and send it to Agent So-and-So." Classic amateur mistake! The next morning, when I asked for peer feedback on the query, I found it was horrible. Ugh. No more late night submissions for me. :)

Cindy R. Wilson said...

Lol, thanks for sharing your stories with us. I most of us can relate because we've all done something of this sort. My biggest mistakes are either being unprofessional or simply querying when my work isn't ready (the query probably isn't ready either :D).

Susan R. Mills said...

For those of you who have queried and made similar mistakes, I have to say that I'm glad I'm not alone.

For those of you who haven't queried yet, perhaps you can learn from my mistakes and not make them! My advice is to be 100% certain it's the best it can be before hitting send. (I'm not just talking about the letter. Make sure your writing is as perfect as it can be, too!)

AiringMyLaundry said...

Oops! Mistakes happen. I actually have never sent a query letter out. I hope to at some point. If I can ever finish this novel.

And I'm also a night owl. I'm not really pleasant until after 11 in the mornings.

Patti said...

Don't you just hate when you send that query thinking everything is great and just as you hit send you see glaring mistakes.

I'm also a night owl which makes my morning rather difficult

Corey Schwartz said...

Absolutely hilarious post, Susan. I can totally relate. I am a night owl too and will no doubt make typos in this comment because it is not yet 9:15 and I've only had one cup of coffee so far.

Glynis Peters said...

I am printing this out for the future. When I send my query, I will check your list. One sure bet is, that I will make a mistake, regardless. I am that type. LOL
I am an early bird, sunrise - 11am I am at my best.
Never odd shoes, just went to a daughter's parent evening in carpet slippers, pretty roses on them ;0

Shelli (srjohannes) said...

these and more!

Anonymous said...

So funny...I query late and have made boo-boos as well! Although, some of my nicest requests have come from those 3am queries.

Nice blog!

Lesley said...

Oh my gosh, I ALWAYS include at least one typo when applying for a job. It usually comes right after this sentence: "I am a detail-oriented perfectionist." haha - Thanks for following My Turn To Talk! I'll be stalking - er, following - you as well. Look forward to getting to know you better.