So I bought the 2015 Guide to Literary Agents by Chuck Sambuchino because… well, I need some help. I’ve written three books, sent hundreds of queries, and have little-to-nothing to show for it. I thought maybe this would be a better resource than exploiting the free version of QueryTracker. But when any big author shares their story about how they got their agent, the most common thread is a writing conference or convention. Face-to-face. Query letter in hand. Agent unable to escape or hide behind the rejection letter. And since I’m isolated in my own home, I thought I need to get in on this, if for nothing else than…
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Nothing To Say
I really have nothing to say at the moment, but blog entries are getting sparse because of that so I wanted to nip that in the bud. The problem is that no one’s responding on my queries and short stories. I’ve got submissions that have been languishing for almost half a year. I really have to stop submitting to publications that have 100+ day response times. It’s just not worth it. And I haven’t gotten a rejection from an agent since May 7th. Either they’re languishing in the slush readers inbox or have already been rejected and no one told me. I really hope it’s not the latter, because that’s…
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A Nibble
Out of the dozen or so agents I’ve sent to, I’ve now received one nibble from an agent. I sent him my query, and he requested to see a partial manuscript over the weekend. Of course, it was rejected quickly, but this is a good sign. It means my query is now of sufficient quality to be able to entice someone. Now I just need to find that right someone. It also means my premise is intriguing enough to garner interest from, at least, one person. My biggest difficulty about this was the feedback. Sure, it’s a blessing that I got some feedback, because I have no idea how this…
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Lie And Say You Have An Offer
Okay, I have a question. I hear that you send your query letters to several agents, in hopes of getting a bite. Then you get a bite, but you’re still in the queue at several other agent’s palaces, maybe some you’d prefer over this one. If you tell these agents that you’ve procured an offer, the other agents will suddenly spring into action, reading your letter, and possibly making a counter-offer. Now my question: What’s to stop you from lying? Why couldn’t I e-mail some agents and say “Hey, you know {AGENT I LOOKED UP ON AGENTQUERY} has expressed an offer of interest. What about you? Don’t you want in…
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More Agents to Come
My response from the Nelson Literary Agency was very quick. I received it at 6:30 this morning Monday. It was a form rejection, of course. The first rejection is always a little disheartening, but you get used to it, and continue on. A rejection could have happened for any number of reasons, none of which you’re in control over. I sent two more today, ones with allegedly longer response times. We’ll see what happens.
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My First Agent Query (Post 300)
300 Posts! And not a single comment! Seriously, what do I need to do to get some blog exposure? Not that I’m writing this for the purpose of getting followers, but some feedback would be nice. I can’t get Technorati to work for me. I never have. It’s always broken. I added some Digg/StumbleUpon/etc. links at the bottom of the posts, so maybe that’ll help with the 14 readers I get per month (who I think are all me). But other than that, I’m not sure what else to do. Hardcore nudity? Anyway, today is the day I e-mailed my first agent query. I think my query is in a…