I have not gotten any more responses from the agents. Just as well, because i've seen some major changes that i need to make in the manuscript.
Okay, i'll be honest. You know that letter i mentioned that said something along the lines of 'not being gripped enough' or something like that. Well, that got me thinking: since i am aiming for an international audience, i think that the prologue has to reflect that.
I have already changed the prologue and i think it's a lot more gripping. I also realise that i should have written a bit more about the kind of stuff that we learn't in those indoctrination course; you know, the ones on political economics, philosophy, history of the communist party. Not that i should have bored people with ireelevant detail, but i could have given a flavour of what it felt like for Kasi and co. That kind of stuff.
So sometimes, delay may actually mean an opportunity to refine something unto perfection. I'm currently overhauling the manuscript. If i get any agent now, that would be okay but if not, that would be okay as well.
I am already planning a marketing strategy that should get people buying the book. Hopefully, once that's happened i'd have leverage to approach agents to represent me.
Wednesday 16 January 2008
Friday 11 January 2008
A workable idea...
Okay, i am not a businessman alright, so don't laugh when i say i am going to try to do it my self!
You see, yesterday i was thinking of waiting until i hear from all the agencies i have written to-i am still waiting to hear from about 6-and if nothing positive comes out, then i would send the MSS to writers workshop (you can google and find their contacts, they actually have some good services). The plan was to get them to read and edit the MSS for a fee and then recommend it to agents.
Well, that's what i was thinking yesterday.
Today, an email popped up in my inbox from lulu.com, which i am subscribed to, and i browsed through their site again. And...Voila!
Yep, you guessed it. Why not?
I am confident that i have something that some people would want to read (the polls and comments attest to it), so all i need to do is to get it publsihed...
And that's where the whole businessman thing comes up. Like i said, i am not a business man but sometimes providence nudges us along paths that we didn't really think we'd tread.
I can do it you know. I can get it published within the next month or two and then make use of all the marketing tools provided by the lulu people and also try out my own marketing strategies. And the more i think about it, the more excited i am becoming.
And i am thinking that my alterego may have to postpone what he wanted us to do for the next few months.
Getting Guilt and Redemption out in the market is the priority...for the both of us!
PS: It's Day 7
You see, yesterday i was thinking of waiting until i hear from all the agencies i have written to-i am still waiting to hear from about 6-and if nothing positive comes out, then i would send the MSS to writers workshop (you can google and find their contacts, they actually have some good services). The plan was to get them to read and edit the MSS for a fee and then recommend it to agents.
Well, that's what i was thinking yesterday.
Today, an email popped up in my inbox from lulu.com, which i am subscribed to, and i browsed through their site again. And...Voila!
Yep, you guessed it. Why not?
I am confident that i have something that some people would want to read (the polls and comments attest to it), so all i need to do is to get it publsihed...
And that's where the whole businessman thing comes up. Like i said, i am not a business man but sometimes providence nudges us along paths that we didn't really think we'd tread.
I can do it you know. I can get it published within the next month or two and then make use of all the marketing tools provided by the lulu people and also try out my own marketing strategies. And the more i think about it, the more excited i am becoming.
And i am thinking that my alterego may have to postpone what he wanted us to do for the next few months.
Getting Guilt and Redemption out in the market is the priority...for the both of us!
PS: It's Day 7
Wednesday 9 January 2008
Day 6...
Today is day 6.
So far, i have gotten 6 responses; one of them was a failure of delivery. Apparently, the email address wasn't working! Two was from the same agency and they both sounded the same. Looks like they just sent me one of their generic responses. The next 2 were simply not interested!
Only one so far has asked me to send in my manuscript. And how am i feeling?
I am feeling kind of resigned, if you know what i mean. On sunday morning when i got the penultimate reply i had felt a bit low and all those things people feel when they are rejected but as the days have gone by i know that i will not be deterred.
What are my options?
Well, i'll wait until i hear from all of the agents. If nothing positive comes out, i'll consider the various other options to getting published. I'll do a bit of research and post my findings here.
Will i write again?
Hell, YES! But i will get this one puvblished, even if it means self-publishing.
I have learnt a lot while writing this first novel. And though it felt like it was my magnus opus-thats what they call it, isn't it: your best work or something like that-another story is bubbling up in me, which i'll start researching for once i've got this one published.
Unfortunately, my alterego needs my time for the next 3-4months so i won't be able to give Elias the time he needs!
I know, i'm begining to sound like somebody with multiple personalities but what do you expect from somebody with an alterego!
So far, i have gotten 6 responses; one of them was a failure of delivery. Apparently, the email address wasn't working! Two was from the same agency and they both sounded the same. Looks like they just sent me one of their generic responses. The next 2 were simply not interested!
Only one so far has asked me to send in my manuscript. And how am i feeling?
I am feeling kind of resigned, if you know what i mean. On sunday morning when i got the penultimate reply i had felt a bit low and all those things people feel when they are rejected but as the days have gone by i know that i will not be deterred.
What are my options?
Well, i'll wait until i hear from all of the agents. If nothing positive comes out, i'll consider the various other options to getting published. I'll do a bit of research and post my findings here.
Will i write again?
Hell, YES! But i will get this one puvblished, even if it means self-publishing.
I have learnt a lot while writing this first novel. And though it felt like it was my magnus opus-thats what they call it, isn't it: your best work or something like that-another story is bubbling up in me, which i'll start researching for once i've got this one published.
Unfortunately, my alterego needs my time for the next 3-4months so i won't be able to give Elias the time he needs!
I know, i'm begining to sound like somebody with multiple personalities but what do you expect from somebody with an alterego!
Friday 4 January 2008
The letters come trickling in...
Day 2. One reply came in today and it read: ".... I considered it carefully but I'm afraid on balance it just doesn't quite grab my imagination in the way that it must for me to offer to represent it...."
But hang on, i don't remember having already sent this one the material! So what exactly did she read? In my sent-box, all i can see , which i did send to her was a letter of enquiry. Okay, i did send my CV and synopsis and the 3 chapters thing to to an associate of hers, who may have passed on the MSS, but is it likely that she just read my enquiry letter carefully and that it was that which didn't quite grab her imagination?!
Is it likely? I think i prefer a yes to that answer!
How do i feel? I feel like i need a therapist right now!
Well, it's only the second day in the first week of the new year, so let's see what will happen from next week...
Am i optimistic? I am not quite sure anymore....
But hang on, i don't remember having already sent this one the material! So what exactly did she read? In my sent-box, all i can see , which i did send to her was a letter of enquiry. Okay, i did send my CV and synopsis and the 3 chapters thing to to an associate of hers, who may have passed on the MSS, but is it likely that she just read my enquiry letter carefully and that it was that which didn't quite grab her imagination?!
Is it likely? I think i prefer a yes to that answer!
How do i feel? I feel like i need a therapist right now!
Well, it's only the second day in the first week of the new year, so let's see what will happen from next week...
Am i optimistic? I am not quite sure anymore....
Thursday 3 January 2008
Waiting for the response
I sent out about 12 letters to different agents today.
For now, i'm sticking to those ones who accept email submissions: i don't find the whole regular mail thing, in the least convenient. And no, it's not just about the cost of postage!
So, i have sent out 12 and 2 have replied on Day 1. Not bad huh?
One says "send us the first 3 chapters of your book" the other says "sorry, but..."
Let me tell you that this waiting thing is not going to be easy. Why do i say that?
Well, after i punched the last send email, i almost started to panic; what if i have made a lot of grammatical blunders in the initial letters and then the agents see through me that i am just a wannabe? What if all these months i have been living in la-la land, making a fool of myself and my wife- who has read the manuscript-has been too loving to hurt my feelings?
What if?
I have evn thought of making more adjustments to the book and had come back on to the computer when i saw the first email; Dear Elias...That was the good of the two. I would have probably flipped if i had gotten the second one first!
Lest i forget; the interest has come from one of the agents whose letter had a typo in it!
So, there may still be hope for us writers who aint yet mastered the basics of grammer. And as the days run into weeks and the weeks give birth to months, maybe i will yet come into the rest which is the hope of every first-time author...
For now, i'm sticking to those ones who accept email submissions: i don't find the whole regular mail thing, in the least convenient. And no, it's not just about the cost of postage!
So, i have sent out 12 and 2 have replied on Day 1. Not bad huh?
One says "send us the first 3 chapters of your book" the other says "sorry, but..."
Let me tell you that this waiting thing is not going to be easy. Why do i say that?
Well, after i punched the last send email, i almost started to panic; what if i have made a lot of grammatical blunders in the initial letters and then the agents see through me that i am just a wannabe? What if all these months i have been living in la-la land, making a fool of myself and my wife- who has read the manuscript-has been too loving to hurt my feelings?
What if?
I have evn thought of making more adjustments to the book and had come back on to the computer when i saw the first email; Dear Elias...That was the good of the two. I would have probably flipped if i had gotten the second one first!
Lest i forget; the interest has come from one of the agents whose letter had a typo in it!
So, there may still be hope for us writers who aint yet mastered the basics of grammer. And as the days run into weeks and the weeks give birth to months, maybe i will yet come into the rest which is the hope of every first-time author...
The journey to getting published
Okay so the material is finally ready!
It's taken me about 5months to get it to the standard i want but even then it's still not perfect.
I am now at the next stage: to get published.
I don't know how many drafts i have written of this novel. The draft here is no way near the last and since i have gone offline, even the prologue of the novel has changed! I noticed that the end of this story re-shaped its beginning. Strange huh?
Well, that's done now and i have started to look for literary agents.
The first thing i have done was to google literary agents in London and over a hundred have turned up! So, i have had to go through them like with a toothcomb, trying to find what kind of books they're interested in.
One thing that's come out so far and which seems to be the same everywhere is that to get published you need to have the following four things ready:
1. The covering letter. This has to be business-like and straight to the point. I suppose here's the point where they startt to judge you. I have checked a letter, which i have already sent to 2 agenst and discover that there was a typographical error in it!
2. A good synopsis. This also has to be business-like and catching enough to want to make the agent to read on.
3. A good CV. Well i could have sent them the one i have prepared for my jobs in the NHS but i'm thinking that might not be quite relevant, so i ahve had to draft another one.
4. Sample chapters. Most ask for the first three, others say they want something in the range of the first 50-100 pages. I have had to review my first three chapters and have gone through them atleast 10times, each time finding something the delete or to add...I am now scared of the work i need to do on the remaining work. You see my first 3 chapters is just about 16,000 words. Means that i have another 50-55,000 to look through!
I will continue my search for the elusive agent. Who knows i may be the next great thing that happens in the literary world-that's if my letters don't all end up in the rubbish bin!
I'll keep you all posted.
It's taken me about 5months to get it to the standard i want but even then it's still not perfect.
I am now at the next stage: to get published.
I don't know how many drafts i have written of this novel. The draft here is no way near the last and since i have gone offline, even the prologue of the novel has changed! I noticed that the end of this story re-shaped its beginning. Strange huh?
Well, that's done now and i have started to look for literary agents.
The first thing i have done was to google literary agents in London and over a hundred have turned up! So, i have had to go through them like with a toothcomb, trying to find what kind of books they're interested in.
One thing that's come out so far and which seems to be the same everywhere is that to get published you need to have the following four things ready:
1. The covering letter. This has to be business-like and straight to the point. I suppose here's the point where they startt to judge you. I have checked a letter, which i have already sent to 2 agenst and discover that there was a typographical error in it!
2. A good synopsis. This also has to be business-like and catching enough to want to make the agent to read on.
3. A good CV. Well i could have sent them the one i have prepared for my jobs in the NHS but i'm thinking that might not be quite relevant, so i ahve had to draft another one.
4. Sample chapters. Most ask for the first three, others say they want something in the range of the first 50-100 pages. I have had to review my first three chapters and have gone through them atleast 10times, each time finding something the delete or to add...I am now scared of the work i need to do on the remaining work. You see my first 3 chapters is just about 16,000 words. Means that i have another 50-55,000 to look through!
I will continue my search for the elusive agent. Who knows i may be the next great thing that happens in the literary world-that's if my letters don't all end up in the rubbish bin!
I'll keep you all posted.
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