Lots and lots of links this week, so let’s get this started, shall we?
First off, I’m as surprised as you are that my bracket wasn’t completely busted by 3 PM yesterday, which probably means that I’ll be dead in the water by the end of the day. There’s currently a nine-way tie atop the Blog Challenge — we’ll see how things shake out by Sunday!
In other literary sports news, ESPN columnist JA Adande wrote a terrific article about the relevancy of Malcolm Gladwell’s book OUTLIERS to sports, and in particular he talked to the extremely intelligent Celtic star Ray Allen about his thoughts on the book. Allen reflected on the unique advantages that put him on his path to NBA stardom.
Given how many dreams we have to dash in a given day, and, yes, how many bad literary agent apples there are in the publishing orchard, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that literary agents have aroused so much antipathy out there on the Internet lately and lots of finger-crossing about our supposed impending demise. The Self Publishing Review took issue with my statement in my interview with Alan Rinzler that we’re always on the side of authors because Henry feels that we first have our eye on the market.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the coin is Maya Reynolds, who went on a rant of her own about against anti-agent rants.
Victoria Strauss also pushed back against some of the agent-related Internet negativity and checked in with the ultimate, hilarious queryfail: querying someone who isn’t even an agent.
Also, I love Seth Godin, who has an article about how important it is for literary agents to specialize and stand for something in order to add value (and I agree), but he begins with a foreboding comparison to how travel agents have disappeared, which only made me think of the rejection letters: “I’m really sorry, but Hawaii said they won’t let you in. Sigh. It’s just such a tough travel market and they say they can’t take on yet another person from Indiana. I’ll try Fiji next.”
Lastly in agent news, Curtis Brown client Gretchen McNeil recently posted an awesome interview with ICM children’s book agent Tina Wexler, a fellow faculty alum of the Atlanta Writers Conference and an excellent agent.
At SXSW this week, Penguin UK won awards for Best in Show and an experimental prize for their website We Tell Stories, devoted to experimental stories told through web tools, including a story told through Google Maps. Very cool.
Also on the web, reader Teresa Miller pointed me to WriteTV, which is a web compilation of interviews with authors such as Sue Monk Kidd, Amy Tan, and more.
Reader Mary Ulrich pointed me to a seriously terrific article by Kevin Kelly about the uneven adoption of new technology, and how different groups sometimes have irrational reasons for refusing to adopt superior technology even when it would be to their direct benefit. Hmmm…. A group with an illogical attachment to outdated technology….. grasping for a book-related example….
Speaking of new technology, Sony and Google got their deal on and you will soon be able to read 500,000 public domain books on the Sony Reader. For free. Wow. Your move, Kindle. (And yes, publishers weep for their backlists).
The David Foster Wallace tributes are making their way through the magazineosphere, and you probably can’t do better than D.T. Max’s profile in the New Yorker. And in the chiding-but-we-still-love-ya category is James Tanner’s diagram of how to create a Foster Wallaceian sentence.
Still with me? Lots more to go.
Also in New Yorker profile news is blog favorite Ian McEwan. Daniel Zalewski’s profile of McEwan is, shall we say, comprehensive. In fact I’m pretty sure it’s longer than ON CHESIL BEACH. And ATONEMENT. Combined.
In presidential book news, via Publishers Lunch (subscription) comes word that former President Bush got himself a book deal, to be published by Crown, about making decisions. Commence sniggering or reverential expectation depending on one’s political persuasion.
And also via Pub Lunch (subscription) comes word that current President Obama has contracted with Random House for more books post-presidency, and his book earnings now total…… close to $9 million. Commence “Holy crap that’s a lot of dough” no matter one’s political persuasion.
Amid a really big year for Hachette, one bookseller is none too pleased that they have cut back on the co-op programs, including their Emerging Voices program. Check out the post in case you’re curious about what those co-op programs constitute, and yes, another example of publishers coalescing around established authors at the expense (potentially) of new voices.
Almost finally, Happy 40th Birthday to THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR, which Google is honoring today with a cool homage with a caterpillar logo.
And finally finally, you know how I like to end with puppies, and this week I get to end with a bestselling author’s puppy. I give you… Jeff Abbott’s insanely cute corgi. (UPDATE: oops, it’s a cardigan. Not just a sweater anymore.)
Have a great weekend!
Mira says
Pure Fiction, that’s a great idea, but if you plan to publish that work, be aware that by posting it on a blog, you’ve given away first publishing rights.
That doesn’t mean you can’t sell it, but it would be harder to sell, and you’d miss out on the part where the publisher pays you for first publishing rights.
It sucks, but that’s my understanding. If I’m wrong, I hope someone will let me know. I’m fairly sure I’m right though.
Ink says
The West Regional is killing me. Wake, oh Wake… how could you do this to me? Havne’t I always been fair? Haven’t I always loved you?
Nona says
Wallace wrote to Franzen, shortly before the book’s publication. “I don’t think it’s very good — some clipping called a published excerpt feverish and not entirely satisfying, which goes a long way toward describing the experience of writing the thing.”
I’ve had “Infinite Jest” on a side table for several months now. I’ve skimmed it. I’ve read other books cover to cover in the meantime. The library’s going to be wanting it back soon . . .
I can only think that if he’d had more fun writing it, that maybe people would have more fun reading it.
Personally, I write to amuse myself. Oh, I’m just a happy idiot. Or at least, I try to be.
Marjorie says
corrrected comment:
There is an interesting entry at Janet Reid’s blog called: “Some Query Letter Fundamentals.”
In that entry she states:
1. if you send her a CD of your work she will throw it away unopened
2. if you send her an E-mail with a reading receipt she will ignore or cancel what she calls the “annoying” thing
(not sure if she ignores the query or just cancels the receipt)
I commented at her blog and she has comment moderation in place. My comment was not published. I am confused as to why, because I asked a good question which I think should be addressed. Here is my comment:
“Who is hurt when a CD is thrown away? The CD might contain the next Pulitzer. Seriously.
And why get the whole package off your screen just because it contains a reading receipt? Who would be the loser if you clicked “cancel” and the material was sent by (for instance) Jack Kerouac?
All these rules seem silly and they appear to come from a place of anger and spite. They seem designed to punish the writer, when I would think the agenda should be to objectively look at the project and decide if it is worthwhile pursuing. All the rest seems to be petty horseshit…. even in a very busy and bogged down work day.”
I do not understand why my comment would not be published. A blog should have a good mix of commentary, not just comments that are singularly dimensional and flatter the blog author.
And let me add that for a literary agent to auto reject queries based on a personal annoyance level seems a bit self-defeating.
PurpleClover says
Marjorie – I would assume it was the mild profanity in the end about horse do-do that might be the reason it got kicked. While some would be okay with that, they like to appease those that are not.
JMO.
As for your sentiments – I might not necessarily agree with them but that wouldn’t prevent me from posting your comment. Although it IS her blog and she can choose to not agree to disagree.
Nathan Bransford says
marjorie-
What PurpleClover said.
Also, I’m sorry, but if someone is misguided enough to send their manuscript on a CD they probably aren’t equipped to be an author in today’s publishing world.
We can lament that Dead Author X would have never been published in today’s time or recognize that the marketplace is so tough that authors need to use every tool at their disposal, and that includes a recognition of submission guidelines and basic technological competency.
Marjorie says
Purple Clover:
Her blog is peppered with similar language. I have met JR. I attended a panel discussion here in NYC that she moderated. She names her blog and cautions those of the “faint at heart” that she uses those words at her blog.
I want to add that she may not delete entire queries based on an annoyance level. She may only remove the reading receipt. But nevertheless, she still seems to come from a place that is anger driven.
Pure Fiction says
Mira, thanks for your comment and for letting me know about the publishing rights thing – my aim would be to have a manuscript at the end of it (I’d probably give it at least a year first), but I’m getting such a kick out of writing the blog right now, I think I’ll just keep ploughing away.
macaronipants says
Your comment about superior technology got me thinking about the Kindle, of course. I love that you love your Kindle. I really do! But I was a library kid. Lived at the library. And my parents never would have bought me a Kindle.
I just hate to see an expensive device be the gatekeeper to reading. If there are no more books, what does that mean for libraries? And what about all those people out there who can’t aford the gatekeeper?
Sorry if this has been brought up before. But I figured if there was anyone on the planet would could make me feel beter about a Kindle World, it would be Nathan.
Bane of Anubis says
I second that – if you can’t follow simple query directions, how are you gonna be at taking an agent’s guidance?
macaroni – eventually, libraries will go away or morph into digital kiosks – digital copy will be the standard and there will be multiple gatekeepers and some will be free to rent.
It may be uncomfortable for everybody born pre-1980, but it is inevitable (and now I’m thinking of Team America and Kim Jong Il 🙂
Ink says
Bane of Anubis,
I kinda think the people born Pre-1980 will all be dead before e-books have completely taken over from paper books. So, you know, discomfort won’t be too much of a problem. 🙂
Bane of Anubis says
True – but if we inure ourselves to it now, we won’t have to roll over in our graves 🙂
uh-oh – UCLA’s gettin’ annihilated.
Ink says
Damn the Bruins. If they go… I’m pretty much being handed my hat. I thought Collison and Shipp had the experience and would want to go out on a high note, living up to the last three years…
Mighty breezy here with the door open…
Ink says
Darn, it’s cold out here. You didn’t actually have to kick me in the ass. I was leaving, I swear. Hey, where’s my coat?
Julie Weathers says
“Actually, a lot of people correctly predicted how those big decisions would turn out.”
And a “lot” of people can refer to anything at any time. Right now for instance. You have multitudes of predictions about how things are going to turn out with our current administration. Some of them are going to be right and others are going to be wrong.
Then you are going to have the multitude who predict numerous things and some of them are going to be right.
This is not something new. You can go back to the oracles of Delphi with this argument. The fact remains, If a person does this we don’t know how it would have turned out unless we lived through it. We can’t just say, “If Lincoln hadn’t been elected we would still have slavery.” Nothing, absolutely nothing, is set in stone until it happens.
What would have happened if Clinton, Gore or Kerry had been president on 9-11? We can theorize all we want, but it’s still a fantasy.
Ink says
On a literary note, thank you, Nathan, for that link to the McEwan profile. It was long but definitely worth the read. I mean, a great article on David Foster Wallace and another on Ian McEwan… well, that’s aces in my book. I don’t know how your tourney picks are going, but you’re batting fine on the linkage. Quite the slugging percentage on this week’s TWIB.
Thanks,
Bryan
Anonymous says
“I want to add that she may not delete entire queries based on an annoyance level. She may only remove the reading receipt. But nevertheless, she still seems to come from a place that is anger driven.”
I can see how you’d take JR’s posts that way; some people do at first.But as a longtime reader of her blog, I don’t think she comes from a place that’s anger driven at all. It’s more of a place that’s reality driven. Reality driven with respect to the publishing industry.
freddie says
No one is arguing that this is anything new, Julie. But I think the examples you’ve given are more along the lines of conjecture – not prediction.
People who accurately predict an event usually have the information to do so. It isn’t just something pulled out of the ether, nor is it an “if – what if” statement. The economist Paul Krugman predicted the meltdown of the housing bubble a couple of years before it happened. He had the numbers and he knew how to glean the information he needed to make a prediction. He didn’t just say “Well, if Kerry had been president, this never would have happened.” You see the difference?
This is a fascinating discussion, actually. : )
Bane of Anubis says
No economists in the argument, please 🙂 – historically, they tend to predict recessions after they’ve begun… Too bad Krugman didn’t predict the meltdown when Fannie and Freddie were ordered to loosen their lending practices in the late 90s.
We can all point fingers or we can try to Rodney King our way toward a less dismal future (I admit, pointing fingers is more fun for me :).
Marilyn Peake says
Nathan,
Don’t know if you will answer this question this much later after the original post, but I’ve been thinking about this all weekend…
On Thursday (3/19), you commented:
Yeah, with the tightening marketplace I’m passing on things I might not have a few years back. I’m seeing really good stuff in my inbox, but it has to just be a 110% no brainer, “I’d walk through fire to represent this” type of situation before I can take it on.
In the case where you pass on something that’s really good but the market’s too tough, do you let the author know how good their writing is? Lots of times, authors submit their work to agents and, after a certain number of rejections and not knowing why their work was rejected, decide to self-publish or publish through a small indie press. I’m thinking that, if an author knew their stuff was really good but just a tough sell in the present market, maybe it would be better to put away the manuscript and resubmit it to agents when the market improves (maybe even starts booming) again. Do you think that’s true? Also, if you turned down a really good manuscript only because of a tough market, would you reconsider that same manuscript after the market improved?
Jen C says
I can see how you’d take JR’s posts that way; some people do at first.But as a longtime reader of her blog, I don’t think she comes from a place that’s anger driven at all. It’s more of a place that’s reality driven. Reality driven with respect to the publishing industry.
Up until about 6 months ago I was the State Manager for a retail chain, and in charge of all of the hiring for my state. Janet’s attitude reminds me of how I felt when I was doing that. People made so many mistakes – cover letters addressed to other companies, putting the wrong phone number on their resume, having spam filters that wouldn’t let my emails through, resumes in 8 point font that I couldn’t read and so on and so on.
I normally received 150ish applications for every job I advertised, and it took ages to go through them. Not to mention that I had a bunch of stores to run as well, my phone was going off every 2 minutes with some problem or customer complaint, and I often had to work in the stores myself if we were short staffed.
So, the way Janet feels resonates with me. I wanted to give everyone a chance, but my feelings were that if you couldn’t even get your head around sending through a readable resume addressed to the right person, were you really the sort of person who I wanted working for me? Would you be more trouble than you were worth?
Those feelings didn’t come from a place of anger, they weren’t petty. If anything it was disappointment that people were shooting themselves in the foot. But at the end of the day, only one person could get each job and it was my responsibility to whittle down the pile until I got there, any way I could. This, I think, is what Janet probably goes through too.
(Man, my comments are getting longer and longer… *looks up brevity in the dictionary*)
Writer from Hell says
This is really one stop shop for news on publishing – very helpful.
I used the other advice – u know not responding to someone’s nasties with passive aggressive etc. recently – and actually struck a chord with the person.
This is the most rich,useful and awesome blog – my no. 1
Julie Weathers says
But I think the examples you’ve given are more along the lines of conjecture – not prediction.–
I’m going to challenge you right now to preserve ten “predictions” from experts regarding Obama’s handling of the economic recovery. I want you to find five who think he is dead right and five who think he is leading a charge into further disaster.
I will do the same. In five years we can both toss out whatever “predictions” support our beliefs and say, “See, I told you so.”
The problem with predictions and experts is like someone arguing the bible. You can prove anything you want if you use the right excerpts.
Julie Weathers says
Ought to make for interesting reading in a completely revisionist sort of way.–
I’m curious as to whether Clinton divulged all the juicy details of cigargate in his memoir or did we get his version of it.
Julie Weathers says
“I want to add that she may not delete entire queries based on an annoyance level. She may only remove the reading receipt. But nevertheless, she still seems to come from a place that is anger driven.”
Not really.
Janet is pretty blunt, but that isn’t the same as anger driven. Unless someone pushes her past her tolerance level.
I eavesdrop on Colleen Lindsay, Janet Rachelle Gardner and some other agents quite a bit on twitter. It’s interesting to see the numbers of queries an agent approaches each day. By sheer volume, that means they have to have some sorting guidelines.
Any agent will have a “please read submission guidelines first,” posted somewhere. They usually give very plain, concise instructions and, quite frequently, instructions or hints about how to write a query, synopsis, etc.
Nathan’s guidelines are very good as are the other agents.
Janet is very explicit about how to submit to her.
If you can’t be bothered to adhere to a very plain, detailed set of instructions about how to submit a query letter, what confidence does that instill that you can follow instructions about what a publisher wants you to do?
Think of querying as a test. Can I write a good query letter to go with my awesome novel? Can I follow instructions.
As for not posting your comment, I have my theories, but I will let Miss Janet explain if she feels the need. None of it involves kissing anyone’s ring or anything else. It boils down to respect.
I can, and have, disagreed with her publicly before and we still respect each other. Like comedy, a lot of it depends on the delivery.
And, frankly, as much as I admire and respect Nathan and drool over his, “when in doubt, query,” mantra, I would imagine he is about sick of my blathering. Sometimes personality also goes into the query process. That’s a decision you have to make if you want to express strong opinions in public. Some people aren’t going to care much for what you say.
Marilyn Peake says
Marjorie,
It might just depend on when you submitted your blog comment. I’ve noticed that it can sometimes take a few days for comments to appear on a moderated blog site, especially over the weekend. It once took quite a while for one of my comments to get posted on an agent’s website…turned out his wife was giving birth shortly after I posted! I found my comment posted a week or so later. 🙂
other lisa says
Bane – this is a little OT, but Freddie/Fannie making loans to poor people was not the precipitating factor in our current financial crisis. Blaming the poor for this is like blaming, I don’t know, the roadkill for getting in the way of the semi-trucks on the freeway.
In other news, I think I’m going for the iPhone for my E-Reader – just as soon as Pleco finishes development on the iPhone version of their top-notch Chinese dictionary.
Scott says
I’d love a response to Marilyn’s question about query feedback that rejects, yet qualifies the idea/writing/etc. as promising in other economic climes. I’ve received one or two responses recently that felt my idea had merit, and it definitely helped shape further querying activity, not to mention gave me some much appreciated warm fuzzies. 🙂
christine tripp says
I’m wondering if Bush’s Random House book about Decision making will include appointing “Brownie” and why (don’t want to get too political here)
Re the JR blog, I don’t know anyone who would take a CD from some unknown and place it in their computer risking God knows what virus.
I have seen, on occassion, some AD’s saying they will accept art sample submissions on CD and that just seems very strange.
I sure wouldn’t take the chance on a CD in the mail.
Mira says
Nathan,
Are you representing the book Pellham 1, 2, 3, or the screenplay? Re-release?
Anyway, I saw the trailer last night. The new movie looks fantastic. Can’t go wrong with John Travolta and Denziel Washington.
Can I also second the motion about Marilyn’s question? I was wondering the same thing.
Mira says
Marjorie,
I don’t know about Janet in person, but I think her persona is that of the type of ‘tough’ agent that you’d like to fight for you.
Moderating the space, and controlling what is said, would be part and parcel of that persona. I wouldn’t take it personally.
Also, you ‘published’ the comment here, which is just as good.
For the record, I agree with you. I know that I’m in the minority, but I think over-focusing on the form of the query is really problematic, and agents may be unknowingly passing on something they’d really regret.
Fortunately, with self-publishing and e-books, authors have more options nowadays.
Julie Weathers says
“Blaming the poor for this is like blaming, I don’t know, the roadkill for getting in the way of the semi-trucks on the freeway.”
It isn’t blaming the poor for the Fannie/Freddie fiasco. I sold real estate for years and I specialized in the non-conventional programs for low to medium income families. I also sold my share of country club properties. Financing was my forte. Even so, I would never encourage a buyer to think about purchasing a property they couldn’t afford. Most of the time, in the counseling session I encouraged the buyers to think about what would happen if they couldn’t work for three months, although six months is preferable. If they can’t afford to even be out of work for one month, they have no business buying a house.
The guidelines were already very generous. Un-restricting them even further and threatening banks if they didn’t make loans that weren’t fiscally responsible was an invitation to disaster.
Regardless of how good it looks in the polls to “help” everyone buy a home, it isn’t always the best solution. If you can’t afford to pay for it and maintain it, you don’t need to buy.
Julie Weathers says
“I don’t know about Janet in person, but I think her persona is that of the type of ‘tough’ agent that you’d like to fight for you.”
I do know Janet. She probably got tired of having yet another attack leveled on her practices in her blog by the same person.
Janet is a big proponent of following the instructions. She posts every single detail you need to submit to her. She explains at great length how to submit. I have to assume if someone is submitting things outside the guidelines they either can’t read, rules don’t apply to them because they are a special little snowflake or they simply don’t care enough to spend a minute looking at the guidelines. Any of the above reasons should be an alarm this person is someone an agent doesn’t want to deal with.
They have hundreds of queries a week. It’s the author’s job to apply correctly not the agent’s job to correctly divine which person has a blockbuster even though that person has already demonstrated a distinct lack of respect for the industry they are trying to break into.
I linked to several agents in my blog post today. Every single one of them has very concise directions on how to submit to them. Some have gone to the trouble to even post helpful hints about correct formatting, how to write a query etc. I think they’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty. At some point people need to quit blaming the agents and take responsibility for stupidity.
Agents shouldn’t have to post warnings about not using your laptop in the bathtub, but that is just about the point it has gotten to.
Ink says
Julie,
I’ve read Clinton’s Memoirs, and while there is a lot of great stuff in it he’s also rather, ah, circumspect on certain topic. A very careful handling of some subjects (though much worth reading, still).
Julie Weathers says
Ink,
I tend not to read political books or most memoirs. I read voraciously about historical figures, but not current politicians. It’s rumored Mark Twain was the ghost writer for U.S. Grant’s memoir or at least helped him a lot with it.
I would read it simply because I’d like to see the style and I am a Civil War buff. Plus, I think it’s just incredibly sad he struggled to write the book even while battling cancer to leave his family some kind of income.
I would read Reagan’s letters to Nancy, but I like reading letters.
Mira says
Julie,
I don’t want to get into a big argument with you, and I think you have some valid points.
Especially about the type of person an agent will want to work with. That can very much come through in the query.
However, I want to point out that if an agent passes on a ‘blockbuster’ because the author didn’t read the instructions, the agent lost out too. Big time.
I know not everyone agrees, including Nathan, but I’ve said before that not everyone who can write a good book can write a good query. It’s more than that. I have a friend who is an extremely good author. But she’s not computer savvy. She would be happy just to be able to send a query, but clicking on links and figuring out how to do that might be beyond her.
When I first read her work, I thought to myself, this is such beautiful writing, when she’s published, I bet she’ll win awards.
In my opinion, it’s an artificial gate-keeping device to focus so much on the query. And people on both sides miss out.
Sending the first few pages would give the agent so more information.
I was so impressed with Nathan when he changed his policy.
Marjorie says
Marilyn:
I know my comment was not published because I know the time it was sent. Comments with time stamps later than mine are there.
And in general:
I realize literary agents have clear and specific query guidelines. But, it is the way the guidelines are enforced that reveals an anger level. I feel this is part of a transparent power trip: (sort of a: I have the power to get you published and make you a star. Now bow to me and kiss my behind and maybe I will sign you up) I have yet to see one agent who dislikes his client but yet represents him because of the quality of his work. Who is J.D. Salinger’s agent? I bet that was a difficult relationship.
I know there must be many writers who agree with me, but they won’t openly admit it because they want to remain off agents’ sh*t list and keep their dreams alive. It’s a real lemming mentality at agents’ blogs. All the comments are layered with flattery and hope. I won’t do it. My book is at my blog and I always have the option of self-publishing. I don’t give a hoot about the money. I am a retired teacher on an excellent NYC pension. I taught sixth grade for 34 years. I do stand-up comedy in NYC comedy clubs and I can rant on a club stage, so having comments published really doesn’t matter that much. I have my vent arena.
As an aside: when I was a teacher I told all my students that their work had merit. I had rules, but I never dismissed work that was submitted on a piece of paper ripped out from a spiral notebook (against my rules) instead of a piece of looseleaf paper (as I preferred). And all the work was placed on the bulletin board.
Literary agents are not elementary school teachers… but guys? You have so many options out there. Why even query an agent who will work you like her own personal marionette. It seems so stress inducing.
Julie Weathers says
Mira,
Can you think of one “blockbuster” novel where the author didn’t have to follow instructions to get an agent or get published? Celebrity garbage doesn’t count.
I once ordered a tape by agent Anita Diamant. She spoke of the tremendous pain V.C. constantly endured and how she still was so professional and meticulous about her work.
For that reason, Ms. Diamant said she had no sympathy for people who couldn’t be bothered to submit their best work in formats requested.
Agents wanting people to care about their work and be professional is not a new thing.
Even so, if authors insist on being unique and doing their own thing, I fully support their creative freedom. It just makes more room for those who can be bothered to follow a few simple instructions.
Mira says
Aw geez. I had to delete that. I swear, I get so argumentative. It’s a bad, bad habit.
Julie, you seem like an intelligent woman, who is putting a great deal of energy into her writing. That’s very cool. I don’t want to be all in a fight with you, so if it’s alright, I’m going to stop now.
Let’s agree to see this differently.
Julie Weathers says
All right, Marjorie. Let’s be honest. You have ripped Janet several times on her blog about what an @ss she is. Are you really surprised she finally got tired of publishing your posts?
I’m frankly surprised Nathan hasn’t banned me and I don’t even attack him.
You insist you are special and don’t need to bow down and kiss anyone’s ring because you can self-publish. No one asked you to. You don’t like writing query letters? Don’t write them. You want to send your work on a cd? Do it. No one will read it, even other agents, but go ahead. No one is forcing you to do anything.
I think your first rant at her was because she wants people to send her query letters and you are going to shake your fist at the “man” and be a rebel. Every agent wants query letters. This isn’t Janet Reid’s personal torture device. You won’t hear an ad for the Reid Query Letter Rack complete with thumbscrews and iron maiden. Well, you might, but all agents have the query letter torture device, so hers would have to be special.
This isn’t rocket science. If following instructions is so difficult then get in your rebel mobile and fight the system. I’m sure some agent out there somewhere will find your spunk charming. Personally, it comes across as someone who is so bullheaded they are going to be a complete pain to work with.
I’ve disagreed with Janet on several things, but we still maintained respect while doing so. There’s the difference.
I asked her on Book Roast if she would ever consider representing epic fantasy. We had “known” each other for a while then. She said no because she didn’t know enough about it to feel comfortable repping it. Fair enough. She’s honest.
I already knew she didn’t, but I had to ask.
I sent her a query for the SIWC query workshop. Then I ditched her workshop for another one. She sent people out looking for me and said she wanted pages. I thought she was joking. Turns out she was serious. I asked her later what she wanted me to send and she said just send the whole manuscript.
Am I all that and a bag of chips? Hardly. I worked for months on that stupid query. Plus, if you actually read her blog you will notice she no longer requests partials. If your query and sample pages interest her, she just asks for the full.
How many agents do that? If you think that is someone on a power trip, then I’m afraid publishing is going to be filled with demons for you.
Julie Weathers says
Mira, I don’t want to debate with you either. The Marjorie/Janet thing goes back a while and this is just the latest salvo.
Janet’s a grown woman and can defend herself if she feels so inclined, but I am guessing she’s tired of trying to validate the query letter system. There are just so many ways you can try to explain it.
Bane of Anubis says
Mira, your friend can submit to several agents w/o need of a computer. If she’s use a typewriter and can send mail, there are still several agents who accept snail mail… and, it would behoove her to do some e-learning in this digital generation…
An agent could very well sacrifice the next big thing through his gatekeeper practices, but they don’t have time to wade through the query slush pile to do this – if you’re a writer committed to pursuing publication, you should adhere to guidelines; once you’ve made it big, then you can be pretentious and stick up your nose to the establishment.
OL – pretty much what Julie said… Somehow, whenever loose lending practices are brought up, somehow it’s blaming the poor – it’s not (it’s blaming the govt for not doing its job of protecting people from themselves). But that wasn’t my point either or even that F/F’s loosened practices were the lone cause, though they were definitely a catalyst and to deny that is foolish; yes, there were multiple catalysts – way too many for anybody to predict what the final outcome would be or which domino was the first to begin the cascade with any certainty (as Julie alluded to)… ultimately, my point was: saying “I told you so” isn’t a way to resolve anything, which is partially why our govt is inept.
Marjorie says
Julie:
You miss my whole point. I am not against queries. Queries are necessary for an agent to determine which projects he chooses to represent. I queried Nathan. I was rejected in a professional and respectful manner. I get the process.
It is the way Janet interacts with those who query her. She chastises them and often ridicules them at her blog. I can recall a poor guy who sent her a well-intentioned but offbeat query and she posted it and used it as a vehicle for a “funny” reply. The poor guy seemed humiliated in a comment she posted at her blog.
I understand there have to be rules. It’s just how the rules are applied in blog entries that seems to reveal a personal agenda.
So, I sort of feel bad for the writers who are revealed as the rule breakers who are, yes, nameless but to themselves identifiable. To use an often said quote: I feel their pain.
Julie Weathers says
I can recall a poor guy who sent her a well-intentioned but offbeat query and she posted it and used it as a vehicle for a “funny” reply. The poor guy seemed humiliated in a comment she posted at her blog.–
Marjorie you got a burr under your tail about her a long time ago and it just seems like a festering wound.
I missed her posting a query on her blog and using it as a vehicle for a funny reply. She’s pretty adamant about not posting queries unless it’s Query Shark where people send with the intention of having them posted.
Her latest list of don’ts was don’t send your work on a cd. That seems like common sense even if there weren’t specific instructions about how to submit.
Telling her you don’t want any money for your book. You just love to write. Why do you need an agent and how do you intend to pay said agent if you don’t want money?
Don’t send queries with receipts. That goes along with don’t send snail-mail registered so people have to sign for it. It’s
irritating and time-consuming.
Nathan’s own words.
**If you are interested in submitting a project for representation, please e-mail me a query letter describing your project and the first five pages pasted directly into the body of the e-mail at nb@cbltd.com. **No attachments, please.**
Before you submit, Google the agent and the agency to try and find their submission guidelines. If you find it, go precisely by what they ask for. If you do not find any information online, the default procedure is to print out your personalized query letter, send it in the mail to the agent, and be sure and include a self-addressed stamped envelope.**
I’m going to venture a guess you followed his instructions when you submitted to him and didn’t send him an attachment, a cd or a thumb drive.
Honestly, I think it’s become more of a personality conflict than anything else. Perhaps it would be less stressful if you just stopped following her.
Julie Weathers says
https://tinyurl.com/searching-for-author
How many agents would go to this effort to find someone who sent them a query?
Marjorie says
corrected comment:
Julie:
The blog entry about which I was referring is dated January 27th, 2009 and is called: “Why You get Form Letters.”
The guy wrote: “You may be an important person, and I may just be a c-grade Larry Flynt, but don’t try to fool yourself into thinking there was anything resembling jest in your response. It was just plain mean. Small-town cop mean…”
I have met Janet. I attended the panel discussion that she moderated on Feb. 18th in NYC at the Jefferson library. I thought the evening was very interesting and enjoyable. When it was over, I introduced myself to Janet and she was charming and personable.
I just cannot stand that blog snark. I am not stressed by it at all. I just don’t get why.
Marilyn Peake says
Mira,
I posted two entries from the point of view of one of my characters at your Come in Character blog that you announced in this thread on Friday. What a blast! I had so much fun posting comments from one of my fictional characters. Eventually, I’m going to try posting comments from some of my other characters.
Mira says
Marilyn,
I saw – thanks so much! I appreciated it.
I have to be honest about the blog. On Saturday, I was out for most of the day. I was thinking, okay, this is nuts. No one will be interested, and I’m going to stress out. I’m going to delete it when I get home. Let’s kill this thing early.
Then I got home and there were posts! Posts!! It was so exciting.
I was on a forum like that once. It was so much fun. And it was incredible practice for writing. I still use character voices I developed on that forum.
Anyway, sorry to go on, but you caught me at the right psychological moment.
Anyway, thanks for posting and letting me know that you enjoyed it. 🙂
Marilyn Peake says
Mira,
You may end up having a blog that grows quickly. Give authors a chance to talk about their writing, or to speak once again in the voice of characters they spent so much time bringing into the world…and, well, you might just never get us to shut up. 🙂 I love that you’re going to post questions that characters can answer. This will be so much fun!
Julie Weathers says
Mira, Books and Writers just had a writer’s exercise where the author had appointments with a psychiatrist, played by some mods.
It was a fascinating character study. I’m going to predict the blog will be a huge success.
Julie