Monday, November 26, 2012

A toe in the door.

The agent asked for the first three chapters of NEARLY HUMAN and a synopsis -- mostly as a favor to the other writer.

I got it off in half an hour.

I pushed my luck a little and included an attachment for the first three chapters of THE RELUCTANT WIZARD, too.  Told her, if I was pushing the boundaries, to ignore the second attachment.  But since the flavor of the two books are so different, I thought it wouldn't hurt.


Anyway, at least I've passed the first hurdle -- thanks to the recommendation.  If she doesn't like the first three chapters of the two books, fair enough.  It is a reasonable facsimile of my current writing abilities.

Have to prepare myself for rejection, since I think the odds of getting an agent on the first try are pretty enormous for a myriad of reasons.  Very stressful, but it has to be done if I'm going to get anywhere.

She immediately responded, and said she'd try to get back to me within the month.  So, back to Freedy Filkins.

2 comments:

Duncan McGeary said...

If nothing else, this will be a reality check for me. Outside parties have less baggage when it comes to judging.

Not that I need much humbling right now. This whole process has been humbling, as I bump up to my skill level and feel as though I need more, and so I try to provide more and don't know if I'm accomplishing it.

I didn't send stuff off back 25 years ago anymore, because I felt there wasn't way to get a fair hearing.

I guess I've changed, because I think the three chapters I've done will actually be enough for them to get an idea.

Hell, I suspect they know within a page or two, maybe a paragraph or two.

So I have to just keep trying, no matter what happens.

Andy Z said...

This is a fun read: http://io9.com/5963305/how-to-tell-if-the-first-draft-of-your-novel-just-isnt-worth-salvaging

One of my favorite bits, about whether you really like your main character:

"Because if writing that first draft was like going on a road trip with your main character, then revising the book is going to be like being trapped in a cabin with your main character for months with no indoor plumbing or electricity."