I have ignored this blog for much too long as I put it aside
to finish writing The Straw Buyer. I
suppose that I subconsciously hoped that my next posting would announce that I
had found an incredible agent to represent my novel. It never happened. That was
not for a lack of trying. I wrote to over a hundred agents who specialize in
this genre, being careful to follow their submission guidelines demanded on
their websites. One notable stipulation that they all shared was a summary of
authors’ previous successes. What had I published in the past and how many copies
were sold? What marketing tools would I add to help sell the book? A blog?
Good, how many followers do you have? Five, you say?
Most agents replied with form rejections that appeared to have been
written by the same person. Some were very kind. Many didn’t reply at all. A
few actually asked for partial or complete submissions of the manuscript then waited months before saying that
it wasn’t for them. Were they hanging on to it just in case they might possibly
use it if nothing better would come along? Finally, one agent offered to
represent me provided that I take an ax to the beginning and murder my first
character within the first few pages. I sharpened my knife and went at it with
a vengeance. My knife dulled quickly as I felt that I was cutting the heart out
of my story. I pared the beginning, indiscriminately slashed thousands of
words, looked at it again, and hated the results. I finally settled on a place
in-between.
Before resubmitting to the agent, I purchased a novel he had
written and couldn’t finish it. I asked myself if he was the right person to
represent my writing and concluded that I might be better off on my own. He had
already made it clear to me that any success my book might potentially receive
would be dependant on my ability to sell it. He explained that it was the new
reality in today’s publishing climate. So that is exactly what I intend to do;
publish it myself as an eBook. Watch for it soon at an eRetailer near you.
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