Project Glass #6 – The First Query Batch (and What Comes Next for Inkspire)
I can't believe it's finally happening~
📌 Project Glass Status: Draft 4 complete.
Currently: lining up the first batch of queries like boats on a canal and trying not to push them all in at once.
This is the “here’s what I’m about to do” entry: how I’m planning the first query batch for A Heart Made of Glass, how I’m going to try to stay sane during the waiting, and what that means for Inkspire going into July.
The first batch: numbers and categories
I’m starting small on purpose.
Right now the plan looks like:
Batch size: 6–8 agents in the first wave
Materials: standard package (query + 5–10 pages or 3 chapters, depending on guidelines)
Timing: all sent within the same week, not the same hour
I’m grouping agents loosely into three categories:
“This is my lane” agents
People who explicitly say they like:
quiet, character-driven fantasy
body/medical/infrastructure magic
political/ethical mess over big battle set pieces
These are the ones I suspect will understand what “courtesan spy with a glass heart and a mirror Engine” is trying to do.
“Adjacent taste” agents
People who rep books with overlapping vibes:
intimate court intrigue
speculative systems that mess with bodies and surveillance
morally complicated protagonists
They may lean a bit more epic or a bit more thriller, but there’s enough overlap to feel honest.
“Wild cards but intrigued” agents
People whose lists have one or two books that feel like cousins to Project Glass, even if their main focus is elsewhere.
These are the ones I send later, once I see how the first two categories respond.
For this first batch, I’m mostly pulling from category 1 and a couple from category 2. I want the earliest reads to come from people most likely to “get” the kind of fantasy this is.
How I’m planning to handle the waiting (and not go feral)
Waiting is the part my metaphorical glass heart is least suited for. So I’m giving myself structure.
1. A “no spiraling before noon” rule
Mornings = writing / normal work.
Afternoons/evenings = when I’m allowed to check email for query responses.
If I break this, I owe myself (and you) a brutally honest diary entry about it, which let’s be honest, will be VERY embarrassing for me.
The goal is to keep my drafting brain and inbox-brain from becoming the same twitchy animal.
2. A rejection response script
When a rejection lands, the plan is:
Log it in the spreadsheet (date, type, any notes).
Read it once.
Do one of these, immediately:
reread a scene from A Heart Made of Glass I’m proud of, or
draft a tiny unrelated piece (microfiction, prompt response)
I’m not going to let any single “no” dictate instant structural changes. Only patterns get to have that power.
3. A “next step” rule for every response type
Form rejection: data point; batch 2 doesn’t change unless I see the same pattern across multiple agents.
Personal pass with specific feedback:
If it’s something I’ve already worried about, I note it in a separate doc.
If 2+ agents say the same thing, that’s a candidate for a small, targeted tweak—not a page-one rewrite.
Request: celebrate, text a friend, and then… go back to the work in front of me.
I’m trying to treat querying like weather: it’s happening, I adjust my plans accordingly, but I don’t confuse a rainy day with a ruined climate.
What comes next for Inkspire while the queries are out
While all this is humming in the background, I want Inkspire to be:
sustainable for me
genuinely useful/interesting for you
not entirely “query brain 24/7”
Right now, July is shaping up like this:
1. More Ink & Insights (craft pillars)
June’s craft essays have all been Project Glass–flavored. In July I’m planning:
1–2 new pillar posts that are broader in scope but still pull examples from Glass when helpful—things like:
designing “quiet” climaxes
balancing weird magic systems with emotional clarity
These will stay Monday anchors: polished, reference-friendly, shareable.
2. Ongoing Project Glass Diaries (but with a shift)
The Diaries will move from “pre-query prep” into:
early query responses (in anonymized, respectful detail)
how I’m adjusting, if I adjust
what I’m learning about how this book is perceived from the outside
I’ll keep them spoiler-light and process-heavy, so even if you’re not querying yet they’re still relevant.
3. House of Ink + audio rhythm
I want to keep the Thursday fiction + YouTube pattern going:
New short/flash on Substack
Last week’s story in audio on YouTube, with a little intro pointing people back here and a quick mention that A Heart Made of Glass is currently out on submission.
That rhythm’s felt good: sustainable for me, and a nice way to let the world of the book breathe beyond the main manuscript.
4. Community & low-lift posts
More prompts tied loosely to Project Glass themes but usable for any story.
Occasional micro-events like the opening-line poll or small AMAs on narrower topics (e.g., “ask me about villains” or “ask me about endings”).
Basically: while the queries are out, Inkspire becomes the place where I metabolize whatever happens—and keep making things, regardless.
So… am I ready?
Technically, yes. Emotionally, still a little shaky. But my current test is:
If I wait another month without sending anything, will the book get meaningfully better… or will I just find new ways to stall?
Right now, the answer feels like “stall.” Which means it’s time to let the glass-hearted thing leave the nest and see what happens.
If you’ve been here through the worldbuilding, the diaries, and the House of Ink stories, thank you. You’re already part of how this book has gotten sharper and braver than it would have been if I’d kept it to myself.
When you think about your current project, what would “batch one” look like for you—tiny and careful, or a little more chaotic on purpose?
wishing you all the best in the query trenches! i want to own this book someday!