A Writer's Notebook, Day One-Hundred-And-Seventy-Two

I sent out that query letter today, and feel quite good about that.  It took a bit to get myself to do it, but it was worthwhile, even if nothing comes from it.  I feel that their is a fair chance, though, and am quite glad that this particular agency requests a full manuscript.  First, I think that the book itself is the thing that should matter, and that it will do a lot of the work for me.  I believe in the quality of the writing, and that it will stand out on it's merit, even if my letter is imperfect in some way.  As well, it also makes it honest for me to tell other agents that I can't honor a request for an exclusive, as the manuscript is already out with another agency.

I also attended the event at FAU with literary agent Renee Zuckerbrot, which was a bit of a mixed experience.  I feel that I may not have made the impression I wished to, but I do think that she is likely to respond.  Honestly, the issue was that my question was a fairly delicate one, and involved the issue of my books unusual qualities.  As such, it became a bit befuddled in my effort to express my thinking, but I also believe that I made, ultimately, a positive impression in general.  This was helped along by a bit of serendipity, as she happens to live in the same neighborhood where I grew up, and is actually familiar with the specific address.  Indeed, she commented that she has admired it for a long time.  While this does not directly impact her interest in my work, it does provide a bit of a connection, and I feel that is somewhat important.  I am planning to work on my letter for her tomorrow, and want to get it out in the next day or so.  If I can send it tomorrow, that would probably be for the best.

I did a bit of work on a new poem, but it is feeling off at the moment.  I think I have to reconsider the idea, or maybe just finish it and see where it goes, but for tonight, it was not quite working, so I left it to sit.  I have a few other ideas that are bouncing about in  my brain right now, and I think that some of them will be very good indeed, once they have percolated enough.  

If I am honest, I feel a bit less certain about some things after my experience tonight, but I do have the belief that my work is, itself, good enough that some agent will find it worthwhile.  I believe quite strongly that it is just a matter of finding that right person, and that may take time.  It may not.  It is still entirely possible that I will open an email any day now from one of the agents I have already queried and they will be utterly enamored of my novel.  It may be that I keep sending out for a long while, and it takes a bit more effort on that front, but in either case, I don't see that as having much to do with the quality of the book itself.  It may be the quality of my query letter, though I believe it to be rather solid at this point.  Or, it might be a matter of locating the right individual who really will get what I am doing.  It is only natural that a thing that is unusual requires the advocacy of someone special who sees the merit in that work.

It is also true that many writers have a long journey in finding an agent.  Even if I assume that my manuscript is utter genius to a degree that is silly, and just take that for a fact just in this argument, I would still expect it to be possible that I might have a very long journey in that process.  It is a matter of keeping at it, and I am going for it, definitely.  I know it may not happen when I want it to, but I am certain that I will find an agent and get the book published.  It may well be that I just have that certainty as a need, in terms of getting through this process, but I still believe it, completely and genuinely.


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