More Query Tracker Stats: Offers of Representation by Genre

Have you been wondering what genres are getting the offers of representation?

I've had a moment of geek this morning and decided to take a look.

Based on QueryTracker's Success Stories from 3/29/11 to 3/28/12, 238 users reported receiving an offer of representation. Of those reporting a genre (205 total), here's how the percentages break down:

Genre	Offer of Rep	% of Offers
Action/Adventure	1	>1%
Biography & Memoirs	2	1%
Children's	2	1%
Commercial Fiction	4	2%
Contemporary	1	>1%
Cultural/Social	1	>1%
Fantasy	10	5%
Historical Fiction	6	3%
Humor/Gift	4	2%
Literary Fiction	6	3%
Middle Grade	23	11%
Mystery	2	1%
Narrative	5	2%
Offbeat/Quirky	1	>1%
Picture	4	2%
Romance	12	6%
Self-Help	1	>1%
Thrillers/Suspense	3	1%
Women's Fiction	10	5%
Young Adult	106	52%

And here's how the past three years compare:

Genre	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12
Action/Adventure		1%	>1%
Biography & Memoirs	3%	3%	1%
Business & Finance	1%
Chick Lit	3%
Children's	5%	1%	1%
Commercial Fiction	4%	1%	2%
Contemporary			>1%
Cultural/Social			>1%
Crime/Detective/Police	1%
Family Saga		1%
Fantasy	6%	10%	5%
Historical Fiction	3%	3%	3%
Horror	1%
Humor/Gift			2%
Literary Fiction	3%	1%	3%
Middle Grade	6%	2%	11%
Mystery		4%	1%
Narrative	1%		2%
Offbeat/Quirky	1%		>1%
Picture			2%
Romance	8%	6%	6%
Science Fiction	4%	9%
Self-Help	1%	1%	>1%
Thrillers/Suspense	4%	1%	1%
Women's Fiction		4%	5%
Young Adult	46%	54%	52%



**Note that QueryTracker is a self-reporting website. This is just a snapshot for information purposes only.

I'm not surprised to see Middle Grade has grown. And I am a little surprised that there were no SciFi offers reported, since that seemed to be growing last year.

What about you? Any thoughts?

The Perfect Storm of Blog Block

I haven't posted in a long time. I'm not going to apologize though, because I just can't believe that people have been sitting around, all huffy and put out that I haven't written anything lately. I have the usual excuses: family, work, writer's block, Etsy (but not Pinterest, because I waste too much time online as it is).

But the truth is that when I think about blogging about the things that are important to me as a writer, I find myself crippled by one of three thoughts:

1. No one is going to care about my thought/opinion/dilemma.
2. Maybe this will count against me if an agent/editor reads this.
3. I'm ashamed of my failure. As writers, we get rejected a lot and we deal with it. But part of me feels like the rejection doesn't sting so much if I'm the only one that knows about it.

I'll even start writing a post and then end up deleting it because of one of the above. And sometimes, there is a perfect storm of doubt, when all three of these thoughts hit at one time and I just take shelter rather than try to post.

But I'm going to share something today. Maybe you won't care. Maybe this will turn off an agent. Maybe it will make the rejection sting that much more. But maybe, just maybe, there is someone else out there who feels this way. Because, honestly, that's why we blog, right? To feel some sense of community and solidarity in this solitary business?

This week, I found out that I did not get into either of the two MFA programs I applied to.

They were both long shots (and I mean LOOONNNNNGGGG shots). The first program gets 1100 applications for six fiction spots, the second has "hundreds" for four spots. But still, better odds than finding an agent, so I took the GREs, badgered some people to write recommendations for me, paid my application fees, and took the gamble.

It didn't pay off. My first thought was that I had wasted the time of my referees, as well as wasted money and time on the GREs and applications process. My second was that I was glad I hadn't told anyone about it so I didn't have to share my failure. And the third was sadness because I didn't get in.

I didn't take the rejection personally. If I'd applied three years ago and been rejected, I would have gone through that whole "doubting myself as a writer" thing. But now, after years of querying and following blogs and reading about the industry, I realize how subjective acceptance is. But, it still hurts. After all these years of writing and querying and rewriting and querying, the rejections pile up and start to leave a mark.

But, all I can do is keep going, keep writing, and sometimes, keep sharing. And ride out the storm.

What about you? Do you find it easy to share online or do any of these doubts stop you posting too?

11 million pieces of inspiration

What inspires you when you are writing?

A lot of people have playlists, but I don't listen to music when I write (I can't write with someone else's words in my head). I'm a visual person. Images evoke emotion for me.

Just this past week, a new short story idea caught me. Little pieces started to come together...herbal lore, rural Vermont, a clapboard farmhouse turned restuarant, romance. And kissing. The images were twirling in my head, that ethereal dance before words hit the page.

I posted recently about how turned to different creative pursuits to get past writer's block and opened my own Etsy shop Faerie Lights Studio to get past it. I've been enjoying myself, spending a lot of time looking at the beautiful items people are offering.

Etsy has a lovely feature called a Treasury. You can create a collection of items that you love, things that you want, things that inspire you. It's a visual favorites list. It can be public or just for you. And you can include anything. There are over eleven million items on Etsy. That's a lot of inspiration.

To help those ethereal thoughts find a earthbound home, I created a treasury called Idlewyld Inspirations, full of items that inspire me as I write my new story. I love the photography, the beautiful aura that these artists imbue in their products. I almost feel I'm there...

I wrote over 1000 words last night (very rare for me to write when my family is home), with a pen (unheard of), and then got up in the night to write 500 more (used to be common, but hasn't happened in a while). My block seems to be broken and I have Etsy to partially thank for it, in more ways than one.

So if you are seeking inspiration or an image to represent something in your head, Etsy's a great place to go.

And if you do, pop by Faerie Lights Studio, where I'm selling a new range of Christmas lights and pendants. I'm offering a special discount to anyone visiting from the blog. Just enter coupon code INSPIRE15 to save 15% on any purchase! Feel free to pass this coupon code on to an friends or family.

Have an inspired day!