A good point, Olivia. On the Query Letter exercise, usually one writes a query when their novel is complete. I added it as a bonus exercise during the prep, because I believe that if you spend time NOW thinking about what makes your novel compelling, (1) you might actually write it that way, and (2) you'll be less likely to lose steam and end up hating your idea later, because you've essentially spent time selling the idea to yourself. If you have a premise, a basic outline, your market, and your protagonist in place, you can spend time really thinking about what's going to make this story so exciting and marketable. If you can't find anything compelling about your story, you still have plenty of time to make changes to the plot and characters that ARE compelling.

Regards,
Michelle