Writing is a gamble

 And I'll tell you why.

Every agent and publisher is looking for the next big thing.  Except...what is it?  Nobody knows.  Timing in publishing is every role of the dice taken.  No one can predict the next big thing, but when it hits, OH MAN!  Suddenly every book takes place in the woods in the pacific northwest with dead bodies and a psychic.  Or every romance has a vampire.  Every summer read is about three sisters unfolding their past.  Every teen book is a dystopian novel.  And then the tide recedes, and every writer who tries to hook an agent with any of the above?  The market is saturated.  😖

OR...You wrote one of these perfect books two or three years earlier only to find no one remotely wanted a full, much less to represent.  

Timing.

The other issue with writing is finding your babies a home.  A lot of the established agents are still out there with their homes in New York.  Brilliant.  And quite a few of them are closed to queries until a referral or meeting at a conference.  

Those of us who haven't queried in a minute (years) now Google to look around and see what we can find.  I recommend QueryManager.  There is no charge, and you can query agents by genre.  If they use QueryManager, it will keep track for you next to the agent.  Love this.

There is also: Association of American Literary Agents.  You may separate by genre, also.

I dipped back into my Twitter even though I loathe the owner.  You can follow agents and support fellow writers there.  There's been a decrease in numbers since change in ownership.  Still waiting to see if the ship rights itself.  But also, I found mention of a publishing house I may be able to directly query.  I had never heard of it before.

There's no way in this life or any other I can keep up with all of social media and its many arms and mouths.  But I try to stop in and say "HI!" and check on people.  See how everyone is doing.  Celebrate.  Commiserate.  

Going to the "Sixth Annual Holiday Party" for the Manuscript Academy this evening via computer.  Never been to one.  But merriment and fun are promised.  And in the writing world?  That's a win.

Always writing*

...and rolling those dice  

Querying Agents

As there is an art to writing, there is an art to querying agents.  When I told friends that I finished writing a book and was querying agents, they assumed it would be a quick process.  God bless their wee hearts.  

Querying an agent is like speed dating without the speed.  You both have something to offer, and you're trying to find a match.  Each agent, and rightfully so, will want something different from the author.  Some will want a query, a synopsis, and the first ten pages.  Others may want a query and the first fifty pages.  This is their method to see if they are interested enough to ask for more of the book.  Oh.  You didn't think there was an immediate offer of representation, did you?  Bless YOUR wee heart.  It's a true collaboration between two people wanting the same thing.

I've put out queries for "Chimera" and am still waiting to hear from probably two-thirds of the agents I queried.  But I received truly the best email of non-representation ever.  Let me share a bit:

Dear Crystal,  

 

I’m honored to be one of the agents you considered to represent your hard work. Unfortunately, though your premise is intriguing, I don’t feel as invested in the overall project as I need to be its best champion, and so I'm going to pass.  

*******

First of all, "honored."  She is "honored."  That's a nod to my hard work of banging my head and fingers against the keyboard to create a story I love with my soul and want to share with the world.  Then she goes on to say that my premise is "intriguing."  That's my little boost right there.  Thank you for taking the time to comment on my work.  It's beyond appreciated.  Then she says she doesn't feel she can be its best champion.

And I say thank you.

That's what the author needs.  That's what we're looking for.  A champion.  

I will DIE on that hill for this book.  Give my last breath.  My last heartbeat.  And I'm looking for someone willing to do the same.  That's what an agent will do for the author.  It's a collaboration, a marriage of sorts, between the two where they both work their hardest for the work.  

Still looking for my match.  But he/she is out there.  Because, as I've always said:  A good book will find a home.  Don't ever give up on yourself or your work.

Always writing*