Falling in Love: Bad Idea

Requited?  I wish.

When I was gloriously young, I fell in love with a boy, as many a fluttery young things does.  He was sweet, he was kind, he was gorgeous, we shared similar interests, he would talk to me.  I set my heart on him; someday we’d get married.

Alas, he did not feel the same way about me.   I simply didn’t make his heart sing, the way he made mine sing.   Also broke my heart when he got a high-school sweetheart (not me).

Still, we were good friends, because all those qualities of his for which I fell in love, also meant he’d be an excellent friend.  Thirty years on, we’re still friends.  Would he have made a wonderful husband and father?  Absolutely.  I see evidence of that all the time in how he treats the wife he met at university and their beautiful children.

I am comforted that I had chosen well.  He turned out to be a good husband for someone.  But would I have been the wife for him?  That is also an important question.  He had his chance.  He said no.  Le sigh.

So here I am again, vastly, deeply in love.

With an agent. 

I fell in love when researching agents in general.  She repped my genres, she had a strong worth ethic, she had a genuine interest in the improvement of all writers, her current clients spoke well of her, I liked how she did business, and I loved her long-term outlook. Got to meet her a couple of times at conventions and I liked her vibe.

Could she be the agent for me?  Quite likely.  But am I the client for her?  That’s the important question.

Pitched to her once.  She liked the sound of my novel, so she requested pages.  In the end, she said no to my project.   Later, I revisited the project and saw several reasons why she said no.  Oh, it was sooo not ready!  What was I thinking?  

That no of hers was a big favour for me. I have significantly revised that project and fixed everything I discovered wrong.  I have become a better writer because of it.  I wasn’t publishable then.  Maybe I am now.  (A few short story editors think so.)

When she turned down my previous project, she asked to see my next one.  I must have done something right the first time.  So I’m polishing my WIP and doing my best to make sure it’s sub-ready.  Then it’s off to see if she’ll love my work as much as I love hers.

While I daydream of a yes, I haven’t forgotten that the most likely answer is no.  She is queried widely and has to turn down lots of projects that go on to find other agents, publishers, success.   I might be imminently publishable, but I might not be the client for her.

So what’s a girl to do?  Prepare herself for a No.

I have committed a grievous sin by falling in love with a dream agent. Serious no-no in the industry.  Such dreams always end in tears.  

So I’m of playing the field and stalking other agents.  I see who my peeps sign with.  I peruse various blogs and occasionally lurk on Twitter.  I do my research. I ask other writers what they think of their agents.  (I don’t ask for a recommendation or anything like that. That’s just obnoxious.  However, I am open to someone volunteering that sort of thing.  At least, read my stuff first.)

Will I sub to Agent “I See Potential In You”?  Sure.  She wouldn’t have asked to see my next project if she didn’t think I had something. 

Shall I cry if she says no?  Yep. Big fat tears.

Then I shall wipe my eyes, put on my big girl panties and send queries out to Dream Agents #2, #3, #4, #5…

Even if she says no, this agent will always hold a special place in my heart professional network.  Not only was her original no a clandestine favour, her asking to see my next project may also have served me well. After her no, I could have turned around and sent my ms out to a whole bunch o’ agents before it was ready.  Her request to see my next project motivated me to work on that next project and not dwell on the current one.  I moved on.  I honed my craft. I dug in and worked hard.

So yeah. I’ll query her and I’ll dream of a yes.  Then again, with every agent I plan on querying, I will dream of a yes.

Time to go fall in love, oh, a hundred times. QueryTracker and AgentQuery are my PlentyofFish and OKCupid.

______________________

Her Grace falls in love far too easily.  Such a quality is good in a Romance author. Her heart will always belong to That Boy, That Agent and Richard Armitage.

Gorgeous inside and out.

Wanna Publish Your First Novel?

Are you a newbie apprentice writer who has finished your first book and wanna get it published?  Before you send out your firstborn to the cruel, cruel world, get a bit of perspective first.

1. Have someone else read your book. Heck, have several someones. These are called beta readers. These are the people you should have read your book:
   1. Your momma. Really. Her opinion will be uninformed and extremely biased, but at least there will be someone who will tell you it’s a great story. Tuck that well-meaning compliment away, to bring out later on a rainy day. You’ll need it. Now, if your own mom tells you it’s a terrible book, either yo’ momma don’t love you none, or it really is a terrible, terrible book. If so, you should go write another one. (Oh heck, even if it’s the most brilliant thing in the world, go write another one anyway. It’s good for your soul.)
   2. A mate (aka buddy) who ain’t afraid to give you the straight dope. Let 'em know it’s okay if they tell you the parts that work and the parts that don’t. Remember, they aren’t dissing you, just the bad parts of your book. And the bad parts need dissin’.
   3. A fellow writer, preferably one with a better mastery of the craft than your good self. This is the person who’ll give you useful feedback. In fact, finding a good critique group is worth its weight. (A bad critique group ain’t gonna do you no good.)
2. Put the book away. Let it sit and age for a while. This could be weeks, months, or even years. The publishing world isn’t going to disappear tomorrow. There will always be a market for books. Just let the sucker be and get on with another project. Later you can come back to your book with fresh eyes. You will see stuff your brain glossed over before. Then won’t you be glad you didn’t sent out such an unfinished book!
3. Assume you don’t know everything about the craft. ‘Cause really, you don’t. None of us do. Okay, some of us know more than others. But it takes a very long time for us to leave our apprentice phase, our journeyman phase, and enter into true mastery of the craft. So get it into your head that you’re not the most brilliantest writer in the world. But You Could Be. Go study the craft. Go research stuff online. The neat thing about writers is that we’re not jealously hoarding our writing tools. We’re more than happy to share everything we know with every other writer out there. Collectively, we can become mighty.
4. Work on that query letter. Write a concise synopsis. Draft a single log line. Test market it to your FB, your Twitter feed, your online writing workshop. Did anyone bite? If not, review, revise, rework.
5. Research potential agents/publishers. Come up with a dreamlist of your top 100 preferred agents/publishers. Remember, the shorter the list, the shorter your chances of success. So make it long, but targeted. (No use sending that hard Sci-Fi novel to Janet Reid.)
6. Write another novel and pitch that. Second novels are better than first novels.

Got it? Okay, go ahead and send it out. But don’t be too hurt if it is repeatedly rejected. That’s on par for the industry. You’ll have better luck with your second, or even your third book.
______________________
 P.S.: If you have no intention of writing a third book, you probably don’t belong in the publishing industry. Go do a small Lulu run of your one-and-only magum opus and impress your friends and family instead. It’s okay. We don't mind.