I have posted some stats on my querying process about a year ago when I first signed with my agent Amy Tipton , but now I'll blog about my writing journey from the very start, focusing specifically on the key milestones which were important for me.  (oh, and please forgive me for saying 'journey' - it's so cheesy.)   So here goes... my first query to an agent dates back to the end of 2011 . That's right, 5 years ago! Back then, I knew very little (read: nothing; I knew nothing) about what makes a good/decent book and an excellent query.  Bottom line: that first book I've completed should've never been sent to anyone.  The good part of this story is that I've only sent that book query to one agent. Yup, just the one. Well, I also entered that book into a local Young Adult book contest run by a small Australian publisher. Fortunately, that was the end of my first (very short) foray into querying/contest-partici...

Melancholic Aliens By Katya Becerra Spiral Graffiti ©Katya Becerra 2013 First published: dotdotdash Issue 4 2010 Antimatter beyond the blackest hole they live in an eternal state of euphoria ignorance-warped brains never ache or despair chromed hearts cannot break they come wearing diamonds in their vanilla waves of hair bringing us peace with metallic aftertaste of ecstasy where they step the flowers bloom like rainbow eyes put into a trance melancholic aliens spread divine venom amongst our haze-clad mornings they worship the supernovae: the ancient beacons for lost wanderers that crush and burn leaving nothing but a millisecond imprint on the sharp irides of our wide-open eyes.