Friday, November 30, 2012

Happenings In The Outhouse 30-Nov-2012 / Ye Olde Agent Search

Agents.

Agents.

And more agents.

That's what my life has been like since completing Beholder's Eye.  I'm having fun too.

My approach this time around is different than any other time I've done the "ol' agent search."  How?  Let me share a little--I don't want to give too much away at this point, because much of it is still experimental on my part.

First of all, let's get this out right away.  Being a literary agent is not a 9-5 job.  I follow quite a number of agents on Facebook and Twitter, and many are tweeting about their work late into the evening.  It irks me when I hear other people grumble about their job, and that they can't wait for five o'clock to roll around because "they're outta here!"  Being an agent (or even a book editor, for that matter) is probably one of the most difficult jobs in the world.  They get bombarded with queries and sample manuscript chapters, forever searching for that one gem they can polish up to try sell to a publisher.

That involves a lot of reading.

And they love it.

My "ol' agent search" involved pouring through the latest Guide to Literary Agents and Writer's Digest, and writing down any agents that was interested in the genre I was trying to publish.  I would give an extra star if they were looking for new/unpublished authors as well as a quick turnaround time and electronic submissions--believe it or not, even as of a few years ago, most agents wanted queries mailed to them with an SASE.

Nowadays, times have changed.  With social media through Facebook and Twitter (for two examples), one can find out what books they're recommending or looking for or even news about the publishing industry in general.

I'll keep everyone updated in my quest . . .

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