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I have always wondered how you guys/gals (agents) do this. Once again, thank you for the hidden insight Nathan!

Tom

Kelly Ripa does "Bachelor theater" every Tuesday morning. You should check into that... ;)

And just who is this Tim Gunn person? His photo scares me.

I think from a writing perspective it can be interesting knowing the ending (and the story) when you're reading. It's fun at times to see how the author executes and how something works (or doesn't).

Wait, you like Project Runway too? Excellent.

Gosh. Am I the only person who doesn't watch any reality shows?

Thanks for the post. For some reason, I am scared of writing synopses... something about selling my stories short.

Whoa. You mean I've actually been doing something right all along?
Cool.

New season of Project Runway! So cool! Nathan, if every once in a while you post about Project Runway, instead of the Hills, I would so love it!

I personally would love if every book I want to read would come with a synopsis so that I don't have to skip to the last page to see what happens! But I am weird that way.

Wow... you brought out the heavy artillary... invoking Tim Gunn!

I loved your post on "the other things I do in a day". Very good to know. And, I have a dramatic theory that the Bachelor is not going to pick ANYone this season, but my husband thinks I'm playing right into their hands by believing that.

I've probably read mine a hundred times already. It gets to the point where you have a manuscript memorized and can quote verses from it.

Synopsis= ending.

Yay! I did it right!!

Hi Nathan,
Any thoughts on how to develop the "what works" reading style for ourselves? Short of giving up our jobs and moving to New York to become publishing interns for years, I mean.

I really like what I've written. So does my mom. And a handful of less invested readers. And I know how to read for my own pleasure and for English Lit classes. I'm pretty confident my work passes both those tests. But I can't shake the notion that my baby is going stumble into the big, bad publishing world only to fall on its face without my ever really knowing why.

I'd like to be a savvy parent. So how does the "what works" reading style work?

Dave-

Belonging to a critique group can help, because it forces you to read for quality, but honestly I don't know if there's a substitute for manning a slush pile at some point (whether at an agency, publisher, journal, etc.). It strips away a lot of what you think you've learned about writing, books, etc., and really focuses your readin eyes.

Hey Nathan. Great blog (I've rarely read about the Hills more) that I'm glad I discovered. I actually have a question that I have a great deal of difficulty finding the answer to...

If I want to publish a book under a pseudonym, should I send in query letters using that pseudonym or my real name? I fear if I use my pseudonym potential agents may feel 'duped' when I tell them my real name, and choose not to work with me as a result. Am I being paranoid, or are my instincts correct?

Anyway, thanks for having this forum where these questions can actually be asked and answered.

anon-

I prefer that people query with their real name, although if you want to use a pseudnym you can mention that in the query.

When you find design flaws, do you (or other agents) ever take a moment to tell the propsective client in your rejection note just what it is?

Also, are there some "designs" that you just steer clear of no matter what the subject - like, say, word length, do some turn you off instantly?

anon-

I have to respond to queries with a form letter and can't respond to follow up questions. I would never get through the day otherwise.

On partials, I try and give some sense of why I'm passing, but again, I just don't have the time to get too in depth (and sometimes I'm just going on a gut feeling I can't fully explain)

The only time I can really go in depth is with clients or people I'm hoping become clients. Otherwise I just don't hvae the time.

Nathan,

I agree - The Hills is just not working these days. I no longer find myself anxiously awaiting the next episode.

And I hope I'm not spoiling it for anyone, but I fear the episodes will only get worse with the current strike...

Nathan,

I often find myself with the same architectual slant in the reading and revision of my writing (going so far as to become flawed by perfectionism). Because of this, I think I guard the climactic points and the endings of my books and stifle my queries. Is the ending something I should allude to in the query as well?

I think a critique group can substitute for a slush pile, depending on how many submissions there are per week to the queue.

The one I belong to has a wide variety of queues, each with a different genre. I find that by choosing a few from each queue and reading them through--not to crit, mind you, but just to read--then you can get a good idea at the variations in quality.

I've read several submissions that were technically quite solid, but boring when it came to actual content. OTOH, I've read several that had very interesting ideas, but were technical nightmares, i.e. grammar, punctuation, etc.

Of course when you have to read through a slush pile as part of your job, there exists a pressure to read with a far more judicial eye than one might otherwise employ.

Thanks. I neede a couple YA Christmas gifts.

this couldn't have come at a better time for me. The novel that has consumed my time for the past several months is first person. I recently asked the question at AbsoluteWrite about conversational/casual narration.
I confess my heart skipped a beat when I saw your post title here. Happy to say though, I believe I passed the test. My character is not "chatty". Whew!!!

Thanks for the wisdom, Nathan!

I will admit that one of the major motivating factors behind writing my Nano novel in first person was using "like," "um, yeah," "but, whatever," and "you know" to jack up my word count. I was planning on taking them out in the next draft, but they'd help in November, right?

Yeah, this lasted about five pages before I got too disgusted with myself to continue.

Nathan, this post comes at the perfect time. I've just started editing my first-person memoir and I worry my tone will be exhausting for the reader, exactly like you said. So far I've had positive feedback but it's helpful to hear these suggestions.

You like, totally know that when, I like query you, I'm gonna address my letter to El Chiquito!

As opposed to, you know, Agent Nathan. :-)

Ok, serious question: Courier or Times New Roman in MS? What does an agent want?

Josephine:

http://nathanbransford.blogspot.com/2007/02/formatting-your-manuscript.html

Elmore Leonard, in an article I recently read, said the majority of new writers write in 1st person, and he discouraged this approach due to some of the reasons Nathan outlined.

BTW...Leonard also said never use anything other than the word "said" when writing dialogue.

"No 'asked,' 'responded,' 'exclaimed,' or whatever," said Leonard.

Dennis-

I'm with Elmore Leonard. You might check out this post as well.

Thanks for this post. I am in the throes of writing my first first person novel and I needed to hear some of these points.

I didn't like first person as a kid either. And by "as a kid" I mean "into my thirties."

I used it once, though, for a short story written from the POV of a psychopath. It was effective (that story couldn't be told the same way in third person, no matter how close), but it was also so scary being in that head that I didn't go back to first-person for a long, long time.

But my second WIP felt a little bit bland, like it was really lacking something in the narrative voice, so as an experiment I tried switching it to first person, and it came alive.

So now I'm a first person convert, at least if it's a story that works best that way. I still prefer third for most stories, and especially for long works, though.

You know, I never thought about the excessively chatty first person narrator this way (I think because I have a weakness for third person limited, so it neve occured to me to write in first person). But your advice is also excellent for dialogue as well, especially in YA novels. I love the occasional "like" or "um" in teen dialogue because I think it gives feeling of veracity, but there's a thin line between "veracity" and Totally, Like, Annoying. This is a super reminder.

Interesting, Nathan, and...uh, even more interesting that you used a bit of dialogue from Top Gun as your example?

Another clock-in for perfect timing! I'm trying my first first-person endeavor since the bad fanfiction I wrote in fifth grade.

Luckily, my character's absurdly formal and has never even heard the word "like" used in the contemporary context.

First person is, I think, harder to do well, and sometimes it will make me put a book back on the shelf. But some of my favorites are at least partially in first person. (Bartimaeus, for the win.)

Here's a book on the topic of Point of View that's coming out this spring. It's written by my favorite writing teacher.

The Power of Point of View by Alicia Rasley.

I read a pre-pub version of this book and found it extremely helpful in figuring out whose point of view to use in a given scene, how to shift points of view effectively, and what the strengths and weaknesses are of the various points of view you can choose from.

Alicia always gives wonderful examples that stick in your mind and help you remember the lessons she's teaching while you are writing.

Don't you think J.D. Salinger ruined a generation of would-be authors with "Catcher in the Rye"? It's filled with enough conversational crutches -- "If you want to know the truth" etc. -- that it fooled me into thinking it wouldn't take much effort to write like that. Then I'd write a page or two and I'd remember that I'm no J.D. Salinger.

David M.-

I definitely think that's a factor. When you read CATCHER you think, "Wow, that sounds just like a teenager talking. I should write like people talk."

Of course, it's not really a teenager talking -- it's an illusion of reality, a unique, authentic-sounding voice matched with a narrative. It's extremely difficult to create and do well, and there aren't many who can pull it off.

I'll join the ranks of the authors whose hearts froze upon seeing the title of the post. I'm very glad to see that you don't absolutely loathe first person narratives. (since, sometime in the conceivable future, I'd like to query you with mine.)

Just skimming through a few pages, I'm relieved to note that I have very few "ums" and no "likes". Though, I may have a few too many "Yeahs". Pondering that.

I've always been anti-First Person myself. In the past year, I've been privilaged to read the novels of authors who do it well and that has changed my opinion. First Person is fabulous in the hands of an author gifted for it.

I'm not one of them.
;)

I'm a first person writer all the way.

I like books in both first and third, but the thing that makes me crazy is POV shifts for no good reason. There are a few good books that have multiple points of view for a reason, but the majority I read are because it's the lazy way to go. Pick one POV and stick to it.

I embrace both viewpoints, both as a reader and a writer. First person can be more challenging since you're forced to tell the story from only one viewpoint. When I've written 3rd person and have been so deep inside the character, I sometimes find myself using the "I" pronoun.

The only viewpoint I have a tough time getting into (though manage to get comfortable within a few pages) is first person present tense. That's too close. Even third person present tense bugs me. It's just... weird.

Hey, Jenny, I'm with you regarding Alicia Rasley being my favorite writing teacher, though Donald Maass is pretty high on my list, too. Alicia does tend to elucidate certain things and those stick with me forever. The one that readily comes to mind is: Your character's greatest strength is also his greatest weakness. Big time light bulb moment.

"There's no real-life equivalent. It's something else entirely."

I love that. It's true. I have been writing in first person present tense for the last couple of years and I enjoy it- I feel like I can get into character and really tell the story. BUT I'm aware that it's a construct.

Thanks for posting this.

I switched my fantasy from first to third and, although I dreaded it at the time, I'm much happier with it now.

It takes a lot of talent to do first person right and Diana Gabaldon's works are some of the few I really enjoy. Kudos to you who can do it well. I wussed out, because it's like just too hard, you know?

Which brings me to the next thing I'm pondering. Would it be best to use a spiffy nickname when I respond to posts or even anon007?

I don't write in first person (okay, I'm doing it now but that doesn't count). It limits the story to a single POV, which means I can't let the reader know something awful's about to happen to the character who thinks he's going to have a good day.

I like the idea of letting the reader know I'm about to do something terrible to the hero, but he doesn't know it yet, and the reader can't warn him.

Perhaps I'm just cruel that way.

It's true, Dume, that foreshadowing is a lot tougher to do in first person. But it can be done. It's just that the reader is only privy to the same info as the viewpoint character, and that can be very suspenseful. Both the reader and the viewpoint character get to experience the same clues, interactions, warnings, etc., but each will perceive them a little differently. It's thrilling to ride shotgun with the character through the story. First person is not the easiest viewpoint to master, but the challenge is half the fun. 8^)

Dr. Dume,

If you know what you are doing, you can write in the first person and still let the reader know that something very nasty is about to happen to your narrator even if he doesn't.

It's done by having the narrator observe things in enough detail that the reader is able to draw one conclusion about what is going on even though the narrator may be drawing a different one. The contrast between what the reader is shown and what the narrator believes can create a suspenseful dynamic.

But it's challenging because if your narrator is too out of touch with the reality around him, your reader may say, "What an idiot!" and put the book down.

Off topic but I read a previous post you linked and saw this:

It's extremely rare for the query letter route to work -- I've seen thousands and thousands of query letters, and of those I've only taken on two as clients.

Well, that's encouraging.

Anon-

That was a long time ago. I've taken on several more clients through queries since then and hope to have several more.

What a timely post for me as well. Like, thanks for the insight. Dude.

(Sorry, couldn't help myself)

I'm so glad you posted about this!

I'm writing my Nanowrimo fantasy novel in first person after reading Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy. I must say, though, that I'm struggling a little.

Your link to the 'He said, he shouted' post was soooo good to read too. I thought using the word 'said' too much was wrong.. I know better now, although I would probably prefer to use an action rather than just use 'she said' ('Show, dont tell!')

So anyway, back to first person POV. I understand that by careful planning and writing I can make things appear to the reader without the character knowing (like - something bad is going to happen and if the character doens't move he's going to get shot, etc), and vice versa I can make the character know about something but the reader has to just follow along and wait to find out, but what I haven't managed to do well is be able to write about the history of a certain place, or write about events that take place when the main character is not there. Should I write 'I was told later that such and such happened etc,' and then describe the event, or what?

Basically, I'm struggling with the limitations of first person, because I want to show other things happening in the story, where the main character isn't present, but I want to do it without making the main character an evesdropping snoop.

Thanks Jenny for the link to the POV book - just what I need!!!

This is timely, because I'm currently writing in first person for the first time and I'm not at all sure I like it.
I always have an impulse to write the first few lines of any new story in first person, but I usually resist it because I know I'm going to need to show more than one POV. This time I decided that the story didn't need more than one POV, and so I went with the impulse.
I'm finding it insanely difficult, although 'chatty' isn't my problem. Still, I'm going to press through to the end before I start any revision or rewriting. Maybe I'll start to like it and the practise is probably good for me!

"Chatty" isn't my problem. Another thing along the same lines is a tendency to make self-descriptive asides and philosophical observations direct to the reader.
They need care or they can destroy both the pace and the narrative tone.

I can't help but feel you're casting a, "I'm looking at you, kid," my way. Because, yes, guilty as charged. I'm cleaning it up, honest I am, but in the meantime, thanks for the confirmation that a little goes a loooong way. These damn punks teenagers today need to get their tiring idioms off of my lawn as well as off of my pages.

These are good points, Nathan. Narrative and dialogue are two completely different beasts.

Another reason to avoid chattiness is that a writer can get bogged down in the character's voice and ignore all the other important aspects of the story.

My own book, Servicing the Pole, has a first person narrator. It wasn't easy for me to show a strong protagonist and still convey inevitable human error. To serve the story, my narrator had to make mistakes. Sometimes she had to look ridiculous to other characters while not necessarily being aware of how she appeared to anyone but herself. Showing all this from inside someone's head can be challenging.

The thing to remember is that people are, above all else, fallible. Their perceptions are often incorrect. So when using a first person narrative, the story must also contain benchmarks for the other character's perceptions as well as for the reader's perception. These three are often not the same.

www.laurishaw.com

Anon-

That was a long time ago. I've taken on several more clients through queries since then and hope to have several more.



Phew!

Writing in first person has some great advantages, but plenty of equally challenging shortcomings. The writer can provide a direct window into the MC's head, potentially making character dev much easier. By the same token, the MC has to infer other characters' thoughts/feelings from their actions, and the writer may have to work harder to develop those NPC's into something more solid than window dressing.

I've written in first, but prefer tight, non-omni third for the most part. Some books I've read have a confusing assortment of thirds at times, ranging from omnicient-third (which tends to resemble head-hopping IMHO) to exclusive third, wherein only one character has the focus. Flannery O'Connor's The Violent Bear it Away has some odd shifts, for example.

As for "said", "asked", I used to think that variety was a good thing, but after countless hours reading and critting other writers' works, I've grown to dislike "sadisms", i.e. any verbs which substitute for "said" or "asked". After a certain number, they become intrusive and oftentimes ridiculous.

Also, a lot of writers tend to overdo the dialogue tags and beats, disrupting the natural flow. When I revise, I have to prune quite a bit since I tend to overdo those myself on the first run.

Thanks for the lesson in first person, Nathan. I've definitely found my voice there, but long to do it right.

Someone commented that “first person POV” limits the story. To me, it opens it up into a deeper characterization of the narrator. I don't find it limiting at all. I find it harder to believe that a 3rd person POV could know so much about each character. I am more of a personal person, who connects with the inner flaws of others. I believe the limitation is based on the reader's preference, whether you like character-driven books or plot-driven.

My all time favorite is "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver. A masterpiece, in my humble opinion, of first person, six times over (5 characters and Africa). This story was not limited at all.

As a reader, I just get tired of 1st person in a way that I never tire of 3rd person. Makes me sympathize with psychics...always hearing peoples' thoughts in your head.

Nathan said
'It's extremely rare for the query letter route to work....I've taken on several more clients through queries since then and hope to have several more.'
So, how DO you select clients if not through the query process?

Linnea-

1) Referrals
2) Me reading something in a magazine or on the Internet and contacting the author to see if they have representation

Nathan --

My book is first person, and you nailed it. The first person conversation is not an exercise in realism; it's an artifice and a craft as much as any other technique.

First person is a very easy voice to write in. But it's extremely difficult to do it well.

1) Referrals
2) Me reading something in a magazine or on the Internet and contacting the author to see if they have representation

would you mind referring me from AW to yourself?
Or maybe contacting me on the internet and asking if I have representation?

;-)

1) Referrals
2) Me reading something in a magazine or on the Internet and contacting the author to see if they have representation

would you mind referring me from AW to yourself?
Or maybe contacting me on the internet and asking if I have representation?

;-)

Hi Nathan:
Another grateful for the timely post. Currently working on a 1st person, but toying with epistolary. Have you ever addressed the epistolary novel in your blog. I'd be really interested in reading your thoughts/comments on the subject.

Daphne Du Maurier is good to learn from for writing first person. And most of her books were suspense. It blows my mind how she gives away the ending at the beginning of My Cousin Rachel, but still has me at the edge of my seat. My favorite is Scapegoat, but Jamaca Inn has an evil albino, if you're into that sort of thing.

-lk

Reputation by Gawker - something to be avoiced at all costs.

2) news you might have missed - from the NY Times:
Five authors have sued the parent company of Regnery Publishing ... charging that the company deprives its writers of royalties by selling their books at a steep discount to book clubs and other organizations owned by the same parent company.
... snip ...
the authors Jerome R. Corsi, Bill Gertz, Lt. Col. Robert (Buzz) Patterson, Joel Mowbray and Richard Miniter state that Eagle Publishing, which owns Regnery, “orchestrates and participates in a fraudulent, deceptively concealed and self-dealing scheme to divert book sales away from retail outlets and to wholly owned subsidiary organizations within the Eagle conglomerate.”



One might ask, where were their eyes when they signed contracts.

In Regnery’s case, according to the lawsuit, the publisher sells books to sister companies, including the Conservative Book Club, which then sells the books to members at discounted prices, “at, below or only marginally above its own cost of publication.” In the lawsuit the authors say they receive “little or no royalty” on these sales because their contracts specify that the publisher pays only 10 percent of the amount received by the publisher, minus costs — as opposed to 15 percent of the cover price — for the book.

The math - 10 to 25 cents versus $3.00 or more per book.

dave f.-

Yeah, saw that. Didn't want to touch in on the blog, (but thanks for tackling it for me!).

To my mind it's not a political fight. It doesn't matter if you agree with the author's politics or not. Forget politics and look to the merits of the case. We all want to be published authors.

The contract they signed has clauses about these matters and either they should have known what they were signing or, they should have been informed better. Regnery and Eagle could be at fault. That's what they are asking the court to decide.
I hope people don't just assume this is political. It's not. Any publisher may or may not have the same rights to sell a book to a book club they own. Aside from being "Selection of the Month," this means $$$ to the author.
Regardless of the politics, win or lose this court case is going to mean something for authors, publishers and agents.

Wow, the mass-emailed query was rather shocking. I feel sorry for the gal who didn't know better.

And...new rule: romantic heroes, especially misunderstood law-enforcement male characters, can no longer be named Jack.

Potter Mania (found on Publisher's Lunch)http://www.elderscrossing.com/wizard.html

Thought you'd find it amusing, even if you didn't get through the first book. =)

FYI --

If you're interested in some insider info on the WGA strike, check out http://unitedhollywood.blogspot.com/

The blog is run by strike captains. Good stuff here

The solidarity is appreciated.

urbansherpa, thanks for sharing that link!

That was interesting, Dave. Thank you.

And the James Frey debaucle still boils my blood.

Thanks for the links. All very interesting.

The post on Gawker is amazing. Please tell me that it's a joke! My background is in human resources and I'm still new to the world of publishing. However, I would think that aspiring authors would do their research and would want to follow the industry's accepted standards for querying protocol much like most job seekers adhere to the application process. Although, we have the oddballs, too. My level of interest in a candidate hits zero when I see that I am one of thirty that have just received his emailed resume. Sure makes me feel special!

Wow. Just wow. (the Gawker bit)

Do you think the writer will finally get the hint? Or is she so clueless she won't even realize her query's been made public.

Yikes.

Thanks for the mention, Nathan. People are certainly welcome to hop over to my blog for discussions about writing. (However, I suppose I should warn any Hills addicts that I never mention the show.)
;-)

Jenn Hubbard

You requested the full for that query, right, Nathan? I'm dying to know Jack's decision!

%-)

I may not be able to answer it honestly, but I promise to give you a really vague, noncommittal response.

Ooooh, are you hinting that you are training yourself for a future run for political office?

Linda

Linda-

Maybe. Maybe not. Hard to say, really.

- Nicole Ritchie. She knows what she did.

Ha!

Got a question for you: Is it appropriate to send a Christmas gift to your agent/editor? If so, what kind of gift?

If that's too awkward to answer, what kind of gifts have you and your colleagues received that you thought were cool?

Thanks!

Anon-

X-Mas gifts are appropriate, but also completely 100% optional and I can't stress the optional part enough. I've seen some gifts given to agents that range from the small to the "holy crap you really shouldn't have." And don't forget the assistants, who do a lot of the work and who probably need a gift more than the agents.

But like I said, it's completely optional, and if any of my clients are reading this you really shouldn't get me anything. Seriously.

Nathan,
Since you represent such a variety of writers, how do find the “right” editor/publisher for each work?
Just curious. Thanks.

Amanda

Amanda-

I try to get to know the tastes of as many editors as possible by reading industry publications and e-mails, networking, talking with colleagues and other agents, calling, and networking some more. It's an inexact science but it's my job to know the editors who might respond best to a particular project.

With everything you have to do on a regular basis, I'm impressed that you're able to maintain this blog, too.

Nathan, there's something I've been wondering for a while now, but I understand if it's too risque to voice here. What are your thoughts of "Pushing Daisies"? Do you delight in the magical near-grandfatherly omniscient narrator? Are you amazed that a show about pies and death has not, until now, been aired? And is it not an inspired choice to cast the principal from "Boston Public"?

Eagerly waiting your response.

Clearly your mama taught you well- If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. On the internet, where your words can stick and lurk long after we've forgotten, it's best to say nothing sometimes!

Unless you wanna say something, but sort of not say it, kind of...

Niteowl-

I watched Pushing Daisies and I really didn't get it, sorry. I know a lot of people like it, but it didn't do it for me -- to me it was all style no substance. Maybe you can explain the appeal?

I do admire someone who sticks to their team in through the rough spots. That is probably a great quality in an agent.

But the Sacramento Kings? Why?

Go Warriors! (yes, I'm depressed too)

Nathan, the style of Pushing Daisies is the appeal. Oh, and Lee Pace is possibly the most adorable man on the face of the Earth.

Nathan : pies, necromancy, omniscient narrators. I mean, it's like the Holy Trinity of Cool (fact: this is also the name of Miles Davis' lost album.).

(I suppose hyper-saturated film is also in that Trinity, but then it would be the Holy Quadrinity... or something. And we all know that clunky made-up verbiage is NOT cool.)

But honestly? I think it's just the straight-forward fairy-tale style of it. There's an honesty to the whole thing, all the elements laid out for everyone to see, like the 1973 Impala engine parts that your neighbour Frank's insists on keeping out on the lawn like so many plot elements of a hyper-saturated, pie-necromancy show.

I learned a long time ago that one does not want to know every detail about a person. Growing up with a hypocondriac mother did have its beneficial side.
I want to hear more about this good TV watching you do. So far you haven't mentioned any I consider good. And I meant that in the nicest, blunt way.

Nathan, you strike me as someone who really likes the show Reaper. True? I think it's great. PUD, on the other hand... love the concept, it's the execution that has me scratching my head. The narrator angle is cool, though, kind of like Desperate Housewives. But the show itself I just don't get.

Question: Can you talk a bit about pre-empts and auctions?

Thanks!

Roxan-

Two words: The Wire

As for Pushing Daisies, thanks for explaining it a bit more. I guess I kind of felt like I was watching the visual equivalent of a pie with a thousand packets of splenda dumped on top. But some people have a sweet tooth!

karen-

I haven't seen Reaper yet, but maybe I'll check it out over the summer.

Re: pre-empts and auctions.

They're good. We like them. What specifically did you want to know?

Don't have HBO, but if I did The Wire would probably appeal to my son.
I only have Showtime to watch Dexter.

Dexter is a great show! It has filled the void since the Soprano's ended.

Tom

Agreed, the Wire is the best show out there, by far. I started watching it last year on BET, but then they had to bleep out full-sentences, so we had to buy the season 1 DVDs. Then season 2, then 3, then download 4.

It's like crack - and now I can't go back to watching shows like Law-n-Order or CSI because The Wire is just SO much better and real, so that every other crime drama comes off as cheesy. The good news is that in anticipation for Season 5, I think HBO is putting some earlier episodes up on the internet to download for free. The bad news is that this will be the last season.

Okay, enough gushing. Without Deadwood, the Sopranos, Rome, and the Wire, HBO is doomed...

try being a t-wolves fan. in fact try naming a t-wolves starter (hint: name anyone on the '05-'06 celtics bench).

I love Dexter!

With the showrunners walking off set, looks like we will all be watching "The Hills" or (god forbid) Clash of the Choirs. No, really.

That said, GO WGA! I'm wearing a red shirt tomorrow in solidarity.

What did Nicole do and do you have photos?

I like Lost, although the flashbacks are starting to drive me insane, and Heroes. Most of the shows you mention haven't made it down under yet.

Nathan,

Would you mind commenting on how often you have contact with a client when you are just about to finalze revision details and submit to a publisher?

Also, would you mind giving an estimated time range that it takes for you to sign a client for representation, work with revisions, then actually submit the project ? (For example, anywhere between two weeks to six months?)

Thanks!

anon-

Both questions vary a great deal depending on the client and the project. Some are pretty much ready to go right away, others require a great deal of work and close contact, sometimes months worth.

Basically I'm there for as much or as little contact is needed, but how much back and forth that results in varies.

Hi Nathan - What made you decide to become an agent??? How do you get through the really bad queries & the repeated mistakes (that you continually warn against) without losing your good nature & sense of humor??? Forget the Kings - you should switch to an NBA team. Low Blow - Sorry.

Nathan,

How are the wedding plans going?

jaxpop-

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do when I graduated from college, but I wanted to do something in publishing. Around that time I just happened to see a job listing for the assistant to the President of Curtis Brown. The rest, as they say...

And I actually never get tired of reading queries (or reading in general). It's a never-ending source of fascination.

MLM-

Very well, thanks!

Regarding pre-empts and auctions, I know they're good. 8^) But it would be interesting to hear some examples (made up is okay, too). Talk about starting amounts, terms, length of time that bids are open, how it all works. It fascinates me and I've heard a few stories, but I'd love to hear yours.

For example, I had a friend whose agent tried to get an auction going by doing a shotgun submission right out of the gate, but none of the publishers were interested in making any kind of offer, let alone bidding. Ouch. So tell us how it all works, if you go by instinct, if you send out spies... You know, the technical stuff.

Nathan,

I know how you feel. Sometimes I wonder if I'm overstepping the boundary when I blog about my gas, hot flashes, and say mean things about my friends. But what the heck, I'm old n cranky. When you get to be my age, kid, you learn to let go and cut loose.

karen-

Yeah, that's the kind of stuff I don't talk about. Sorry!

I'm still puzzled by the fact that you won't talk about your deals, once they're made, that is. Wouldn't the fact that you'd obtained a six figure advance for an author or that their book appeared on the NYT best sellers list, be good advertising, both for the author's book and yourself?

linnea-

I'm happy to publicize books once they're out, but I'm just slightly uncomfortable with talking too much about deals when they're made, both because I don't want to be unseemly about it, and also because there aren't books out to buy.

But that's just me, and I'm still sort of trying to decide how I feel about it. I had an auction recently and decided not to talk about it on the blog, but maybe I'll feel more forthright about these things someday.

Good morning Nathan, I was wondering how is editing actually done? What I mean is, once you take on a project, when does the editing begin? Before you submit the MS or after? Do you recommend people to have their MS edited before you start? Should writers be considering finding someone to read and edit their MS before they query? Thanks.

midnight oil-

The manuscript should be in the absolute best shape possible before it comes to me. That said, I may have some additional suggestions for revisions before it goes to publishers. How much depends on the project.

Thank you Nathan, it helps with where I am with my WIP.

Editing> What a great topic for a blog. I remember that as a youngster I had an agent like one of my manuscripts and then sent me line edits on the first 50 pages or so. I was astounded. She was an agent, not an editor I reasoned, falsely. So, I didn't make the changes she suggested, and she would not represent me because I would not do what she suggested.

Since then I've had four nonfiction books published, but no fiction. I'm not sure if I made a mistake or not, lo those years ago. The idea that an agent will edit a book before sending it in seems out of step, to me. I know once a publisher purchases a book they have the right to edit, and the agent is the go between as the process goes forward. So, it seems to me, back then, that an agent represents and a book editor edits.

Now, I understand that the landscape has changed. Editors who buy books are not longer interested in editing them, but shoving them down the pipeline to publication. Therefore any book a writer now sends an agent must be a near perfect as possible, not only to please the agent, but to find a book editor willing to purchase it because he/she not only likes it, but finds it takes little, very little, additional work to send it on to the printing presses.

Therefore, experience has taught me that a writer is fortunate, indeed, to find an agent who takes the time to edit your work. It shows they believe in you and want to help you the next step up the ladder.

I write this only as a warning to fellow writers that if an agent suggests changes, or wants to edit the manuscriptd: Pay Attention.

Don't be a fool as, perhaps, I was lo those years ago.

And finally, Nathan. I like your style, and your humor, and your knowledge. I found it interesting, and illuminating, to find you were an assistant to the CEO or Curtis Brown. That explained how you came by such vast knowledge in such as short period of time. Youth is wonderful. Keep up the good work.

Albest,

A writer who can't get this blog to give him an identity so I have to send it in as Anon.

I've never been referred to as a "preditor" before.

Hmm.

And then there's my blog, on which I spill way more than I ought to. But that's my platform and I'm sticking to it.

Want to read all about the all-natural-practically-hippie birth of my daughter 2 months ago? It's all right there.

Want to read about the time my husband....well, never mind.

I do have a real question, though.

Let's say an agent has had my full for 3 months. Let's say I status queried her and she graciously (and quickly) responded that she hadn't forgotten me and that she'd try to get back to me the following week.

Let's say that was 3 weeks ago.

Let's say my gut tells me to stay quiet and leave her alone.

Is my gut correct?

Jillian-

Even if they said they'd get back to you in a week, I'd still follow the one month rule.

Thanks for clarifying, Nathan. Modesty is a refreshing quality.

Nathan, this may be outside your ken as an agent, but does the "one month rule" apply to short stories submitted to a mag via email?

Thanks, Nathan. My gut is lining up with your advice.

The insecure part of me doesn't even want to touch base with her again. If she was ecstatic about my work, I don't think she'd be using it as a coaster for her coffee cups, yanno?

Ah, well. Thanks again.

nathan, do you have a fave on ANTM. do you think heather is as gorgeous as i do? i can't wait till they travel abroad.

jospehine-

Usually with journals it's more of a "don't call us, we'll call you type of thing." So I don't know that the one month rule applies, but maybe others can chime in.

cyn-

I'd be shocked if Jenah doesn't win. I like Heather, but I think Jenah's the most talented one they've ever had on the show.

Funny.

I run an editing/writing blog. I'll definitely have to link you in, be prepared for more hits. (If I can get the word verification thing right.)

I hear ya on the Sacramento Kings. I have a hole in my heart that used to be filled with Bibby and Webber. Waaahh!

;-)
Robin

I'm not nanoing, I'm sweating with Sven (Sven's Seventy Days of Sweat Challenge). It's not quite as intimidating as NaNo.

I'm finishing up an urban fantasy about a thief who becomes a hero. The story involves shape-shifting gargoyles, the remains of a prophetic saint, a thousand year-old Turkish warrior from the Crusades, an elf who owns a coffee shop that caters to the people of faery, and the thief's fallen angel father. I'm having a blast. 8^)

No NaNoWriMo here. I’m revising my first WIP and writing new bits for my second. They’re both time-travel inspirationals.

I'm revising my mystery (for the last time, I hope!) before sending out queries. I'm about three-fifths done.

NaNoWriMo (or as k.r. stewart said NaNoReMo) was just the kick I needed.

Now, if only we had a national query-writing month...

Punching out a few 'trinket/stringer' articles for the newspaper--then back to my WIP.

Tom

I'm riding a runaway novella all the way to a full length comic/horror YA.

NEVER thought I'd write a YA. Never. Sheesh.

Traditionally I write a novella in preparation for a novel. It helps me flush out the characters, even if major aspects (name, setting, time period) of the characters change for the novel.

It's kind of like building a small-scale diorama of Disney animatronic robots.

Then, once the scene works, you pull the latex off their heads, give 'em new faces and wigs, and put them in an entirely different diorama and see what they'll do. See if they can still suprise you.

But it was the best diorama I've ever made, so I couldn't stop building until...

Sheesh. I can't believe I'm writing YA.

I'm working on a YA 'boy book', which I'm hoping will appeal to girls too, loosely based on a kid I knew in high school who was injured in a freak accident involving a fishing pole. Might NaNu NaNu just for a refreshing brain dump.

LOVE the pressure.

Currently I have seven WIPs, but of course, I can't actually be working on all of them at once ;-P , so I'm focusing on revising one fantasy novel while writing the first draft of another. I just haven't been in a sci-fi mood lately.

I'm NaNo'ing ... sort of ... more for the moral support of a friend than for myself. I've "won" three years in a row, and I feel I've already gotten from it what I need.

k.r. stewart and I have something in common. K.R. if you don't mind, I'm going to use NaNoReMo, too. ^_^.

~PJ~

I'm one of those housework-avoiding, shower-forgoing, cooking-ignoring NaNoWriMo crazies.

Coupled with that, I recently gave up coffee and diet coke. (WWIT??)

So feel free to follow my pixels and come over to offer gentle prodding or vigorous pokes to keep me goingggggggggggg. (Oops, fell asleep on my 'g' key there, little bit.)

My WIP is a YA psychological thriller set in a futuristic, alternate world where a teenaged girl discovers there may be a more sinister reason for her mom’s disappearance than the rumors of affair floating around her water dwelling pod society.

I'm working on a retelling of a 16th century Irish Arthurian Legend as a YA mystery.

No NaNo for me; I don't write well when asked to word dump. Instead, I'm working on another mainstream commercial character story (yeah, yeah. Seems incongruous, but take a look before you pooh-pooh it) about Lyric, the masseuse/adult store owner in the fictional city of Riverview. She's having growing pains, which is a horrible pun when talking about adult stores.

I'm NaNoing for the second year, and am working on a Young Adult chick-lit novel.

It's great you guys up there started: "What I want to do with my life." Very clever!

Every month is NaNoHooHaWhatever for me. Or it feels like it. I'm writing what I suspect will turn out to be something unsaleably between literary and mainstream. It's about Jennifer, a special events planner, who makes a promise to a dying hit and run victim, who mistakes Jennifer for her sister. Add Jennifer's acquaintance, Olivia, a church secretary who was born with three thumbs and what she fears is a hereditary propensity for lying.
For fun, throw in Olivia's new boyfriend, a NOLA refugee who used Katrina as a perfect excuse to steal his dead cousin's identity--right down to his job as a paramedic. I'm 30,000 words in and have no clue where it goes from here. It's a glorious feeling.

I'm working on an urban fantasy set in St. Petersburg Russia about a team of supernatural diplomats. The timing worked out for me to start it this month, so I'm sort of NaNoing, but I'm aiming for good over speed, so I probably won't hit 50,000.

I am banging my head against a wall on revisions to a science fiction novel, writing an urban fantasy (or is it a paranormal romance? one never knows...), and plotting a contemporary romance. A bit divergent for me, and I wouldn't be surprised if some fantastical element weaseled its way in... ;)

Like others, I'm doing NaNoWriLife. I signed up for Nano just for the pep-talk emails from the likes of Neil Gaiman and Naomi Novik (*fangirl squee*).

Short pitch/summation of my suspense thriller WIP A STUDY IN FEAR

A war crimes survivor turned criminal profiler risks revealing her true identity as a trained assassin when a sadistic serial killer targets her ex-lover, a famed forensic psychologist.

Long pitch/summation for same:

Everyone believes criminal profiler Caroline Armstrong is a European woman with the quintessential American name. She’s afraid that her ex-lover, forensic psychologist Rhys Garrison, will find out she’s really Nina Gorić, a Bosnian war crimes victim turned assassin who killed so her unborn child could survive. When the two profilers reunite to uncover a sadistic serial killer’s identity, old flames rekindle along with new fears when Rhys suspects Caroline’s violent past and secret identity.

I'm also working on a YA crime short story called KILLER WON'T BE HOME TONNIGHT Dwight, I'm with you, I never thought I was the YA type either.

No NaNo for this scribe.

Working currently on a nonfiction book on southern women serial killers. It was a toss up between three WIPs, and I chose that one to finish first.

MANIC KNIGHT. Historical/Time Travel. I don't feel comfortable revealing the plot on-line. You'll have to wait for the query.
;)
You're probably wringing your hands and reaching for gin right now!
;)
Don't worry. I'm getting more efficient. You'll probably have it by Easter.

I think NaNo is wonderful, but I've never done it. Doesn't work with the way I run my life.

I'm finishing up the rewrite of a 90K word sensual Regency Historical Romance.

A notorious rake is transformed by an astrologer's conviction that his chart is that of a constant, loving man.

==
One month after these "write a book in a month" things, are agents deluged with queries from people who do not know the difference between a novel and 80,000 consecutive words?

Several things going on. Hoping my finished Novel is doing well in the Amazon Breakthough Novel Contest despite a typo in the first paragraph... (You can read something a million times and still miss it). Toying with a short story that insists on being told. Working on my next novel about a telepath and a terrorist. It's not sci-fi, it's more literary. Looking forward to the day when it's done and I can start querying... it's going to be a while. Trying to keep up with writing at work (copywriter at a dotcom). I don't need Nanowrimo, I should be writing every month, not just November.

I'm working on two contemporary YA novels -- one's in revisions (third draft? fourth draft? Who knows anymore), and the other's my NaNoWriMo project. This is my 7th year doing NaNoWriMo. I tried to tear myself away, but I just couldn't! It's as much a November tradition for me as getting drunk with my mom-in-law on Thanksgiving.

For at least several months of the year, I do tend to crank out fiction or narrative non-fiction at near-NaNo pace (1000-ish words a day, with the occasional Saturday night blitz). Taking part in the November craziness is not a big deal anymore, and I enjoy going to our regional meetings and cheering on new writers. I'm excited about my NaNo project because it's turning out to be a very clean rough draft. My other WIP has been a nightmare, revisions-wise, and I like to think that this new 1st draft won't require as many story-level changes as the older novel. I love editing at the line-level, making the language as precise as possible. It's those story-level edits that make me crazy.

Cynjay, WTG! Did you know Iris Murdoch started her next book on the same day she finished the last one?

Anon 12:43, krw3b, and Scott (or Nathan), what genre is MG?

Dave f, is your #3 about Pamela Anderson Lee? :-)

Sounds YA but it's not. Three teens stumble upon a cave which contains a jar of superstitious Indian 'killing stones'. Using them on the neighborhood bully seemed like a good idea...then the mc realizes they've made a grievous mistake. But does he have time to undue their sin?

I'm NaNoing, but having a rough time this year. Last year I was working full time, taking grad school classes and still managed to knock out 50,000 words pretty easily. This year I'm done with grad school but lucky to be hitting my daily word count.

It's a YA novel. "When the electricity goes out and there are no signs of it ever coming back on, Southern California is thrown into turmoil. Twin sisters Eleanor and Isabelle are faced with a dangerous journey from San Diego to Montana in the hopes of locating their mother after their father is murdered."

I'm also rewriting a couple of picture books and thinking about starting to submit them *insert cries of terror here*.

Sadly I think I might be writing crap.

Nuthin' new there, then.

Hand me that Captain Morgan that Nathan left lying about, would you?

I'm in the vaccuum between completing a manuscript and starting a new one. So all I'm writing this week are query letters. Soon, I'll start the next book. But for now, I'm enjoying a break after a year of writing my keester off.

Well I'm definitely not taking part, since every spare moment is suddenly claimed by moving boxes and all of the other intricasies of moving... but when my mind drifts off, it's either to my romance of a medieval Highlander living in our time... or to my Robin McKinley style retelling of Sleeping Beauty (totally different than Spindle's End, though.)

I'm not doing NaNo-- I don't expect to be done with my current WIP until sometime next spring.

It's a steampunk YA about a fifteen-year-old girl who gets kidnapped by a transnational mafia and has to find a way to get herself--and the prime minister's daughter-- home alive. It's wicked fun: airships, explosions, islands floating in midair, traitors, pretty dresses, telegraphy and super-spies. I'm trying to work in a homeboy phone, but so far, no dice.

From the fading glory days of romantic Hialeah racetrack to thrilling pre-Derby days at Keeneland racetrack in Kentucky; this gypsy life of adventure tempts a rebellious young woman. Love, drugs, thoroughbreds all rolled into one.

I'm doing NaNo. :) I write gay romance and erotica, and the current WIP is a fantasy.

Angie

My NaNo is a romance that I'm now seriously thinking about trashing as my characters, who were so cute and funny during the first chapter, are descending into not cute, not funny people.

I'm very close to giving up on it.

Especially because my writer's block has broken and I'm into my real WIP again. It's an adult contemporary/mainstream (i.e. it doesn't fit into any genre so far). It's almost 1/3 done and someone's gotta die soon...

I've been working on a collection of linked short stories, all Gothic, some satirical, some not, a soft sci-fi novel, and have just agreed to write the book for a musical comedy.

That should be interesting....

I'm working on an inspirational short story that will either hover at 6000 words or win me over and become a bigger project. I'm researching information for a new novel and fussing with the ending of a previous one.

I'm writing for NaNo. I've got 13,700 words right now.

Bad Spelling: All of Katya’s family are either witches or warlocks, depending on their sex, of course. Katya is sixteen and really ought to be able to turn a rabbit into a toad, but things just don’t work out for her. What she gets is a slimy green hopper. That’s the good part. Unfortunately, it also has long ears and fur. That’s bad spelling.

I am working on outlines for two new projects while my beta-readers have my urban fantasy. Coming soon to a query pile near you!

A modern day dark fantasy based on demon myth.
NaNoWriMo reminds me of Mork from Ork. LOL

My Nano novel is about Sven, an atheist who dies and goes to Limbo. There, he gets a girlfriend and fights monsters that are really corrupted human souls. The monsters get the ability to evade God's eyes by exploiting the power of the original sin. Then they harvest souls of people with a higher PC ("purity content", not "politcally correct," although this is an intentional pun) in order to stay in Limbo.

There are lots of explosions. Big, giant explosions. And squicky make-outs. And a semi-Communist leader named Mom, who doesn't like having his orders disobeyed. (Yes, Mom's a guy.)

And did I mention explosions? Because the explosions are cool.

I'm finishing the editing on my YA adventure (set in my haunted hometown of St Augustine, Fl)- Some day I hope to settle on a title. Also researching & working on my agent/publisher queries (not sending 'til early '08 - BTW there are a lot of agents previously red flagged on P&E now showing up under different agency names. 1/2 way through 1st draft of a dark adult suspense set in Nova Scotia. THAT ONE I have a freakin' title for! Oh yeah, in my spare time, I'm building three hugantic office buildings that need to wrap up by the end of this year. No wonder my boat hasn't moved.

I am writing a supernatural tale called "The Vampire of Alpine Canyon," the progress of which I occasionally detail on my blog "A Curious Man" at http://tbdeluxe.blogspot.com/ (though this week, I'm ranting about Halloween.)

I'm in the third draft. It's going quite well, though a little slower than I might like, but that's probably. After this draft, I start lining up readers

I'm writing an epic fantasy vaguely inspired by Shakespeare's Henry V.

I am a NaNo veteran, and this is my fourth go-round. This time I'm writing a humorous cyberpunk tale called Trouble, Inc.: The Longest Joke Ever Told. So far I'm further ahead of the pace than I ever have been and am feeling pretty good about the whole thing. Once November's done, I'll go back to working on rewriting my superhero novel (so I can query you with it, whazzaaaaap?).

Ian
14,430 words and counting...

I've tried to do NaNo, but I am distracted by an agents revision request for my completed Lit. Fic novel, Gumbo Ya Ya. It's a coming of age story about a Cajun girl set on the bayou of Louisiana. Target Market: General Fiction

I am 20,000 words into another Lit Fic set in the Northern Rockies. The story is still telling me what it's about. It's told from 2 first person POV...a brother and a sister.

I'm writing a horror novel about an old man that goes on a roadtrip to deliver a family heirloom to his brother's granddaughter. It isn't for NanoWriMo though, just my current project in process.

I'm doing NaNo this year, because I figured I might as well try it once.

My WIP is something like "Audubon does Fantasyland"--a fourteen-year-old thief and a middle-aged biology professor who studies unicorns team up to defeat the princess, rescue the Dark Lord, and save the habitat of the endangered Green-Frilled Karkadann.

Don't think I'm creatively built for NaNoWriMo. I'm a tortoise, not a hare, I guess. I just finished a final (pending finding and getting comments from an agent) polish of a completed contemporary fantasy, so I'm working up the query and synopsis.

Otherwise, I'm letting my brain lie fallow for a bit to see what takes root next. Possibilities are: sequels for previous projects, or an urban fantasy, or a paranormal suspense, or a return to a shelved historical mystery, or an urban fantasy set in 1930's San Francisco, or...or...or...

But, it'll probably wind up being some strange new seed that falls out of the stratosphere.

(josephine -- MG = a Middle Grade novel, as in for the grade school set).

I'm not doing NaNo -- I cut out 75 pages per novel as is, I don't want to have to cut out another 50 of nonsense simply because I was trying to rachet up a word count.

I'm working on a YA about two brothers.

An urban fantasy novel based on local (West Michigan) history that connects a bunch of unrelated elements (Jazz, time travel, Jaco Pastorious, utopian ideas, and a corrupt furnace manufacturer).

Also (and just for fun) a totally unpublishable novellette involving teenage superheroes.

Seriously.

I just finished a fantasy novella.

Trying to meld fantasy and sci-fi in a non-annoying way:

The apocalypse occurred 1,300 years ago.

The remains of humanity have devolved in a new Dark Ages, trying to scavenge existence out of the wreckage the Ancients left behind. The leader of a small fifedom, Amon Khan, witnesses a scene where a score of soldiers was slaughtered by a lone mage. The evidence convinces the Khan that there may be more to the tales of witchcraft than he had ever believed. Fearing that legend may be true, Amon Khan sets out to find the reality behind the stories.

Before the world’s end, a small society of self-described Illuminati tried to avert the catastrophic war that was coming. Seeing that their efforts were in vain, they choose instead to flee. With no safe haven on a world about to destroy itself, they choose the only route open to them: they invaded and improved the small exploration colony on the face of the moon. Through the centuries they flourished, but were inexorably tied to Earth for the necessities of survival.

Elle McBride captains one of the Illuminati starcraft. When a disaster threatens their habitat, she begins to see that the Illuminati aren’t as pacifist as they claim, and some begin to talk of retaking the Earth--of wiping out the Terrestrials to take the world for their own. But Elle has befriended some members of the primitive branch of the Genus, and argues that they should be spared, or even aided.

While tempers flare on both sides of the debate, she finds that a small unit of her fellows have commandeered a ship, and gone to the Homeworld to begin waging war on the primitives. Elle is forced to act on her own to save the primitives, and reaches out to her Terrestrial friend, Simeon, and by extension to his father: Amon Khan.

Captain and Khan must together find a band of relentless killers in hope of keeping humanity intact.

But while she’s on the surface, an ever darker plan hatches in Haven.

Once the earthbound threat is dealt with, and she returns to her home, a second and larger scale catastrophe prompts the evacuation of the Illuminati home. Every ship is filled to bursting, and ferries her people to Earth.

But the catastrophe was faked to exile her and the people sharing her belief. She is left stranded on Earth, with only the provisions on her ship, and the people who were fooled with her.

I just finished 55 pages of a novel which is about how a rednecked country girl leaves her abusive, holy roller husband who steals her baby girl, and ends up becoming the leader of one of the biggest drug trafficking rings on the East Coast in the late 70s. Broke, homeless, alone and desperate to make enough money to hire a lawyer to get her daughter back, she ends up in South Florida where she falls in love with an Israeli, former Orthodox Jewish, disco producer with a long rap sheet and a deep reverence for cocaine, who promises to help her in her quest to regain custody of her little girl. Even with his help, a fortune in drug money and the incantations of a Santeria priest, getting her daughter back isn't as it easy as it sounds because she is facing years in prison, a vengeful state prosecutor, an army of Southern Baptist ex-in-laws who really don't approve of drug trafficking or consorting with jews, and a real live princess who is after her man.

It's like Scarface if it had been written by Flannery O'Connor, and it's the story of my parents.

FROM THE MOUTH OF THE DRAGON
In a reckless bid for freedom, a slave in ancient Babylon conspires with a traitor to deliver the city into the hands of the advancing army of Cyrus the Great. When their plot is discovered, the conspirators race against time to learn the identity of the spy and avert betrayal before the army reaches the gates of the city.

Misty read eyes. If she met you she had only to glance deep within your eyes to see your soul, your world, your inner most feelings. The only problem is she has no control over how much information the person’s eyes reveal or if she will even understand it. Something that’s got her in trouble before. When she comes eye to eye with a serial killer Misty goes to the police for help, but will they believe her when she doesn’t have all the facts?
Max Jennings is a by the book cop and he’s on the trail of the nastiest serial killer in Angel Fall’s history. When Misty McAllister walks into his squad room and declares knows who the Angel Fall’s Strangler is but not his name or where he can be found, Max labels her a whacko. When the strangler leaves a message on Misty’s door step in the form of a dead body Max labels her a suspect, but Misty insists it’s a warning.

If we answer this, can we still send you a query?

I'm finishing up my time travel romance, which is much bigger than I originally planned. I'm trying to keep it to 150,000 words. Here's the pitch:

"The RMS Titanic. Everyone dreams of going back and preventing her sinking. Two people alive in 2006 just got the chance.

Samuel Altair is a physicist living in Belfast, Ireland. Sam has spent his career researching time travel and now, in early 2006, he’s finally reached the point where he can send objects back along the time continuum. His only problem is, he doesn’t know where the objects go. They don’t show up in the past and no one notices any changes to the present. Are they creating alternate time lines?

To collect more data, Sam tries a clandestine experiment in a public park, late at night. But the experiment goes horribly wrong when Casey Wilson, a student at the university, stumbles into his distortion field. While attempting to rescue her, both Sam and Casey are transported back to 1906 Belfast.

Stuck in the past, cut off from everyone and everything they know, Sam and Casey work together to help each other survive and build new lives in 1906. Then Casey meets Thomas Andrews of Dunallon, the man who will shortly begin to build the most famous ship since Noah’s Ark.

Should they warn him, and try to change the past, creating unknown consequences for the future?

Or should they let him die?"

Well, I'm writing the follow-up to a book I haven't sold yet, which is pretty stupid but well, you never know.

So I'm writing queries for Samuel's Girl, (blurb:) Samuel Watson accidentally releases a demon, and the only one who can stop it is a self-centred professor who doesn’t believe in the supernatural.

Yes, I know, it sounds like it's been done before. I need a better blurbogenerator.

Writing - Norman's House, with some of the same characters, one of whom is trapped in a house with thirteen demons, a witch, a half-demon, a fairy, and a few folk - and none of them can stand him.

Well, better get back to query practice. One of these days I'll get it right...

Forgot to mention... no, I'm not one of the NaNobots this year. I'm trying to avoid starting any new ones until I can get at least one sold.

A novel.

I'm not NaNoing. Count me among the tortoises.

I'm writing a mystery, tentatively titled "Command Performance."

"Perhaps there are worse ways to make your conducting debut than in a shiny-new opera house with a cast of renowned voices in a multimillion-dollar production for which the lighting alone cost more than your entire annual salary.
But if there are, I can’t think of any."

Frank Shelby is the underpaid and overworked assistant conductor of at a major opera company, but he gets the chance of a lifetime when his famous boss falls ill on opening night of a new season. But at the end of the very first scene of Frank's conducting debut, a light falls from the rigging to the stage, nearly killing the company's imperious leading soprano. Frank turns to his boss for help, but while the singers and stagehands were arguing with Frank about who was to blame, their famous conductor was murdered in his dressing room.

There's a lot more to it, including a bass who's a former college football player, a Marxist stage manager and an impresario with a Tourette's-like inability to keep this thoughts to himself.

I started back in October, so I'm already about 36,000 words into it. I'm using NaNoWriMo to help finish.

A historical fiction about a caste of priestesses in ancient Egypt who were second only to the Pharoah. Cutting-edge stuff, even for Egyptologists. No one is going to scoop me on on this one!

Oops, typo.

That's "pharaoh."

November is the absolute WORST month for me to get any writing done because I have to do hair and make up for two school plays back to back. Thus, I will not be attempting to keep up with any of you and your acronyms.
I am doing yet another revision on a YA fantasy (sort of magic realism, actually) before sending it off yet again to Ms. Big Name Agent who requested the revisions.
I also have some great ideas for two other YA novels, but both are in the scribbled note stage.

As of today I'm 106 pages into Samuel's Dream, the novel I posted my "I'm resigned to being the brother of a martyr." first line and paragraph.

While flying over their mountain home on a hangglider, Crash accidentally fools his younger brother Samuel into believing God has spoken to him.

Literary/mainstream fiction.

While I await the yeah or neah of an editor and an agent I'm trying to work on another women/commercial fiction.

It's an updated version with a few twists of the 1978 Alan Alda movie Same Time, Next Year.

Hey Jim Zoetewey - using West Michigan as a back drop - Cool! I live in the very corner of Southwest Michigan!!!


Oh and no- no NANOing for me either.

In my 93k+ word fantasy novel, Caleb, a young and dyslexic outlawed orphan, tries to overcome his lonely and abused past. He trips into his first relationship, and first friendships, in his quest to find out who he is. He must overcome fantastic beasts and betrayal, as well as an entire army, in order to make a last name for himself, and therefore a future. Yet when he discovers the truth of who he is, he is not so sure he wants to embrace it. His destiny could alter the face of the continent forever.

Not NaNoing either.

Last year murder mystery, this year dark fantasy.

I'm not doing an official NaNoWriMo project. I'm using the time, and leeching the creative-frenzy energy of November, to finish writing two of the trashy romances that pay me so I can start the new year fresh and free of deadlines. I'd like to dedicate 2008 to exploring my guilty-pleasure interest in black comedy. :)

Ok, and I'll probably write a little trashy romance next year, too.

Re-reading above.

Maybe I can pioneer a new micro-genre of romance: erotic black comedy romance. Or two genres - romantic black comedy could be the slightly less graphic sister to ebcr. ;)

NaNo is not for people who host Thanksgiving for two families. At least not anyone sane.

I'm putting together the synopsis for my YA SF novel in beta, which is about two kids, a volcano and a time machine that obeys the laws of physics. I'm also working the four storylines of my new YA SF (featuring first contact diplomacy, a humanity-first movement and hula dancing) into a chapter outline and hurrying to get some adult shorts done before I start writing the novel. Oh, and doing fall housecleaning.

My WIP is about an aspiring ballerina, who faces fifth grade in a new school complete with bullies, new friends, homework, and one very cute aspiring Baryshnikov. (summary courtesy of another writer -- Thanks, Amanda!)

I'm in the rewrite phase and still figuring out exactly where to start it.

My first novel (science fiction) sold to Iota Publishing this year (won their contest). I'm halfway through my next novel (fantasy). Basically, I'm reworking Dante's Divine Comedy, but I'm going in the more interesting direction: heaven, purgatory, hell. The main character is a thirteen-year-old English boy.

I'm writing a dystopian YA sci-fi set in ancient Greece. That's it.

Historical fantasy. 305 A.D. Christian persecutions, Roman gods, the apocalypse, Mt. Vesuvius. Oh, and it's a love story. Between two guys.

An erotica novella, and I'm way too shy to go into greater detail. ;-)

Am nano-ing with a spy novel, starting a week late. No stream of conscious, though. I don't like the mess.

I'm not NaNoing either. I have two chapters and an epilogue to write in my fantasy novel. A girl must choose to either save the people who killed her mother or lose the magic that has defined her.

I agreed to do NaNo with my future sister-in-law because she wanted to. And, hey, can another motivator to make sure I pump out my wordcount each day hurt? I hope not. ;p
My current WIP is a YA called Queen of Freaks.

Lily Gardner is a freak; dyed hair, combat boots, super powers and all. She can hear people’s thoughts, and until the Great Lakes School for Exceptional Young People comes calling she can’t help but wonder if she isn’t just plain crazy. The school promises to teach her to control her gifts and, she hopes, will give her a place to fit in for the first time since her mother’s death when she was sent to live with her father and her plastic-perfect suburban step-family. But what Lily finds at school is very little acceptance and a whole lot of rivalry complicated by super-powered cat fights, an impossibly hot but impossible to obtain crush, and a best friend who won’t get out of her head- literally. In a place where everybody is unique and wants to stand out, Lily just wants to fit in.
Just when Lily thinks she’s finding her place at school a dead body shows up on campus, attracting unwanted attention from authorities. With FBI agents and reporters crawling around there is talk of closing the school before someone discovers the students for what they really are. Unwilling to give up her new home, Lily bands together with her classmates to catch the killer and keep the school from closing. But can they find the person responsible before prying eyes look a little too closely at the exceptional young people of her?

Wow. Lots of YA and fantasy stories here. Not a bad thing mind you, but I wonder why that is? I'm not donig Nano. I've gone back to school to become a teacher, which has effectively trashed about 3/4 of my writing time. Really though, for all the brew-ha-ha over the insanity of Nano, 50k in a month is only about 1600ish words a day. 5-6 pages a day for a month. If you have consistent writing time every day, that isn't an absurd amount of writing. I wrote a 118k suspense story in 14 weeks last year. At the time, I had a consistent 3-4 hours a day every day to write. Sadly, that consistent writing time is not so consistent anymore. Still...I write, 5-6 days a week, an hour or two a day.

Anyway. my current project is something of a futuristic urban fantasy, about an assistant pathology assistant working in a globally warmed Manhattan where large chunks of the city are now an insane, NY version of Venice, who has a dead merman show up in the morgue, only to have it vanish, and the ensuing effort to clear her name lead her into a big conspiracy between the mob and some seedy NY politicians to rid the city of its new Mer inhabitants. Ah, the joys of run-on sentences. Good luck all with your current projects!

Would you just look at that shamefully-high comment count?

Now you know, Nathan: never, ever invite writers to give an opinion or talk about what we're writing. We cannot stop ourselves from blathering.

When you ask questions like "What are you writing?" or "What are you reading?", I always wonder if it is part of your nefarious plot, Nathan. Are you compiling statistics in order to have your finger unfairly jabbed to the pulse of the nation? Is this all a ploy to be one step ahead of your fellow agents in determining what the Next Big Thing in publishing will be?

Doesn't matter. We shall continue to be your faithful statistics-sheep, for you amuse us. Baaaa. I am yours, Nathan. Baaaa.

Not NaNoWriMo for me, but WriSoMiFu on lj - Write Something You Miserable Fuck! The idea is to write for at least ten minutes every day so that you make at least some progress :D

I'm writing a fantasy novel. Halley has the perfect job for a Water Mage - looking after the canals of the city of Nocturne Arenaria. Or at least, it's perfect until she's drafted by her boss to search in secret for the next Great Mage, and gets tangled up in Blood Magic and international politics. It's not what she wanted from life, not that Captain Levann seems to notice that he is...

Like some others, I'm doing my own version of NaNoWriMo. Instead of starting a new project, I'm aiming to add the next 50,000 words onto my current novel (the second in a fantasy series dealing with outsiderness and paranormal powers) by the end of the month. "Pseudo-NaNo" is a nice challenge - fun to say, too.

How does anyone write a novel in a month? It's taken me six months to just plan out all the story lines, subplots,characters, and story brief.

WIP is a second YA sci-fi novel using the same characters and setting as my first, Helium 3. Why YA? Because I can have more fun with the characters. When I'm ready, Nathan, I'll send you a personalised query.

I'm picking away at my Environmental\Fantasy\Mystery (does such a thing exist? --it will soon) MG. I want to have the draft done by the new year. Too many kids to do more.

(I thought I already left a comment, but I cant see it. It must have disappeared into the ether!)

There seem to be a lot of fantasy novelists reading your blog, Nathan!

I'm NaNoing for the second time.

I'm writing the first book of a Fantasy trilogy.

The Kingdom is floating in the clouds while the world below boils in a burning mass of dragons and fire.
The protag is the pincess Ellusia, who is the first child to survive the sickness since the Breaking of the World. The King made a pact with the Ethereans (mysterious cloud people) to save her life. Throughout the book we find out the cost of that pact, the changes that Ellusia goes through, and the isolation that she, and others like her, feel.
The Kingdom is on the brink of civil war. The King and his brother have different views on what is best for the Kingdom and the the King's brother is winning more favour every day.
Ellusia's older brother is killed by one of the many dragon attacks and she becomes the sole heir to the throne of a Kingdom that is literally falling apart and turning against her.

NaNoWriMo absolutely does NOT have to be stream of consciousness. :) Unless you're forty thousand words behind on day twenty-six, and even then people tend to go straight for the pirates and ninjas. You don't even have to stop at 50k - I fully intend to hit 80 (and "The End"). In defense of NaNoWriMo, there are plenty of serious writers who are doing it because it's What They Want To Do With Their Life, and writing as a part of NaNoWriMo doesn't make them any less so. I know I definitely use NaNo as a jumping-off point for things that I can polish and submit later.

Plus, it's fun. And that doesn't make it any less legit, either.

My WiP (NaNo-style!) is a historical/political fantasy about a country that has just changed hands from a strong, popular king (well, not universally popular...he was poisoned, after all) to his eighteen-year-old daughter and her husband. Which would be hard enough internally if stronger countries didn't start looking to pick them off and the rivers didn't start rising insanely.

My MC is the new queen's brother, Noah, who really wants to escape the court out of legitimate fear for his life (in this dynasty, you're pretty much expected to be assassinated) but finds himself obligated to stay and help his sister. And her husband. Who he hates. :)

In answer to Peter R's comment: that's the point of NaNoWriMo. It doesn't have to be planned out, highlit, sticky-noted, or even possessed of something resembling a plot. The point of NaNo is to write a first draft with the understanding that it will be crappy...but then, all first drafts are crappy, and you can edit anything but a blank page.

For NaNoWriMo, I'm writing a young adult fantasy type thing that I have no idea where I'm going with but I'm enjoying it nonetheless - letting the oul imagination run riot with magic, dreamcatchers and a spate of disappearances that can only be solved my young adults and some really old people :) Maybe...

In "real" life, I've been working on a selection of short stories, and another young adult fantasy romance. I love this one, it's my baby. There are werewolves and a Romani curse factoring in this in a major way.

I write children’s and YA -- the first almost ready to submit (I must stay off the Internet!) and the second underway.

Meh, no NaNoWriMo for me this year.

I am writing a YA urban fantasy, but I started it back in early October.

I'm also taking two classes online. (One for writing hooks and one on building primitive shelters. World building)

And I'm helping a friend with her agent package. It's amazing how long we can stare at a paragraph or two, while we try to make them intriguing hooks that summarize a 100k book. Eek...

I'm late as usual, but I just wanted to say that I am working for Nano on my original manuscript which I wrote as a screenplay first. It is set in Ancient Korea before Japan was invaded and when Korean was in its Three Kingdoms state. It'll be a bloody, vengeful, shaman magic filled historical novel.

Here's the summary of my most recently completed fantasy, now in revision stage:

On the Flipside

Don Halfinger is a carnival pickpocket who's just trying to "raise funds" to buy an engagement ring for his girlfriend. Then he snatches the wrong ring from the wrong guy, and before he can blink, his world is literally turned inside out, his girlfriend is burned alive before his eyes, and he's captured by a band of otherworldly freaks who are on their own peculiar mission--and they think he's a spy for the bad guys.

Hooray for the tortoises!

Note to NaNoers: The race is not always won by the swiftest.... but if it inspires you to write, well, God speed.

Stephanie Z., I always wondered why schedule NaNo in a month with a big holiday?: the gals lose a day from all that cooking, and guys lose a day from all that football watching. Thought August would have been the better choice.

CC, thanks for explaining MG to me. In my day we called it Junior High School. :-)

Writing the sequel (sort of halfway jotting down the plot really :D ) to a science fiction novel I'm querying out about why some prophecies shouldn't come true.

K

Living with elephants in Botswana - literary nonfiction.

NaNo?
No, no.
No external discipline required.

WIP is an urban fantasy involving Lillie St. Clair, a full-spectrum mega-Talent employed as the city's official Freak to remove unwanted apparatitions.
She doesn't do zombies, however. Her specialty is ghosts.
But some believe that Lillie's exorcisms of the disembodied is genocide; and someone - or something - re-animated her dead husband for revenge.
She isn't sure she can trust the chatty bean-sidhe from the laundromat, or the big, ugly psi-crime detective assigned to her case.
As the paranormal paradigm expands as more and more creatures from folk lore and legend appear, she isn't even sure she can trust herself.

One of Lillie's later adventures, "Stone Child" has already been published in e-format and will soon be released in print.

Sorry, but you did ask.

Great question, Nathan! Agent has proposals out for two separate non-fiction projects.

Now a question for you: I was told that, while waiting for editor feedback regarding the proposals, I should not begin work on the actual books because an editor may have a specific way he/she wants to approach the subject.

Do you agree with this? What should I be working on? Anyone else out there get frustrated with this part of the process?

Due to Nathan's inspiring blog, I've started one of my own to kill time...something I've thought about for a while. Thanks, NB.

No nano nano for me, Mindy. Bludgeoning a set number of words out of my brain is what I do for a living anyway, and I've learned that with fiction, the faster I write the more torturous the revising.

Yesterday, for instance, I wrote 2,500 words of non-fiction, sourced and documented stuff to make a WFH deadline. Over the next week I have to answer editor queries on that project and also on another "finished" NF book, the edited ms of which just landed in my e-box.

At the same time, I'm making small-scale revisions on a YA fantasy novel (is the whole WORLD writing YA?) and deciding whether to go with a small publisher's offer, making large-scale revisions on an adult semi-fantasy that had been suggested by an agent several years ago, working on another contracted NF book due end of March, and in the note-taking stage of a rather bizarre cancer memoir. It's a little much but I can't help it.

For some reason, I seem to have a much easier time getting publishers (not all small ones) than agents. In fact, the last three have solicited me rather than vice versa. Maybe some people just aren't meant to have agents -- forgive the anathema, Nathan -- but I love hanging out here anyway.

I'm continuing edits to a novel I've been writing for just over a year. The first draft took about 50 days. The idea of NaNoWriMo is fun, but I barely have time to put in on my real projects. Good luck to those churning away at it.

And what are you doing surfing the net, reading random comments? GET BACK TO WORK!

Nathan,
Thank you for asking. I'm writing a fantasy novel. It is a spinoff from my Kumari Vale trilogy. My first attempt at first-person narrative after third-person ambiguous in my first four novels. Since I drafted 90,000 words to my fourth novel last month, I don't anticipate having a problem with 50K this month.
I'm posting the text on my blog: http://bitterhermit.wordpress.com for anyone interested in a taste of my penmanship. It is, of course, uncrafted. But it far exceeds most of the slush I slog through here and there.
--David, aka BitterHermit

I'm doing NaNo. Mine is a horror novel set in Las Vegas involving a guy who can hear on a different frequency: the frequency of the damned. It's just a little freaky for him until the day he discovers that They know he's listening.

Hilarity ensues.

I'm NaNoing - a YA about a 15 year old girl in a small town dealing with the aftermath of her father's suicide, a best friend that isn't her best friend anymore and having to find a new place to fit in. Toss in a crazy new girl, a few beers and some hormone-riddled high school boys, and watch what happens :)

not doing NaNo-I got the stream of consciousness thing out of my system last month, unfortunately blowing a very marketable (imo) historical fantasy premise in the process. Topped out at 45K-46K words. Hate the result.

Currently am writing urban fantasy with an Indy Jones/Relic Hunter angle, but am not trying to meet the Nano deadline.

Those demotivator posters are hilarious! Thanks for the link, I needed a good laugh today.

I've finished my MG novel and I'm struggling with crafting the perfect query for it. Arg. Your site has been very helpful in this regard, so thanks!

I'm working on the third draft of Little Fish. It's not on a set time-table, but I'm hoping to have it submission ready by Spring. Here's to hoping. =)

I'm working on a book where the footnotes make up 50 percent of the book and the footnotes footnotes make up another 25. No, not really. I wish.

I'm doing a YA novel. coming of age. Aren't they all? Tears, kissing, death, gossip, anti-depressants, and dance parties. yay!

I'm one of the crazies doing NaNoWriMo. It's a fantasy using some of the Lord of the Hunt/Forest Lord legends in Celtic mythology. Fun so far, and I finally caught up in word count last night. Can't wait to see where it takes me next.

It's an post-apocalyptic urban fantasy called Demonhead. Berkeley and San Francisco are now separate empires, and my MC has a little creature in her head who gives her advice and can manipulate the pleasure center of her brain, and other stuff like that. You're gonna love it. :-)

American Dad meets Shaun of the Dead in Australia.

Have a lovely day! :-)

OK, to add to all the other YA and/or Fantasy people - I'm NOT NaNo participating - I AM editing/polishing my kind of a Helen of Troy flouts fate story.

I'm a NaNo virgin this year, but I'm not word dumping. I've been participating in several lists with the goal of 1K a day. NaNo simply requires me to up my daily goal a little higher. :-) My novel is an urban fantasy/fantasy romance (haven't decided how strong the romance will be) based on Maya mythology and the "end of the world" in 2012.

November is a bad writing month for me. Lots of other things going on and possible my busiest time of year. So I'm not pushing myself to write at the moment. But I am querying a new project (dark urban fantasy/crime), I'm editing short stories that have been sitting around getting ignored (a mix of SF, F and horror, sometimes all in the same story) and polishing a contemporary romantica novellette. When I get back to more active writing (hopefully in December) I'll be working to finish a zombie themed dark romance novella I started in September called "Rot".

Hmmmm. What am I writing?

Well, I'm no longer writing race stories since I just received my annual lay off notice. After seventeen years, you would think I was accustomed to it, but it's still a bittersweet feeling.

I should be working on my fantasy novel more, but all I've done in the past week is work on a pitch and tweak a chapter with melodramatic enchanted jars. I should also be studying poetry, since one of the jars has decided to reply to everything in verse, but I've decided a salt jar might be excused for bad rhyme.

Some writer friends have encouraged me to do something more with my journal than blog my adventures of middle-aged divorce, which is different from divorce in the middle ages--but not much. To that end, I wrote a brief description.

Over the hill, overweight and overdrawn. One woman's flight to freedom on a forklift.

Years ago I fantasized about being a paladin, stabbing my spurred foot into a stirrup as I prepared to ride off to battle. My toes wiggled inside scuffed, steel-toed workboots. I wasn't quite the knight in shining armor I imagined in my youth, but this was damned sure turning into an adventure.

Unfortunately, I still haven't decided exactly what it is.

I also wrote a tribute to my father for Veteran's Day. That might be the most important thing I've done in a long while.

I'd just like to say I do appreciate your time and effort on this blog. It's interesting to peek in and see what's going on in agent world.

I'm NaNoing to finish the first draft of a contemporary YA that was stalled in the dreaded middle. Actually it was stalled just barely past the beginning. Now I'm truly in the middle, but there's no time to wallow here -- 22 days to go!

My current work is my first work. It's called Jersey Justice. The main character, Jimmy Vincent, was tormented by his peers as a child. One day that all turned around and now he deals in street justice, fighting for the little guy and doing things the cops want to do but can't.

In this particular time frame his dumb witted but gorgeous sister comes to town without telling her brother that she's running from her drug lord husband and the fun ensues.

I'm a hugely sarcastic person and that definitely caries through. I enjoy reading the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich, this work is definitely inspired by her.

I've just finished the second draft of a novel. It's about a 30ish slacker who (at dead father's last request) has to visit a reclusive war veteran and jumpstart his mediocre life to earn the inheritance of which his father cut him out. Along the way he starts a conversation with the ghost of Ernest Hemingway who, while dragging him to key west and giving him cryptic clues, manages to help him reunite the war veteran with a lost love, forgive his father, and save his depressed drunk June Cleaver-ish mother.

Holy...

I can make up whatever I want since I'm the 132nd comment and no one in their right mind will read it. But just in case . . . I'm writing a historical novel based on a man who lived in 145 BC. Unfortunately he has to die a horrible death at the end, but it's been quite the journey developing his character and researching Mesoamerica--his homeland. I hit 80,000 words today, so I feel like I might have an enjoyable holiday season after all . . . as long as I don't eat too much chocolate as I stress about my publisher accepting the project.

Just for NaNo...a space opera surrounding the rescue of a handful of castaways who survived the incidental encounter with a latent mine left over from a distant conflict.

Throw in that one of the survivors is an Imperial general who was restoring the prestige and power of the central Imperial government in a strife laden but neglected backwater province and the story has marginal political overtones.

It is a human drama about the conflicts of the high status individuals stranded without any real belief in rescue in contrast to the conflicts of the workaday crew of the makeshift recovery operation launched by the provincial headquarters without any real desire for the recovery of the lost.

The rescuers have little emotional investment to find the lost. The castaways have little illusion that their recovery is possible or even desirable.

When the low-investment recovery crew finally finds the low-hope but politically significant castaways, the interest is in seeing how the revelation of rescue will affect both.

Getting my ass kicked and handed to me by a fantasy novel.

I'm using Nano to get a dent (not necessarily 50K though) into my NiP Eagle of the Sea

M. Horatius Veranius Aquila wants to make a career in the Roman army. But when he is dispatched to Britannia where the governor Julius Agricola fights against the Caledonians, he has dejà-vus of tribal life he can't explain. During a skirmish, Aquila is taken captive and discovered to be born to the tribes from his mother's side and heir to the leadership of the Cerones.

Torn between conflicting blood ties and allegiances, Aquila tries to adapt to the tribal culture and mediate between the Caledonian Confederation and the Romans. But some of the tribal warriors - led by Aquila's cousin Tarain - don't want peace, the influential patrician Cornelius Lentulus learns about the role Aquila's father played in Britain and accuses the family of treason, and the Batavian auxiliaries in Aquila's charge are on the verge of mutiny.

When his attempts to negotiate peace between the Romans and Caledonians fail, Aquila has to decide for one side of his double heritage and become a traitor to the other.
___

Aquila is fun to write. He's a honest guy, but that's exactly what gets him into trouble because he doesn't share some or the Roman prejudices against the Germanic tribes. Right now he's helping a friend from the Batavians to rescue the man's son who in the eyes of the Romans is a deserter. No wonder the legate wants to get rid of the troubleshooter and sends Aquila to Britain. :)

Current WIP is a letter to my (grown) children, explaining what was going on with Mom when they were young (depression/anorexia). Despite how it sounds, it's going to focus on the spiritual journey and resolution, and hopefully be something they'd want to read. :)

Current WIP is a letter to my (grown) children, explaining what was going on with Mom when they were young (depression/anorexia). Despite how it sounds, it's going to focus on the spiritual journey and resolution, and hopefully be something they'd want to read. :)

Yes, I have got NaNO.
One is a mystery, the other a fantasy.
I find NaNO is a great way to get the draft knocked out and then spend time working on it.
Why people get the impression it is meant to be knocking out a real send to an agent type challenge is beyond me.
I am half way to finishing the challenge but probably will need to add another 10-20k to both, to finish the stories.
Its great fun and the donations go to a great cause, NaNO isnt just about writing it has a real purpose too :) Infecting other countries with books.

Since I've just started a new job (as one of those damn fine editor-type people you speak so highly of) I've had to give NaNo a pass this year.

Which doesn't mean I'm not working!

In the hopper, I've got:
- A manga proposal to retool for TokyoPop
- A spec fic short-short to tighten up
- A half-finished novel to come back to, now that my move to the West is over. (*Which* half-finished novel - the murder mystery or the hard-to-classify contemporary fantasy - is still up for debate.)

Long, loooooooooooooooooooooooong slump. Not sure if its writer's block or what... eager to get back in the swing, just not sure where to start--or how.

I finished what I was writing, so I got to this late. I sent it to a few relatives and close friends. I'll wait to hear what they think, and then I will fix the problems they find--and perhaps create new ones in the process. Until they get back to me, I decided to go to the library and pick up a few books to read. My friends and family don't read as quickly as I, so it'll be a month or two before I hear back from them (to this date, three weeks later, only one has finished my book).

Enough with that, I wrote a novel about the medical system, specifically about four patients with the same condition, and their journeys through the system. I am a Crohn's patient, so I essentially wrote--shoot me now--a fictionalized version of what I saw in the hospital wards. There are very deep issues of class and access that aren't well known. There are also issues of hamstrung doctors that are forced into glorified social work by the very flawed system. All of this irritated me, so I decided to write a book.

A novel with a political point is probably one of the more difficult things to write. It was one of those things "I needed to write." I'm glad I did. Though I think I'll probably self-publish it. I'll wait until my friends and family get back to me before I decide what to do with it.

Wow Nathan, thanks for asking. LOL Even though I'm a little late on this one, I'm writing an urban fantasy. It has the potential to turn into a series.

NaNo gave me an excuse to really put my foot down and start being serious and so far I've written 17k. Still have a long way to go but my plot is fully developed and I think it will be easy to get it out. :)

Kimi
http://www.talechasing.com

Have a good weekend. I'm ready for mine already.

Question for you: I'm an agented author with a book deal. I've also dabbled in screenwriting. The strike notwithstanding, would it be appropriate to ask my New York-based literary agent (who does not handle screenplays) if he could make me a connection through his subrights associates in Los Angeles? Or is that rude?

Anon-

Curtis Brown has its own film department, but yes -- if your agent doesn't have a film department it's absolutely fair to ask how or if he plans to exploit film rights and whether he thinks there are any opportunities available through subrights associates. There's not a possibility with every book so it's important to keep an open mind, but it's definitely a fair question to ask.

Thanks, Nathan!

i'd be interested in your thoughts on twilight, as i just read it and reviewed it myself. but that's probably not something you can do. nathan, what is the etiquette about querying to agents in the same firm? is that a big no? or do the rules vary?

Cyn-

You can query agents at the same agency, but only one at a time and you should probably wait a couple of months in between.

Oooh, Nathan, thanks for the mention and clarification.

It's great for writers to know there are still some agents with broad tastes, willing to consider a range of possibilities.

I know you loved "The Road" but have you read McCarthy's "Blood Meridian?" If so, did you like it?
Your answer will tell me volumes about your preferences as a reader and an agent.

Enjoy the break from the blog!

Josephine-

BLOOD MERIDIAN is on my "I'm embarassed to admit I haven't read yet" list. I hear it's amazing and can't wait to read it.

So many books, so little time.

thanks, nathan for the tip. and you know everyone and her mom's dog is going to query you now. haha! bring it!

I am now extremely tempted to go write a Christian science fiction YA called MY TOTALLY TRUE ALIEN ENCOUNTER just to see if anyone would bite on the query.

(I tried to fit monkeys into that joke somewhere, but it didn't work. They'll have to go in the hook).

"The blog is going to be on hiatus tomorrow, so there will be no regularly scheduled This Week in Publishing."

PORQUE!?!?!?!?!?!

Now might not be a good time to query. There are a lot of commenters here, and probably ten times as many who read but stay silent. The next mail truck at your door is likely to be bigger than usual.

However, I never decline an invitation, no matter how generic or vague. To be fair, there haven't been many invitations aimed in my direction, but I can safely say I didn't decline either of them.

I need more practice on query letters first, but one day...

Cyn, if Nathan can handle 600+ first paragraphs in three days (was it three days?) I'm sure he can deal with everyone and their mom's dog querying him. Even if the dog only writes in pawprints.

Twilight is a great read and a huge favorite among the teens at my library. Certainly a book I plan to reread or recommend to a book club for that something different.
Also love to pass along good luck to my fellow NaNOists,the National Novel Writing Month, that begins today the 1st Nov. It is a great task of writing 50k or more of a novel in one month.

I have to admit, I am hoping to eventually query you early next year. It's also heartening to see that you're open to (almost) anything.

That said, I now have visions of an avalanche of queries landing on your desk in the next few days. Heh.

Nathan, thanks for clearing this up. And I think you like torturing yourself, daring all of us to query you.

Enjoy your weekend!

I'm very glad to know that when in doubt to query you as I just mailed you one! I hope I beat the avalanche. :-) I'm new to your blog and like it a lot. Thanks for hosting it.

Hi Nathan:

So much about agenting is the connections. Most agents seem to have connections for the select group of genres they rep. Do you rely on Curtis Brown's amazing network to get you an "in" with an editor when you take on a genre you don't handle often? (Say that amazing middle grade novel falls into your hands...) Just wondering if being part of a large agency gives you an advantage over more boutique agencies.

Very, very, cool.

o.k., say I querry and get rejected by you, I have been learning and reading and targeting you for months. you say no thanks, then what? can I querry you again down the road when I have learned to make it a stronger querry?

Nathan, I'm just getting around to "The Thirteenth Tale" (I think you read that in the summer). And I've been eager to get to "Gilead" for a long time. Hopefully, soon.

Annalee, don't forget to put the evil albino in the jellytank talking on his (waterproof?) homeboy phone in your ALIEN book. :-)

you're right--there totally needs to be a homeboy phone.

Umm, what about funny teen romances?

Twilight is a seriously amazing book.

'Nuff said. :)

o.k., say I querry and get rejected by you, I have been learning and reading and targeting you for months. you say no thanks, then what? can I querry you again down the road when I have learned to make it a stronger querry?

The above comment has many errors in punctuation, a spelling mistake ("querry"), grammar issues, and no capitalization.

Don't query anyone until you strengthen your basic English skills. A stronger query won't help you if the person reading it can tell you don't know how to use commas correctly. You'll never be considered publishable until you're competently literate.

And to answer your question based on what I've read on other agent's sites, no, you can't query an agent a second time for the same project. The agent doesn't care if your query letter is better now; they said no to your book.

Anon,
Thanks for the helpful answer to the other Anon’s question. And you are? It was an honest question, and so what if they forgot to capitalize, or spelled a word wrong. I fat finger the keyboard all the time. I am sure that there are a lot of people out there in blog land who had the same question.

Sorry about the delete. I had a momentary lapse of reason.

Does the Curtis Brown film department read original screenplays or do they only develop adaptations from existing literary works?

Enquiring Minds Need to Know "Hills" scandal a-brewin'!

Other Lisa: Somebody should call Nathan on his homeboy phone and give him a heads up on what Team Heidi is plotting. :-)

I had to go wayyyy back in the archives here to figure out that "homeboy phone" reference!

I met an agent recently at a Writer's Conference. She said that she likes it when authors compare themselves to another writer, so she can get a quick idea of what to expect.

I have a thriller ready to submit, but am I being too egotistical to compare my work to Cussler or someone else?

Hi Nathan,

My question is about professional editing! I am currently developing a historical fiction novel, and being a first-timer and with no professional background in writing, I am a bit unsure of my writing skills, and whether my novel can past any literary agent's standards! I can assure you that the plot is fantastic and unique, extremely well-researched and is of the same genre as the Da Vinci Code. Will an agent be willing to represent this 'unpolished novel' by a newbie,just on the strength of it's amazing plot and well-documented research? You see,I do not have money to pay for professional editors! Thanks in advance for answering my query!

Hi Nathan,

My question is about professional editing! I am currently developing a historical fiction novel, and being a first-timer and with no professional background in writing, I am a bit unsure of my writing skills, and whether my novel can past any literary agent's standards! I can assure you that the plot is fantastic and unique, extremely well-researched and is of the same genre as the Da Vinci Code. Will an agent be willing to represent this 'unpolished novel' just on the strength of it's amazing plot and well-documented research? I do not have money to pay for professional editors! Thanks in advance for answering my query!

Oh it does help and thanks for blogging about it.

Now to getting that call so I can refer to it!

Thanks Ginger! Good etiquette is so important, but so tricky in this field! Thank you for letting me know what you expect both as an offering agent and a considering agent.

Thanks Ginger. I'm sure this is a problem we all hope to encounter one day. I had wondered how agents felt about the call/email - if it felt like pressure or not.

Hi Ginger,

Thank you, it is helpful to know how to properly respond to the first contact from an agent. With so many unknowns in this business it's nice to have a little heads up.

Oh, to have the problem of multiple offers...

Thanks for the advice on what to do should it ever arise.

I would think that Point #2 should be handled before you even query the agent. Why would I send off a query to somebody I know nothing about? Of course, followup questions not answered by the other resources are appropriate.

All around good advice. Now, I'll have to practice saying "I'll get back to you after I sleep on it." Of course, authors always have the initial urgent desire to scream YES YES YES into the telephone.

I started typing a comment about authors becoming so used to being the hunter rather than the hunted. Then my mind filled with scenes of deer being chased from the forest, and I completely lost my train of thought.

Too long in front of a computer screen, I think.

Nathan, enjoy your R&R.

Thank you, Ginger, for this excellent advice.

Thanks very much for your excellent advice, Ginger!

It would be great if doing research online turned up the kind of information one needs, but it never seems to. I am also a bit pessimistic (maybe unduly so) about getting to the bottom of things by asking penetrating questions. The thing is - there are people with a real gift for getting their way in a telephone conversation, and the people who are successful agents tend to be people with that gift. I once eavesdropped on a couple of publishing execs who were assessing contracts with a publishing company, all of which they thought were for ludicrous amounts of money. 'Barking,' said one. 'Positively barking.' 'Oh,' they kept saying, 'it's an Ed Victor deal.' In other words, Ed Victor got on the phone, and the rest was history. Writers tend not to be people with that gift. So if I were to get on the phone with Ed Victor or Andrew Wylie or, of course, anyone else with that very rare gift, I might ask all kinds of questions, and have many misgivings, but if Mr Victor or Mr Wylie had decided he wanted me for a client the result would be a foregone conclusion. Actually pretty much anyone who did not have an actual phobia of the telephone could talk me into pretty much anyone (this is why having an agent is so crucial in the first place).

I am not disagreeing with any of the points made in principle, just doubtful that the sort of person who is not herself agent material could stand her ground in conversation with the sort of person who demonstrably is agent material. One needs an agent to deal with one's agent. And an agent to deal with the agent who...

Thank you for your sage wisom Ginger!!!

BTW I luvvv your name! It's ADORABLE!!

If an agent called me I probably wouldn't ask any questions at all because I would be to busy SCREAMING MY HEAD OFF!! The neighbors would probably call the police and say the lady next door is getting murdered LOL

Not really but I would be excited!!

^_^

That's excellent advice, thank you Ginger. I know that if I'm ever fortunate enough to be in that situation that I'd be very nervous about asking an agent for a day to think over other offers - as if they'd all go up in smoke in those 24 hours. It's good to know that you expect that and what professionalism looks like in this situation!

I can't imagine why an author would refuse to reveal the names of the other interested agents. Unless *cough* there were no other *cough* agents making an offer. Heh. I'm suspicious like that. 8^) Mainly because I've heard this advice actually given to authors seeking representation. Desperate and bizarre, but true.

Ginger, thanks for the helpful advice. I'm not at the querying stage myself but I've heard many writers voice the concerns you've addressed. Just knowing we're not expected to agree to representation in the first five seconds makes this a little less scary.

Great article!

Thank you very much, Ms. Chark.

"I want to make sure I’m putting aside work for my clients for something that really does have legitimate interest."

So it takes someone else being interested to jump the line. This is so frustrating.

Chessie

karen--I have a suspicious mind too! That was my first guess as to why an author wouldn't reveal the name of an offering agent. I've heard of people stamping "Requested Material" on their unrequested submissions for the same reason. Not very nice or professional.

Thanks for your insight, Ginger.

There are so many details most unpubbed authors don't know about this process. I am so thankful for agents like Nathan who hosts a blog, and the guests who come along side of him, all offering valuable info for those who seekers.

Nathan is one blessed man to have such competent women helping him out when he's bombarded with first lines, paragraphs and the aftermath of all of the "self-imposed" above...May, Anne and now you, Ginger.

Rest up, Nathan. You never know what's around the next curve of the blogosphere. First 1000 words??? 2000?

Mahalo Ginger for the enlightenment.

I shall keep your tips within reach. But do you really think a budding author could sleep...after an interested agent call?

Ginger, thanks so much for an informative post (and thanks Nathan for facilitating). Your suggestions will certainly help the lucky ones navigate an intense experience.

Thank you Ms Clarke.

Karen and Precie - I thought that too. I've a suspicious mind.

Chessie - I understand your frustration but (and maybe I'm naive saying this) I do believe if the writing is good enough you'll snag the agent's attention and 'jump the line' whether or not there are other offers on the table.

After all if an agent sits on a project waiting to see if others show interest, they risk losing a potentially excellent client.

Hey, thanks, Ginger. I'd never thought much about what to do besides a little Snoopy suppertime/victory dance. I hope that some day I get to follow your advice.

Excellent advice. Thank you, Ginger! I wish to ad that of course, in just approaching any agent, I'll have already tried to some do advance scouting (or as they say in the legal field "due diligence").

When my agent offered she was my top choice and I already knew I would say yes. She wondered who were the other agents considering my work and I of course I told her- I wondered later if I had done the right thing and in retrospect I realized I had.
I think the difficulty is when a writer is trying to use one offer of representation to turn into an offer from an agent they REALLY want.
It does make sense that when other agents are interested that ups the ante.
It's human nature.

Karen, I'm with you! If was an agent and someone said they had multiple offers from agents, I'd say: Show me! Prove it! Send me the emails!

Ginger, thanks for the post and for giving Nathan a much needed break!

Thanks for the awesome post, Ginger. It answers a lot of questions. There's so much information out there about how to get an agent, but almost nothing about what to do after the fact.

Thank you for the timely post!

No, I wouldn't want to loose that opportunity, so no cc's from me. :)

lose

Thanks for your advice! I looked at your page and found that you are into my type of book. That being said, what is the rule on querying two different agents within the same company? (not saying I will do this as I have been ghosting Nathan for some time now, so he gets first right of refusal.)and I thought it was a "no no" to call an agent unless they already represented you.

Thank you, Ginger! Excellent post.

First I want to thank Nathan and May for the paragraph contest. It was a daunting task, not to be entered into by the weak of heart.

Next, thank you, Ginger for posting this. My first reaction, as I'm sure many other people felt also, was shock. If a reputable agent called me to say they wanted to see "My Super Duper Novel," it would be extremely hard for me to act cool, calm and professional.

My editor, I've been a staff writer for a horse racing magazine for over sixteen years, once told me if I ever sell a book I need to hire someone to speak for me as I tend to sound like a character from Deliverance. I don't think she meant I sound like a professional actor either.

I imagine I would be bouncing around screaming like the time I answered the phone and learned I'd won a $10,000 race horse.

Hopefully, agents will be moderately understanding when prospective clients don't act too cool and professional.

Maybe I should start practicing my acceptance speech. I just keep thinking back to when I started out in a real estate sales job and was told to expect 100 rejections for every person who accepts my offer of a free market analysis. I was so prepared for rejection I was too shocked to do anything, but stutter, stammer and finally hang up when my first callee said yes.

Yes, methinks it's time to practice being relaxed and nonchalant.

Seriously, thanks for the tips. It really does help to go into the situation prepared.

Thank you Ms. Clark, for sharing your insight. Here's to hoping I can put this into practice one day soon...

Thank you for posting this information. It does help a great deal.

I'm planning on sending out a round of submissions pretty soon, so this information is very useful for me. Let me just see if I hae this correct. If I send out eight partials (in the UK, so the query process is bypassed), and I was to get an offer of representation from one agent, I assume the best thing to do would be to ask for some time to think, and then let the other agents know I have received an offer.

The thing is, if they then decide to request the full, what do I do then? Is it rude of me to ask the offering agent to wait a week or so while I see what the response is from the other agents? Or is that expected?

I only ask because in this post you mentioned a decision being made in 24 hours. Isn't it a bit ambitious to expect me to ship out a manuscript to the other agents (assuming they request the full) in time for it to get there the next day? And then to expect these agents to read the complete manuscript and make a decision in a matter of hours? I don't want to tread on anyone's toes here. Surely the offering agent wouldn't mind if I ask for a little more time than 24 hours?

That was nice. I like the simple and honest way you wrote it.

From Ginger Clark:

Midnight Oil: You really are not supposed to query two agents at the same time, but people do this all the time. Secondly, it is fine to call an agent if you have an offer of representation elsewhere. That is one of the few exceptions to the rule of never calling agents.

Anon 4:18 AM: I think I said take at least a day to make the decision about representation. The offering agent will probably be willing to wait longer if you want to talk to other agents—asking for a week is not at all rude.

It's Anon 4:18 here. Thanks a lot for responding to my question. I'm trying to make sure all my dealings with agents are conducted as professionally as possible, and it's so great to have helpful agents around that can offer advice on things like this.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on getting an offer of representation. I keep learning so many things about the publishing industry that writers are expected to know, but no one ever tells them. I appreciate tips like this very much.

Thank you for answering, I look forward to future blogs from you. The info was awsome for us unrepresented who do not want to step on toes.

I'm reading your blog for the first time today but will be back often. I mostly write adventure articles for a UK publication but am thinking about proposing a book idea. (New territory here.) This site offers a wealth of FREE info and I wanted to say thanks.

Fabulous advice, Ginger. Thank you. Frankly, a few of your comments are some that I never thought about when sending a query to an agent. I've always tried to be honest when dealing with anyone in this business. I consider that common courtesy and would hope to have the favor returned.

Liz Kreger
www.lizkreger.com

Nathan - you made me dribble diet coke boogers out of my nose! Warning label next time!

And may I state for the record, "Please remember the assistants of today are the agents of tomorrow" so karma can come back to bite you bad if you are not careful.

Have a nice weekend!

"Exhiliratingly bleak" is the new "uplifting and inspiring." Hooray for 2007!! We're all going to die.

Made my day. In a weird sort of existential, absurdist kinda way.

I'm just glad that "exhiliratingly bleak" isn't the new black. Well, it sounds like black, perhaps with happy polka dots.

I miss the old fashioned kind of bleak. When I was a kid, bleak was black and that's the way it was (and we liked it, oooooh).

I'll be the fangirl that laughed out loud at reading Orlando Bloom is only famous for being some pirate.

I love me some books, but who are these people who steal them? I associate 'book fair' with a traveling event that showed up at my elementary school, where I would spend my allowance on many books, and I always felt good about spending the money. I'm surprised, I guess, that others don't...

Uh.. Nathan? Did somebody around here say "contest?"

Could have sworn it was you. Or perhaps the Evil Albino climed out of the jelly tank and used his home boy phone to hack your blogger accout and get us all in a tizzy over the potential for a little friendly competition.

I for one am already shaking by booty for Conduit to win it (whatever the contest is).

Josephine-

Contest next week! Hopefully I'll figure out what the contest is going to be by then!!

OK. Totally understand if you're still not yet recovered from the last one.

Enjoy the weekend. Bet it's nice and cool there in SF, whereas it's still 90+ here in FL, and no let up from the heat in sight. :-(

Nathan, if you don't come up with anything, you can always do a contest about the best idea for a contest.

I love your new tags! I must search now for all of your "America's Next Top Model" entries!

Nathan, thanks for making things easier with the tags! But no comments in how many reference monkeys?

"Exhiliratingly bleak" for 2007 is right on the mark!

Who the hell in their right mind is rude to assistants?

My next novel is "tragically comic."
and can be described as "distractingly focused"
It's "amazingly trite" in a "deep yet shallow way"...

I agree.
My FAVORITE PERSON IS ADAM who is UBER assistant for Dorian at WMA!!! He more than ROCKS.

It's also important to bring the wonderful beings in mail rooms macadamia nuts each time you visit NYC.

When I was 14 and didn't have an agent or a clue what I was doing, I directly called the assistant to the head editor at Scholastic to pitch my book idea....(I look back and shudder). And I didn't even get to talk to her; I got patched through to security instead. Now I think she's the head at some other big house :) and probably still remembers that strange kid she sent to the security line.

I've had many a book lost from my classroom texts and library, but only 3 stolen -- and all by the same author.
The three books were Terry Deary's Horrible Histories. When I went to a signing of his in 2005 and told him his books were the only ones I'd ever had stolen from my classroom, he was actually quite pleased.

I'm so glad you don't make more than one blog post a day. I'd never get anything done otherwise.

"Exhiliratingly bleak" is the new "uplifting and inspiring." I am so not hooked on that one.

Hey, Mr. Bransford, I'd love it if you blogged more on 'genre hopping.' What exactly is it? Why is it a bad idea? When is it a good idea? Do aspiring authors really need to worry about it since we don't have a name for ourselves yet? Thanks!

kimber an-

Good idea! I'll add that to the "future blog" list.

Nathan,

Okay I plead ignorance, and will take a wild guess on this.

“The Hills” must be a TV show that does not air on my one fuzzy CBS channel picked up by rabbit ears. I have no clue what you are talking about. But in all likelihood, most of your “frequent fliers” probably don't know that the rabbit ears I am referring to have nothing to do with a rabbit hearing anything. LOL

Jennifer Griffith--

The HILLS is a show on MTV where a group of wealthy twenty-somethings live out the daily drama of their personal and professinal lives in sunny LA.

Some of them have jobs at Teen Vogue, but mostly they seem to shop, gossip, look really cute, and kiss people. Oh, and eat out.

One character named "Justin Bobby" often wears combat boots even on the beach and "isn't into commitment and labels and stuff" which routinely breaks the character/girl "Audrina's" heart.

There's also talk of a sex tape involving a cute brunette and someone with strange blond hair named Spencer. Spencer now goes out with someone named Heidi.

I know all this from having watched exactly ONE episode. And I admit I only watched that episode after hearing Nathan talk about it on this very blog.

Oh, the powers of corruption, that Nathan Bransford has. Tsk, tsk...

--CC

Thanks for clearing that up for me, CC. Now I know why I have never heard of it, until Nathan's blog. LOL

Nathan--

Thanks for the Spencer article link. That's a gem!

And "ditto" on the assistants. They're not only the gatekeepers, they're the ones with the paper shredders. :)

Nathan,
Is it ever appropriate to re-submit a query letter?

For example...In the query letter you critiqued the other day, you admitted that the premise sounded interesting, but the lack of a clear plot was a major problem. If that author edited her letter to better explain the plot, might you reconsider? Is there any recourse for an author in this situation?

Thanks!

I had an agent. Key word HAD. I was tied up for 1 year before I finally let her go. I thought by getting an agent (as most writers do)that I would have access to the big publishing houses that won't look at unagented submissions. All I ended up with at the end of each month was a bill for postage and a list of where she submitted. I never saw a query or cover letter that she had written. I never saw a response letter from the editors. I felt very trapped in this writer/agent relationship.
Now, by doing the leg work myself, I know who and when exactly I have submitted to and what their response is. Plus I get to see the hand written comments from the editors on my work ( so I must be doing something right.)

There is no question that a good agent is worth her weight in gold. A good agent can open doors that will only open for an unagented writer once in a rare blue moon.

But a loser agent is just a waste of your time and faith. Good job dumping yours.