With exactly 34,000 words of my novel now under my belt, I'm starting to think about the possibility of getting an agent through whom to get help with publishing. This being the fisrt full-length novel that I think might be finished, I'm quite keen to get expert opinions on it and such. But the question of an agent remains. Where can I find one?
Agents, when applied to the business of writing and publishing, are generally used to organise meetings with publishers, send off manuscripts to publishers and promote the author. This can, naturally, all be done by the author if they so wish, but most writers would rather be left to get on with the writing side of things. Personally. I think I might be able to handle all this stuff, but I'm still only a teenager. I doubt publication companies would take me seriously.
The problem is that you can't simply walk into town and grab an agent. You have to make them want to work for you. This is slightly annoying, as it means more work for me. It may just be simpler to grab an agent some other time and do it all myself for now.
The next annoying thing is that agents cost money, and money is not exactly something I am swimming in. The plan is to make my fortune writing novels, scripts and screenplays etc., but until I actually have money in my accounts, I can do diddly squat. So basically, until I catch a publisher by the neck and manage to steal a contract from his (or her) pocket, I'm stuck without money and without an agent. I think I could afford perhaps ten minutes of an agent's time.
Perhaps more concerning is that there are good agents and bad agents. But all of them are secret agents: You have to know where to look to find them. Then you have to gauge whether they're any good or not. Me being me, I can't do that. I think I shall have to inquire as to what to do, taking help from published authors and perhaps published authors' books on how to get an agent. Good golly, this is all a little larger than writing something brilliant, now isn't it?
I'm off to try and write more of this novel of mine. If I can finish it, it'll be rewrite time. If not, then everything I'm saying now will be next to pointless and I'll have a disappointed Danjo, an enraged Reemma and a genuinely broken me to deal with.
Writing for my life,
Pisces
1 comment:
First, edit the story yourself and get an editor on it. I usually recommend going to publishing agencies, but I've learned from experience that your book has to be in the taste of the person reading it and you need a narrative hook that hasn't been overdone. Usually they read the first sentence and that's it because they have so many people coming to them, so hook them with a story that is in their taste and will grab them from the beginning. I can call in a few agencies for publishing if you're interested and leave you to it.
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