I was reading an online edition of Writer's Digest this week and happened upon an article by author Anne Fortier, who wrote JULIET, a novel about a young woman who discovers that she is descended from Shakespeare's Juliet. Great premise, by the way.
Fortier's article, "4 Golden Rules for Being a Writer," appeared on Chuck Sambuchino's blog. (The blog address is below)
http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/The+4+Golden+Rules+Of+Being+A+Writer.aspx
Now I originally agreed with Ms Fortier's suggestions until I started to think about them in greater detail. And the more I thought, the more I started thinking some of her suggestions were something out of a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. (Fortier is originally from Denmark, which is a beautiful country.)
Her first rule, Start at square one, essentially says forget about networking.
"The world is full of people who know people who know an agent. But you can save yourself a lot of time and disappointment by ignoring them. Because the truth is, no one really knows anyone, and even if they did, it is probably not going to help your chances one bit," she says. ". . . if you run around looking for them, chances are you will still end up back at square one, wondering why you just wasted six months on hearsay."
I'm sorry but that's crap.
While I don't think you can hang your hat on such long chances, there are numerous examples of people who connect with an agent or publisher through social and professional contacts. I know of two people who just this year got agents through knowing someone who knew someone. In both cases, the aspiring authors were prepared for an opportunity if it came. So when it did, they ran with it.
Ms Fortier's second rule is Do your homework. She is right about this.
Not only should your manuscript be "finished, brilliant, formatted correctly, and edited to near-perfection . . . the same goes for the query letter," Fortier says. "Invest the time and do a proper job; this is the most important page of your entire manuscript."
I think this is where I somehow must be failing. Yes, as you know, I have honed my query to the best of my ability but apparently something about it doesn't entice agents. Not sure what, so I continue to work on it. But it is a tight, 250 words. And I think she is right on this point. It is probably the most important page you will write.
Rule No. 3 is Pitch your book before you write it.
"What I mean by this is that you can save yourself a lot of time and headaches by thinking ahead to your query letter as early as possible in the writing process. Once you've done your homework and know what a query letter needs to accomplish, you are very likely to look at your finished manuscript and groan," she says. "So, make a point of thinking through the story early on, with the pitch in mind."
I agree in part and dissent in part.
I agree you should think your story through but she seems to suggest that you should write out an outline before you start. I know I lot of writers who do outline but just as many who don't. And there are successful writers in both camps. It is through hard work and the re-writing process where you keep your novel being "a rambling, pointless, dead-boring excuse for a book." And if you do that, it won't end up being "un-pitchable" as Ms. Fortier suggests. You should think ahead but you also must allow the story to develop. In the end, you could end up with a better story than what you originally considered.
The last rule is Don't jump the gun. "The book world looks pretty darn big from your office chair, but it actually isn't. So, once you have compiled that beautiful list of desirable and reliable agents (once again: by doing your homework), make sure you don't waste it. Don't send query letters to more than one agent at a time," she writes.
That is insane. There can be scores of agents who potentially may be interested in your book. But the response time for most agents is between two and eight weeks for queries, or so they say. Some answer in minutes while others never respond. If you send out only one query at a time and wait for a response, it could take you more than a year, at the earliest, to get through your list of potential agents.
Sambuchino says carpeting the industry with a query doesn't work and he is probably right. He suggests sending out a small number, say, seven, and if that doesn't work, there is probably something wrong with the letter. You can then hone the letter without having invested too much time in a letter that doesn't work.
That is reasonable.
But I agree with Fortier when she says, "Don't test the water by sending your second-best. Be patient. Finish the book. Write the most attractive query letter ever. And then sleep on it. And sleep on it again. Remember: an agent is not some opponent you need to blitz; an agent is someone who would like nothing more than to be your ally. All she/he needs is a good reason."
As with most advice, you have to take from it what works best for you. In that way, you will be prepared when opportunity comes knocking. And even if you fail to accomplish your goal, you can be comfortable in knowing you did your best.
Thanks for reading and, above all, don't give up.
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