Writing Stuff
Okay, I think it’s time I started getting serious about acquiring an agent. I consulted my market listing spreadsheet for more places to submit my middle-grade novel, and discovered that several markets that used to accept unsolicited submissions will now only look at agented works. Suddenly, I find myself in circumstances where my submission options are seriously constrained by my lack of a literary agent. Going to send off a few queries today, and I dropped a note to my mentor, Ann Crispin, to see if she’d pass on a good word about me to her agent.
This is totally new territory to me. I’ve made one or two forays into agent-land, but have been haphazard and unenthusiastic about it. Time to start being systematic and efficient. There’s much anxiety here, and I’m not sure why. Why is submitting to an agent harder than submitting to an editor? It really shouldn’t be.
Stupid brain.
Started on a new Chinese folktale to go into my Cricket queue. Made good headway into it. The virtue of 2K children’s works: gratification is fast, and I tend not to get bogged down dealing with plot pitfalls.
Words: 700 – the first day in a while where I’ve been able to hit my 500 goal. Rah.
500/day
18
I have a feeling you won’t have much trouble at all getting an agent 😉
Oh, I hope you’re right. I’m feeling a huge whomping heap of anxiety ’bout this whole agent thing. I’m not sure why, but there it is. Meep.
aim high, baby.
you’ve got the credentials to really land someone good.
*crosses fingers*
I’m in the same boat, it seems like if you want to be serious and make advances for your work, you have to have an agent, no one will look at a lonely writer.
Good luck.
I’ve been putting this off and putting this off, but I guess it’s time. Gleep.
I’m telling ya, try. It would be a great match.
He doesn’t accept unsolicited submissions anymore
.
Have you emailed him?
Err, wouldn’t that count as “unsolicited”?
Humpf… rules are meant to be broken! Chances taken! Risks embraced!
But . . . but . . . it’s so scary out there in agent-land
I have faith in your talent.
Oh, wait. I just saw that he will still accept snail mail queries. Okay, okay. I’ll query him. Can I say you referred me to him?
Yes. Also mention all your Cricket sales and other stuff and how you have a ms all set. He’s an excellent kid’s book agent and I think his personality and yours would mesh well.
Credits, manuscript set, check. Query going out in today’s mail!
I was gonna say. If someone doesn’t accept unsolicited submissions it doesn’t mean they don’t accept unsolicited queries since a query is, almost by definition, unsolicited. If the agent likes the query and asks to see your stuff, then it’s no longer “unsolicited.” To a degree, at least, the system works.
Very true. Although I have run into some guidelines of late which say they’re not even accepting queries. Gleep.
favor
Would you please friend my sweetie, Robert (vomikronnoxis)?
He’s also a writer, doing mostly horror short stories, and would probably benefit from your lj entries about your writing career. Hopefully, you’ll get a chance to meet him in person at Fantasm.
Thanks,
Bonnie
Re: favor
Friended, check! Looking forward to see you both at Fantasm!