When I posted Writing in the 21st Century last week, a friend and fellow writer commented that she was excited to hear I’d started my Query letter.

Which made me ask myself why I hadn’t begun working on it sooner. I’ve been writing and editing this memoir for four years, from the handwritten bullet points in a notebook to the memoir posts on my other blog,  Born in My Heart. I’ve even gone one step further in recent months by joining Scribophile, an online beta reader and critique group.

So, back to my original question: Why haven’t I picked up the proverbial pen and begun writing agents about how my awesome memoir is going to be the next Eat, Pray, Love or The Glass Castle?

One word came to mind – FEAR.

I don’t think it is fear of rejection as much as it is fear of prematurely. My premature querying for a less-than-stellar manuscript could lead to a rejection that could have been avoided.

In the world of agents, your manuscript doesn’t get a second chance to make a first impression; you don’t query the same agent more than once for the same piece of writing. 

I think that’s why I hesitate; I want my manuscript to be spotless before I query. However, I’m not sure the perfection in my mind exists in the real world. I fear my story will never be good enough.

So, the big question is:  What do I do with this fear?

OR…

I think I’ll go with option #2 and work on my Query Letter this weekend.

After all, isn’t facing your fear in and of itself the act of rising?