I spent yesterday morning watching Youtube. And I’m planning on doing the same thing today.

Now, before anyone freaks out about how I’m spending my time, let me assure you that it wasn’t for fun, although part-way through the morning I actually did begin enjoying it. You see, for the past few months I’ve been rather (total understatement) overwhelmed at the thought of querying for an agent for When Life Hands You Lymes.

I co-authored my two traditionally published books with already-established authors, so I’ve never gone through the querying process before. In the past I’ve read various blog posts, articles, and chapters in books about querying, but I still felt extremely ignorant and unsure of my next step.

That’s why I decided to set aside everything else and immerse myself in the lingo, culture,, and all the good stuff that goes along with getting an agent. Cue Youtube. I watched vlogs about how to find agents, how to write query letters, and what the process looked like to the individuals who were vlogging. I also watched several interviews with agents, as well as a few short videos that a publishing house released where it went through what each department did on a day-t0-day basis.

And I took notes. Helpful notes that made me quite happy. And I looked up some of the websites that were mentioned. Helpful websites that made me quite happy. And I got distracted once when an ad came on about a guy who free climbed 2,500 feet of straight-up rock. (It was horrifying and I am so glad I don’t know that guy. Very impressive, too. I decided right then and there that I am very much not a risk-taker when the risk involves anything that could be detrimental to my health.)

I also drank coffee, both decaf and regular. (The regular was thanks to Mom, the decaf was thanks to our local McDonalds, cause they give away free coffee every Monday. I was in town while working with my non-writing job, and decided to enjoy McDonald’s kind hospitality. And, just a real quick side note, but McDonald’s creamer is the best ever. I drink it straight from the little plastic containers and enjoy it throughly.)

All in all it was a very productive day as far as writing work goes. I’m already feeling somewhat less like a lost needle in a haystack, and I’m pretty sure that after a few more days of this kind of work I’ll have researched enough to confidently move forward. And now I’m off to go find some coffee and then look up Query Shark.

SO! Do y’all have any wonderful advice for me when it comes to querying for an agent? I’d be delighted to hear it if you do.  And, have any of y’all ever spent hours watching Youtube, but totally not for fun? Like the taking-notes kind of watching? If so, what was the subject you were researching?