This how I expected literary agents to be:
http://www.felicitybryan.com/index.htm
I like this website- if I could hand out an award I would
This how I expected literary agents to be:
http://www.felicitybryan.com/index.htm
I like this website- if I could hand out an award I would
It is crazy how the new week rolls round and I am back at my desk with a hangover, trying to draw up my battle plan for the week ahead. Which to be fair is quite easy, back on the treadmill of research, letter writing and posting. This week if all goes to plan I will move onto the ‘c’ section of the agents list- gripping.
However, while all this is going on, I have still been working hard on my next project. I have written nearly 20, 000 words and the manuscript is getting to the stage where half of a rough outline has emerged. This is always the toughest part, setting it all up- now I have the rather joyous task of watching it all tumble down to its conclusion. Having learnt from last time the ending (or endings) are already in place, I just have to hope it all matches up….
But before that pleasant writing, I am going to revise what I have done so far, to try and make it more cohesive. That means settling on the first major decision- the tense. Currently I am torn between three different approaches:
1. First person present- writing as if it is just happening. It is quite exciting and if it could be sustained fairly innovative. Have always fancied doing a Blair Witch style work where everything from the cover, blurb to the introduction is all part of the fiction….but is very hard to do. More ‘I’’s in a sentence than on a hydria’s head!!!
2. First person past- Alleviates the problems above, but then you do need to sort of justify it. I.e. in Catcher in the Rye when you know he is speaking from his sanatorium. Not sure if that bookending approach is a bit twee- been done to many times….
3. First person past (omnipotent)- Similar to above but with more ‘comments of Gods’ so to speak, to inject some foreboding into proceedings. Fear it might be too artificial. Also might mean the flash backs are not really distinguishable from the rest of the text which would ruin everything
I hate first person, next time I am reverting to third!
It wasn’t really until I saw a publishing agent being interviewed on BBC this morning about being recently unemployed (a felt a tiny twinge of malicious glee- I am sure this doesn’t really make me an evil person) that I considered the impact the recession might be having on publishers. I did a little digging and found well yes, unsurprisingly, it has been having the effect that it would do on any other sector- less investment in new talent, people being more risk adverse, and greater reliance on proven money makers…
Somehow you forget writing is ultimately a business for people on the publishing end. It is not their aim in life to uncover the next Victoria Lucas but to make some dough….
Following on from yesterday’s little rant and about the inflexible and old fashioned publishing world, here is a little pertinent update. The last two agents I submitted to (Jenny Brown Associates/ Brandon and Associates) both have new policies (new for 2009!) preferring to receive submissions by email. Is this just good fortune or indicative of a gradual culture change?
I prefer sending submissions via email. For starters it is a lot quicker and cheaper (those £1.28 each time adds up!). Also it means I can do it discreetly at work first thing in the morning, rather than having to furtively guard the communal printer while it reams off the masterpiece and then trot off to the Post Office at lunchtime, which is a good 20 minutes away and always tempts me to fill up on lots of junk!
However as always one slight negative on the horizon. Jenny Brown Associates does warn that in keeping with their ‘new policy’ that they will not be sending rejections. If you do not hear within 8 weeks you should just take the almost guaranteed rejection for granted. Now I know I bemoan rejection slips and the momentary crush they inflict on your ego, but to be honest it is better than nothing. At least you know if nothing else someone has handled your manuscript, taken the time to scribe your name on a standard letter and push it all back in your SAE….
…I know, some people are never happy!
Aitken Alexander- wrote to April 09 - Reject
Ampersand- Email June 09- Reject
Author Literary Agents- Wrote 6 June 09- Awaiting
Darley Anderson- Wrote to April 09- Reject
Diane Banks- Email May 09- Reject
LBA- Wrote to March 09- Reject
Michael Berenti- Wrote to June 09- Awaiting
Brandon and Associates- Email 16 June 09- Awaiting
Jenny Brown Associates- Will send to day
Another rejection popped into my inbox this morning. Aim to send two more out today- the law of averages will prevail!
Thank you for sending us this material, which we have now considered. Unfortunately the sheer volume of submissions we receive means we have to make summary judgements, and I regret to say that we don’t think it is suitable for us.
Apologies for this brief and impersonal response, and good luck with your future writing.
Yours sincerely
A M Doulton
The Ampersand Agency
If you are following this blog and want something else to read check this out- very funny:
Sorry for the recent hiatus. The trouble writing a blog about trying to get published is that most of the time you are just waiting around for a response, holding onto a vague hope. When the rejection slip does come there are no pointers as to whether it was actually read or if you are just wasting your time, if you are the literary equivalent of a delusional X factor reject.
I am not sure if this long, formal process can be circumnavigated for writers. I mean if you take musicians for example (since my boyfriend is in a band it is the area I know most about) they can do some proactive things while waiting for a response on their demo. They can play live shows, get some instant gratifying feedback as to the quality of their work, build a following. Writing does not lend itself to the same instantaneous public performance. In music, there are a multitude of local networks and forums where you can get people’s comments, listening to your peers attempts. A glace on myspace demonstrates how willing and tuned in most bands are. Writing it is different. Sure there are forums out there where you can put your work for comment, though no where near as many. But I know I am not the only novelist to raise concern about the security of their work once it is published in this way. You only have to look at the furore over Hannibal Rising and Thomas Harris apparent pilfering of his fan fiction to realise that someone else could use your work easily.
There are also in some areas creative writing groups, formal or informal, writers can go to. I expect some people find them useful but I am always a bit sceptical. Again going back to the band metaphor- they don’t really take feedback from gigs, if it happens at all it is the formative stages of the rehearsal room. I think that by the time you are in the position to share something it is sufficiently polished and completed in your mind that you will not take criticism that well. And you probably shouldn’t- after all there is no right or wrong way to do these things.
Bands can also do other things to get noticed apart from performance- how they market themselves, such as sensationally packaging a disc, trying to stir up controversy. Maybe writers are reluctant to think outside the box, but they are hardly encouraged to experimental. All agencies have strict submission guidelines, down to font size and line spacing, not leaving much room for creativity. True writers could risk it, but knowing how unlikely it is your manuscript will even get read, I for one am always dubious about taking a chance. Maybe after a few months it will be different!
…busting makes me feel good
Worn down by the depressing analysis on newsnight, I was flicking through the channels wanting to find something to cheer me up, and I alighted on Ghostbusters- possibly the best film ever made.
Maybe writers are missing a trick here- it must be the greatest achievement to make something that brings such joy to the world…
