Once more, this agent seemed like a good fit. On paper anyway. She’s especially interested in mature YA. She’s drawn to historical and fantasy stories. She likes foreign environments when writers evoke them perfectly and enjoys books that delve into the complexity of relationships. She prefers things that are more on the literary side of the commercial-to-literary spectrum.
Sounds right up my alley.
Or not. I guess maybe I don’t evoke the foreign environment of my novel perfectly. Or maybe I’m not delving into relationships with enough complexity. Not that you can tell that from the query or the first page that I sent. Or maybe you can.
Or maybe Agent #13 got 154 queries on the same day she got mine. Maybe she skimmed it. Maybe she had a headache. Maybe the query she read right before she read mine made her fingers tingle, it was that good, and mine sounded lame in comparison.
Maybe mine is lame. I don’t think it is. But what do I know? I’m just a writer sipping coffee.
Seriously, I sometimes wonder if I’m doing something wrong. I’m trying to play by the rules here, people, but the rules don’t seem to be helping me.
Oh wait.
I just remembered: Finding an Agent rule 101.26.4g stipulates that you have to send at least 35 queries and receive 34 rejections before you get an offer of representation. Well, hallelujah! I’m a third of the way there! (I hope.)
A couple of things to think about:
Amazon sold more Kindle downloads than books during the holiday retail sales season this year:
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=120142
Amazon AND Apple both pay 70% royalties to authors on downloads:
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100125-705207.html
You sell a download for $5.99 – they pay you $4.20 – try making that from the printing cartels!
One other thought, video can be used to provoke deep introspection – and yes, even to read! Check out what high school and college age kids are thinking about – the Divine Comedy – amazing! (Disclosure statement: my daughter is one of the stars of this film).
http://www.youtube.com/user/tricofilms#p/a/48ECC49DD653275F/0/BRFv1eM0_sI
But think about it – if kids are making films about morality and spirituality – as an author you’ve got yourself positioned in a pretty edgy demographic. Pretty cool, huh? And one that pays 70%.
So chuck the agent! Or to put it another way, you’ve got two agents already: Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs! And yes, this is a pitch to have Trico make book trailers for you!
Oh, and I like comments on my blog too!
Scott,
I think last week’s Amazon announcement and whatever Apple announces on Wednesday are going to radically change the face of publishing. It will put authors, especially ones who can sell their own work, in a position of much greater power–and possibly help them earn a decent living. However, that’s assuming the author can sell his or her own work (or can afford to hire a publicist who can do the marketing work).
Just as at the Apple app store (or at any bookstore, for that matter), there will be some books that never make back the author’s investment of time and money in them. Most people simply a) don’t write well enough and b) don’t have the marketing savvy to move enough Kindle copies to make a decent profit from any given book. I lump myself in the latter category. And even though I’m a good writer, I highly value the direction and suggestions of a good editor; without them, my book (The Circle of Seasons) would not be as good as it is.
So while Amazon and Apple are going to change the publishing game in ways that I think will ultimately benefit writers, I still want to find a partner (ie, agent) who can help me make my writing better than it already is and who can navigate the changing publishing business with my best interests in mind.