Good Times, Bad Times

Well, another 2 rejections have come in. One I was pretty bummed about because I thought that there might be a chance that the agent was taking her time getting back to me (you know, because she was LOVING my work or something) but that wasn't the case.

Danielle Svetcov - I gave her my old query letter (tailored a bit to her interests) and 50 pages of THE SHORT BUS JOURNAL. She gave a great, personalized rejection saying that she enjoyed much of my book and thought I had an extremely likeable protagonist. In the end, she didn't like the 'diary format' and thought it was kind of limiting to the story.

Hmm...I don't know that I agree. I sort of think it allows me to 'cut the excess fat' off the story and just deal with the stuff my main character deems important. That, and I think the whole purpose of the journal he writes in is that it's his therapy and his way of working through the mess of troubles he finds himself in. Maybe that doesn't make itself clear in the first 50 pages. I really think the book would lose something were it written in straight narrative. Maybe I'm wrong.

Stephen Barbara - I sent him my new-fangled query and the first 5 pages. Wow. The absolute FASTEST rejection I've ever gotten in my life. 7 minutes! He thought I had a interesting concept (normal kid riding short bus with disabled kids) but he didn't like the diary format, either.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Thomas, that's 2 agents in a row who said they didn't like the diary format. Change it! I have to exhaust many more options before I decide to change things up. I think I need to get feedback from someone who has read the whole thing before I go crazy and rebuild my book from the ground up. Am I being stubborn? Stupid? Both? I'd hate to change it on the whim of 2 agents...especially ones who I've e-mailed. They're flipping through thousands of queries a day. The odds of landing one of them is (to me) much slimmer than a snail mail one. Is that crazy talk? Mayhap...

I e-mailed to Terry Trueman, author of STUCK IN NEUTRAL and CRUISE CONTROL asking for his sage advice in trying to hook an agent. I thought he'd be a good resource since his book deals with handicapped children and there's obviously a market for this kind of work. I was amazed that he wrote back to me the next day. He gave me a couple of ideas of where to go. He suggested contacting his agent's former assistant (Paul Rodeen) and to check out the book STONER & SPAZ which is a book about a kid with cerebral palsy.

Read the book in 2 days. Great read. Just can't find who Ron Koertge's agent is. Hmmm...

Anyway, I sent a very short note to Paul Rodeen and mentioned that Terry and I were talking about my book and his name came up, blah, blah, blah... So far, nothing. We'll see if something transpires.

So, that's where I'm at. Still plugging away. I've got about 6 queries out in the great internet graveyard, waiting to see if anyone is interested. I need to knuckle down and start getting some snail-mail queries out there. It's time.

Oh...here's something that sucks. My computer has contracted some kind of virus. It's been a nightmare and I'm slowly trying to get things back up and running. It's so frustrating to be working on something and have some ridiculous pop-up come on the screen. It makes me look at the companies and the products they're promoting and swear like a truck driver. Also, I want to boycott any site and/or product associated with these scumbags.

So yeah, I've got my work cut out for me. It's made working on 'Goodhalo' sporadic at best. That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it. Well, for now.

Doobie Doobie Doo

Hello again.

Well, if you tuned in last week, you may have seen that I had a 'video blog' up here. I think it last on here for two whole days before I decided I can't stand how stupid I looked and sounded on the thing, so I tossed it into the great Recycling Bin in the sky.

Adios.

I'd loooove to be able to come on here and say I've made some headway in the Great Agent Search 2007, but alas, last week wasn't my time.

In lieu of boring you with the details and pasting the 'form' rejections I received, I'll just give you the short n' dirty version of it:

Kristin Nelson - No thanks.
Alyssa Eisner Henkin - No thanks.

It's killing me to see on the Verla Kay message boards that people are getting requests for full manuscripts or even partials, when I have yet to have anyone request any more of my stuff. I'm beginning to think it's one of two things:

1. My query letter sucks to high heaven.
2. The subject matter of my book isn't 'marketable.'

I'm praying it isn't #2, but I'm beginning to wonder. Is it really that risky? Is writing about a kid who has to ride the short bus with disabled kids that big of a turn-off? I would think curiosity alone would sell some books and/or at least pique the interest of an agent. Seriously!

I wonder if they have it in their head that this book is an excuse to call kids retards and make a big joke of the whole thing. It totally isn't. Anyone who's read it can attest that I'm true to the subject matter and I've even had experts (social workers, special education teachers, etc.) read the book and give it high praise. People I don't even know on a personal level.

So...yeah. Frustrating.

I'm going to have a query letter expert 'punch up' my letter to see if it's in the way I'm presenting it. I should have a newer version of it this week. We'll see if that makes any difference. I really hope so. Like I've said a million times before:

I'd rather write 18 more books than try to write one query letter to 'sell' my book to an agent/editor.

All right. I'm off to get some words on the page.

Do some good out there.

- TKT

Agent Hunt Ver 1.0

Well, I'm on the prowl guys and guyettes.

I'm tryin' my dangdest to find me one of them there fancy-type literary agents to represent mah writin'.

Ahem. Sorry. I've been spending so much time drafting query letters, scouring the internet, books and other resources for reputable agents that I needed to get in contact with. It's not fun and it's definitely not easy.

Yeah. Like you needed ME to tell you that, right?

Here's the good part: It's somewhat easier than trying to pitch my first novel. I don't know. Maybe it's because I've got more of an emotional connection to this work or maybe that it's got (what an agent who will remain un-named said I needed) a hook. In some cases I was supposed to send the first 10 pages along with the query letter and I gotta say, I DEFY any of those agents (that requested it, of course) to stop reading after just 10 pages. Can you do it?

You can? Boy...have you checked your pulse lately?

UPDATE:

Man, some people can even wait a week to hand me a rejection. Here's an e-mail response from Bill Contardi from Brandt & Hochman Literary Agency:

Thank you for your query. Unfortunately, this is not something that seems right for me and so I will pass. I wish you the best.

Well, at least he wished me the best, right? That's saying something.

Anyway, chin up. I've got plenty more out there, waiting for some 'manuscript requested' love.

UPDATE Part 2:

Another rejection. This one is from Rosemary B. Stimola from Stimola Literary Studio:

thanks, thomas, but not quite for me at present.

r. stimola

Yuck.