Working on another project while querying

   

    I hear all the time that I'm supposed to be working on another project while querying. But what I don't hear is how to choose which project to work on.

    I'm seriously worried that I'll finally get to the point where I have the call and the agent will ask me what else I'm working on, and I'll have to answer, "do you want to hear about the dozens of ideas I've had, the five or so stories I actually started, the first draft I just finished, or the ideas that are currently in planning and beat sheet stage?"

    Obviously the draft that is finished is the highlight.

    But my stress stems from not knowing which project is best. I'm guessing I'm not alone as an author when I say that choosing which manuscript to dedicate my time to is a royal pain. So much time and effort and soul goes into each project, that I can't help but asking myself an important question before I plunge in: Will an agent care about this? Also, how will I feel if I dedicate myself to this project and an agent doesn't want it?

   This question is how I normally decide which project to do next. Projects A and B may be great, but if project C is the story my heart wants to tell? Then project C will win every time. 

    The manuscript I am querying now was one that came from the heart. If I don't get an agent, I'll be simultaneously heartbroken and fulfilled. Because I wrote the story that I wanted to tell and that I thought would help me grow as a writer. No matter what happens to this manuscript, it was the story I wanted to write.

    So the draft that is finished, my current WIP, is also from the heart. This helps me to hold up under the piles of rejections, because I know my heart is working on something else.

    This might be the most chaotic, unorganized blog post I've ever written. But that's OK, because working on other projects and choosing other projects while querying can feel chaotic and unorganized as well.