To query or not to query that is the question

I know in my last post I lamented the ago old quandry of "you can lead a horse to a book but you can't make him read it or review it, even if you beg."  In that post I made a snide comment about hitting up bloggers and reviewers smacking of querying agents. And it sort of does, but with that being said, I went and submitted to 3 agencies this week. One gave me an immediate rejection, which was highly insulting, especially considering I just finished reading one of their recent releases and was completely underwhelmed (Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea if you have a morbid curiosity). So I come off that book thinking "my book is better that that one!" Yes, I admit to a certain amount of bias, but still, I seriously got the rejection less than an hour after I sent the query email.  Yikes! 

So I am coming at the problem of getting my book out there on 3 fronts now.

1. Bug all my friends and enemies until they read Safe Distances and review it just to shut me up,
2. query agents at a rate of 3 per week,
3. publish on all the ebook formats (got the nook version up this week and I am working on the iBook version today) and take advantage of any free marketing advice and tools. 

Meanwhile book 2 is nipping away at my brain, begging me to beef up a couple of sceens that I have not properly harvested for maximum tension and screaming to move forward with the story.  Add to that the need to make up posters and negotiate the format and times for my book signing at Cafe Java. Don't know if I coming or going, and I really want to take a week off of work to sleep. 

Hey does anyone have any idea how to get twitter followers so that becomes more than me tweeting to myself and a couple of loyal friends? How is twitter a viable marketing tool? I am flumoxed, but I can still pull a good word out of the hat when I need one.

So the launch party is over, and I have nearly finished recycling the plastic champagn glasses and wiping the sticky counters. As the glow begins to fade, a tide of questions and doubts is rising on my sunny little beach.  Sure everyone is excited that I actually finished writing a novel (and by everyone I mean people who know and love me, not the general public- not yet). So the word on the street is that the next hurdle is to get reviewed.  Sounds simple enough. But by Whom? And How? Sending free copies out to a bunch of bloggers who I follow on twitter smacks too much of sending agent queries. A shot in the dark at best. Maybe they will like my cover enough to read the back. Maybe they will like the summary or my photo enough to crack the spine, but will they really read the book and then take the time to blog about it? Probably not. Even my friends who have purchased the book might not read it, and even if they do, they might not review it, so how can I expect total strangers to review it.  Hence the crisis of confidence. No reviews=no momentum, and BTW why aren't my friends reviewing my book. I know they are busy, but in the back of my mind it's because they don't love or even like my book. I am secure in their love for me, but I desperately want everyone (and by everyone I mean every reader on planet Earth) to love Safe Distances and her sisters. ON the bright side,  I have set up my first reading/signing.  I hope people come. A voice in my head is mumbling, "If you read it, they will come." Maybe I can get Shoeless Joe to review my book from the great beyond; it might be easier than getting it done in the here and now. What do you think?