Published on October 22nd, 2009 Join the conversation »
On her blog this week is a guest post from Billy Coffey, one of the authors she represents, discussing what happens after an author finds the right agent.
Having an agent has become so important in recent times that one might consider it to be the summit of all the effort after completing one’s novel. But as Coffey rightly describes, that is when the work really starts.
Coffey describes landing an agent as a mid point in getting published. You have come a long way already, but there’s still a mighty climb ahead.
I have never been one of those wannabe writers who falls into the trap of thinking one can simply hand over a novel for an agent to sell to a publisher. There seems no question, to me, that much more work must be done after that time. But I am sure it will be a very different time.
Right now, in the latter stages of my first novel, I am piecing together information and scattered guidance from wherever I can. It’s not tough to find and I am glad to say rarely conflicting from different sources. But it feels as though I am working in the dark, feeling my way around, making mistakes, learning, trying again, hoping I get it right and do not waste an opportunity through inexperience.
Agents know how to navigate the choppy waters of publishing and though I doubt they never get it wrong, are certainly aware of how an author can give their work the best chance of being published. Often that chance is at the price of more work, more editing, rewriting, polishing and buffing the writing.
Having someone to light the way ahead, even the next handful of steps, with solid experience and knowledge would transform the drudge of honing a novel and give it a more defined purpose.
If you are a writer in search of an agent, follow Rachelle’s twitter and blog, I am sure they will help you on your journey.
October 11th, 2009
November approaches and the question “Are you doing NaNoWriMo this year?” starts to flutter through authors’ blogs, twittering and conversations.
For those of you not familiar with the growing annual online event, NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is a challenge for anyone with the desire to write a novel, to start writing on November 1, and [...]
August 18th, 2009
There has not been much going on here recently, and for good reason.
Persistent Spirit is undergoing a re-write. After having been away from it for a few months, I have returned to write the third full draft. I now fully understand the necessity of the breathing space to allow time before returning to the editing [...]
June 7th, 2009
Yesterday’s series of seminar sessions put on for writers by The Writer’s Handbook, was, unsurprisingly, a mixed bag of great and worthless information. Thankfully, the good stuff more than compensated for the bad.
Our immediate impression was of a room filed with people who do not get out much. But what else might you expect of [...]
June 6th, 2009
Today we are attending a day of seminars put together by The Writers Handbook.
The very reasonably priced day (just £30) appears to be packed with informative sessions tailored to the fledgeling writer.
Sessions cover specifics of the publishing business, talks from literary agents, and appearances by authors willing to share their personal experiences on [...]
June 3rd, 2009
What do you do when you come across a list of literary agents and publishers on twitter? That’s right, spam the lot of them!
I now follow a number of literary agents who use twitter, thanks to a recently distributed list. It has turned out to be quite an education. Amongst the personal messages and posts [...]
May 24th, 2009
A quick update on progress…
I mentioned recently about switching tactics and approaching literary agents with an initial query letter rather than a package of letter, synopsis, and sample chapters (based on each agent’s preference).
Some agents make it known that they will respond within a few days, to query letters. My experience so far has been just that. [...]
May 12th, 2009
The first round of approaches to literary agents are back – all rejections. So it is time to regroup and prepare for the next batch, with a new tactic…
I wrote recently about receiving rejections from literary agents. There is always a little disappointment to receive a negative response, after all, you are trying to gain [...]
April 1st, 2009
This week saw the first rejection letter from my recent approaches to literary agents. It is a joyous event!
Several years ago when messing with script writing I collected a a whole pile rejection letters. From carefully considered, personal comment and advice, to a simple photocopied strip of paper with a standard negative notification, each one each one [...]
March 11th, 2009
Literary agents are the key to securing a viable publishing deal in these day of big business, global publishing. Today I submitted my book to three suitable London agents.
I am under no illusions about the nature of the climb ahead of me to get Persistent Spirit and the rest of the Table Rappers series published [...]
