I got back on the horse last night. In early April I started sending out query letters for my manuscript. I sent eight and had to put together a paper package to send to the rest. In the intervening three weeks I got a cold and found my momentum gone as I practically did nothing to further my writing career.
The decision was simple. Look up agencies in the fantastic 2011 Novel & Short Story Writer's Market, find the ones that didn't obviously disfavor my genre, and send queries in batches of ten. I started on the first, even wrote down the contact info and submission requirements for the following ten and let it sit and fester.
Momentum is a tough thing. You can get it without realizing that you have it and you can lose it in a moment. When I told myself two weekends ago that I was going to send my queries by the following Monday, a mean cold had me sitting on the couch for four days. I probably could have persevered but I felt sorry for myself and mainly watched TiVo and read instead.
Writing additional queries after the first batch shouldn't be that hard of a chore. I have a quasi template with my catchy opening sentence, quick summary of the book and even quicker summary of my writing credits, as I have none save three blogs that are updated inconsistently. If you want a raw, untested writer, I'm the man.
Last night I had to decide if I wanted to tweak my message. I could posit that my manuscript is the opposite of Woman's Lit, or Chick Lit. Call it Man's Lit, or Guy Lit, or my politically incorrect favorite, Dick Lit. Would an agent like this term and get me out of the slush pile, or is this the kind of desperate gambit that automatically gets one's query deleted for eternity?
Men sometimes do manly things like spend too much time on the can, especially when the man in question has his own bathroom. Would it not make sense that my manuscript would be a perfect way to spend such a time? Crafting that thought into a pithy sentence that was not too vulgar while grabbing attention proved to be a daunting task.
I got two queries out last night. The first was a simple cut and paste job. The second took longer because while the agency had blogs on submitting queries and proposals, their submission guidelines were not clear on which one the unsolicited writer should choose. I ended up sending my standard query introduction followed by the first four chapters.
Once I finish this batch of ten, I'm looking forward to some honest, real, and occasionally form-letter rejections. I deserve at least that much.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Thoughts from the Zachrilegious Side of Life
These are my thoughts and my opinions and therefore are wrong and should not be listened to by the easily swayed.
I listened to Jesse Ventura on the Adam Carolla podcast last week. While I think that his conspiracy-based thoughts regarding 9/11 are crazy, I do agree on one point. He thinks that political parties should be abolished. Instead of having a (D) or (R) or a (you just wasted your vote), only the names should appear. I agree on one condition. There needs to be a way for us to get balanced information on local candidates and issues. The last time I voted, and this wasn't a Presidential election, I only knew the bigger candidates and voted a straight party line. My wife voted a straight party line and that party was females. I don't want to vote 100% Democrat because I lack faith in any initial-capped Political Parties. I generally lean left because I like people more than corporations and I believe that not all of my tax money is getting flushed down the toilet. Single-party loyalty does not compute when you are a skeptic.
I make the following comparison. My favorite football team is the Dillon Panthers. You tell me that this team is fictional? it doesn't exist? I don't care. I have made up my mind and no so-called evidence will turn me around. Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose!
My statements are on par with the birther argument. If you continue to believe a point of view after evidence points in the other direction, it's a waste of time to talk with you. I put the creationists, and they do not deserve an initial cap, in the same boat. The jury's already rendered a verdict and you lost. I repeat, if you continue to believe a point of view after it's been proven wrong, then reality has no match for your mind. You should be forced to wear a Judah Friedlander-style hat that says No Vacancy.
Folks who are anti-abortion should not be allowed to use the term Pro Life. That assumes people who believe the opposite are Pro Death. This is another ring in the truth-averse Olympics we have going on in this country. Before abortion was legal, people had abortions. They were much more risky to the mother and the fetus. Abortion is pretty much illegal in plenty of states. This is a dangerous precedent. Only when anti-abortion people start adopting unwanted babies can they be taken seriously. The same crew that wants to prevent abortion because it stains their soul could give no shit about the kid after birth. There's no support for helping poor single moms or giving education, attention, or after-school programs to at-risk kids. I'm not Pro Death. I'm Pro Reality.
This links to my initial thought, but I have to keep going. I'm tired of all the so-called Tea Partiers whining about the deficit. They gave no shit when Reagan, Bush I and Bush II racked up huge debts. And they hated Clinton when he balanced the budget. You can't be serious about a cause if you only pay attention when the "other party" is doing it. I have to be cognizant that Obama is heading down the same path to a closed government that Bush started in a panic after 9/11. Guantanamo Bay staying open, torture continuing, more and more documents deemed "Top Secret" and the escalation of pointless wars are bad things no matter who's in charge.
I understand that the upcoming weekend is a big deal for a lot of Christians. I only have my own point of view. Easter and Christmas were about two things growing up. Presents and food. For Christmas I got presents and we had a big meal. For Easter I walked around the house and picked up plastic eggs full of candy that led to a basket that was full of toys. The days had no more significance. Both major holidays have a basis in pagan rituals, and I kind of like it that way. The German word is Austron, who was a goddess of fertility and the sunrise. And Cadbury mini-eggs.
If there are threads in human history and experience, I like to think that these rituals that far pre-dated the Christian calendar connect us. Celebrate what is in essence the changing of the seasons. Do it with chocolate or do it with ashes and red wine. But pause for a moment from Tweeting about Donald Trump's hideous hair piece and celebrate life. It can be fun.
I listened to Jesse Ventura on the Adam Carolla podcast last week. While I think that his conspiracy-based thoughts regarding 9/11 are crazy, I do agree on one point. He thinks that political parties should be abolished. Instead of having a (D) or (R) or a (you just wasted your vote), only the names should appear. I agree on one condition. There needs to be a way for us to get balanced information on local candidates and issues. The last time I voted, and this wasn't a Presidential election, I only knew the bigger candidates and voted a straight party line. My wife voted a straight party line and that party was females. I don't want to vote 100% Democrat because I lack faith in any initial-capped Political Parties. I generally lean left because I like people more than corporations and I believe that not all of my tax money is getting flushed down the toilet. Single-party loyalty does not compute when you are a skeptic.
I make the following comparison. My favorite football team is the Dillon Panthers. You tell me that this team is fictional? it doesn't exist? I don't care. I have made up my mind and no so-called evidence will turn me around. Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose!
My statements are on par with the birther argument. If you continue to believe a point of view after evidence points in the other direction, it's a waste of time to talk with you. I put the creationists, and they do not deserve an initial cap, in the same boat. The jury's already rendered a verdict and you lost. I repeat, if you continue to believe a point of view after it's been proven wrong, then reality has no match for your mind. You should be forced to wear a Judah Friedlander-style hat that says No Vacancy.
Folks who are anti-abortion should not be allowed to use the term Pro Life. That assumes people who believe the opposite are Pro Death. This is another ring in the truth-averse Olympics we have going on in this country. Before abortion was legal, people had abortions. They were much more risky to the mother and the fetus. Abortion is pretty much illegal in plenty of states. This is a dangerous precedent. Only when anti-abortion people start adopting unwanted babies can they be taken seriously. The same crew that wants to prevent abortion because it stains their soul could give no shit about the kid after birth. There's no support for helping poor single moms or giving education, attention, or after-school programs to at-risk kids. I'm not Pro Death. I'm Pro Reality.
This links to my initial thought, but I have to keep going. I'm tired of all the so-called Tea Partiers whining about the deficit. They gave no shit when Reagan, Bush I and Bush II racked up huge debts. And they hated Clinton when he balanced the budget. You can't be serious about a cause if you only pay attention when the "other party" is doing it. I have to be cognizant that Obama is heading down the same path to a closed government that Bush started in a panic after 9/11. Guantanamo Bay staying open, torture continuing, more and more documents deemed "Top Secret" and the escalation of pointless wars are bad things no matter who's in charge.
I understand that the upcoming weekend is a big deal for a lot of Christians. I only have my own point of view. Easter and Christmas were about two things growing up. Presents and food. For Christmas I got presents and we had a big meal. For Easter I walked around the house and picked up plastic eggs full of candy that led to a basket that was full of toys. The days had no more significance. Both major holidays have a basis in pagan rituals, and I kind of like it that way. The German word is Austron, who was a goddess of fertility and the sunrise. And Cadbury mini-eggs.
If there are threads in human history and experience, I like to think that these rituals that far pre-dated the Christian calendar connect us. Celebrate what is in essence the changing of the seasons. Do it with chocolate or do it with ashes and red wine. But pause for a moment from Tweeting about Donald Trump's hideous hair piece and celebrate life. It can be fun.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Pride of the Lions: The empty wall
I'm disappointed in the publishing industry. I had high hopes and they have been dashed. Over a period of many frenzied minutes I composed a query letter, researched a few literary agencies and tailored the query letter to each agency's requirements. I was meticulous. If they wanted ten pages, they got ten pages. If they wanted a synopsis, I skipped to the next one because I don't have one yet. My manuscript is hard to synopsize.
Friends can attest that I don't ask for much out of this life. In the sporting world I am a fan of the Chicago White Sox. They have one championship in my lifetime and I'm good. I do not need my team to be a paragon of excellence that is constantly ridiculed by jealous fans unfortunate enough not to love the very best. I claim no soothsaying abilities but I know two things. I know that my Tennessee Titans will never win a Super Bowl. I know my Missouri Tigers will never win a football or basketball championship. I accept that. I would revel in my sporting life's mediocrity but that would take too much effort.
When it comes to my writing, my craft, well, I expect more. I expect acknowledgment and I expect it immediately. On Sunday night I composed and sent eight query letters. I read countless, or at least six, blogs regarding the art of query letter writing. I was polite and I was exact to the specifications.
So far I have received nary a reply. I can't be a famous published author or a published yet still lacking fame author if I don't have a wall full of rejection notices. I'll take a form letter but an occasional "what were you thinking?" would be nice. Instead, nada. I was spoiled by my first query that was summarily rejected, most likely by a person three or four levels short of a real literary agent, in the span of 12 hours. Frankly, I was impressed. Sadly, I appear to be a one-hit wonder when it comes to rejections. I am the Snow of query letters.
Friends can attest that I don't ask for much out of this life. In the sporting world I am a fan of the Chicago White Sox. They have one championship in my lifetime and I'm good. I do not need my team to be a paragon of excellence that is constantly ridiculed by jealous fans unfortunate enough not to love the very best. I claim no soothsaying abilities but I know two things. I know that my Tennessee Titans will never win a Super Bowl. I know my Missouri Tigers will never win a football or basketball championship. I accept that. I would revel in my sporting life's mediocrity but that would take too much effort.
When it comes to my writing, my craft, well, I expect more. I expect acknowledgment and I expect it immediately. On Sunday night I composed and sent eight query letters. I read countless, or at least six, blogs regarding the art of query letter writing. I was polite and I was exact to the specifications.
So far I have received nary a reply. I can't be a famous published author or a published yet still lacking fame author if I don't have a wall full of rejection notices. I'll take a form letter but an occasional "what were you thinking?" would be nice. Instead, nada. I was spoiled by my first query that was summarily rejected, most likely by a person three or four levels short of a real literary agent, in the span of 12 hours. Frankly, I was impressed. Sadly, I appear to be a one-hit wonder when it comes to rejections. I am the Snow of query letters.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)