West of Mars -- the Meet and Greet

When I was twelve, my mom bought me copies of Anne McCaffrey's Dragonflight and Dragonquest at a flea market. They were stripped copies but this was twenty years ago; what did we know?

I may not have known the first thing about the book business back then -- hey, I was only twelve -- but I knew good characters, and it didn't take long before I'd fallen in love with F'lar and Lessa. They were as real to me as the friend who lived three houses down, who I'd get together with almost every day that same summer.

I wanted to be part of F'lar and Lessa's lives; they seemed so real, so easy to envision. I knew they were fiction, but oh, how I wished I could be fiction, too, and have a place in the Weyr with them. I wanted to live a dangerous, exciting life. I wanted to be among the group of heroes who made a difference.

Eventually, I grew up. Found other things to read. You know how it goes. But every now and then, I'd return to those Pern books, particularly when my life was in tumult. I remember staying up all night after I was married, looking for solace. The Tour Manager's ex-roommate had blamed me for his wife's insecurities, and he hadn't exactly been kind about it.

I read, and I read, looking for the way to cope with what felt like a neutron bomb that had gone off inside my life. I was looking for wisdom, for guidance, for escapism. I found it all.

A year and a half ago, or so, a friend pointed me to Miss Snark. I needed to read her, she said.

At first glance, I was put off. But then, I laughed. And finally, I was hooked.

It wasn't just the things I was learning from her. I mean, heck. I'd been around the publishing block once already. I'd had an agent. I knew that glitter and neon pink paper weren't such great ideas. I knew about twelve-point font and SASEs and to follow the damn directions.

Of course, there was plenty to learn. After all, I've only been around the block once. Maybe I didn't get the whole way around, since my wonderful agent didn't make me a sale.

What hooked me wasn't the content; it was the writing. Snark didn't just dish out her own advice, she took it and whoever created her did so pretty completely. She was her own person, a work of fiction who was as well-rounded and clearly drawn as any of the best fictional characters out there. She had a voice. She had inside jokes. She had a love for shoes and a disdain for cats. In some ways, I knew Miss Snark better than I knew my own best friends.

She wasn't real. I knew that even as I exchanged e-mails with her and tried not to get excited that someone who could afford Jimmy Choos would actually deign to speak to me. There was room in Snark's world for all of us, so long as we weren't total nitwits -- or could laugh at ourselves if we were. We took that risk by e-mailing her questions for the blog or submissions for her writing contests. We knew that, but we risked it anyway.

Part of the reason was that she was trustworthy. The one time when I had a situation on my hands that I truly didn't know how best to handle, she came to my rescue. Didn't even call for the cluegun, either, but then, I know I'm not a nitwit. Every now and then.

That's the part of Snark I'll miss the most. Yes, I'll miss the jokes and the occasional times when I'd scream with laughter or put my water glass down before clicking on her name in my feedburner. For me, the power of Miss Snark was knowing that I always had someone I could turn to when I needed it. The only expectation either of us could have was a thank you; there were no obligations of sending gifts or making sure you followed the proper etiquette. The only etiquette was to have a clue, and the longer you hung around, the bigger your clues got.

She's gone now, as pretty much the whole world knows. I have no idea what I'll do if I land a contract with an independent publisher and need a referral to an agent, just for the purpose of the contract. And my feed reader will probably never again threaten to explode with the 100-plus Crapometer entries.

In a way, it's like closing the cover on my bedraggled copy of The White Dragon, knowing it was a great ride and I'm a better person for having spent time here. The site remains in case I have to dig through the archives yet again. Just as the books sit on the same shelf with my stuffed bison and Animal the muppet.

I am one of those people who is always looking forward, toward the next adventure and the next person who'll touch my life. I pretend I don't look back, but I do. In those quiet times, when I can't sleep or am driving somewhere and the music lulls me into letting my guard down. I'll look back on it all with a bittersweet laugh.

Just as it was eventually time to leave my beloved Dragonriders on the shelf, now it's time to move through the publishing world without my tart-tongued guide. Always grateful for the interesting things I've found thus far, but always ready to check out -- if cautiously -- the next thing that comes along. Certainly, because of Miss Snark, I'll be the savvier for it.

To the men and/or women who created her, thanks. I hope I never find out who you really are. If I do, I'm afraid I might look at you the same way I look at Casey Kasem now that I know he voiced Shaggy on Scooby Doo.

Some things, I'm better off not knowing.

Let Miss Snark remain her perfectly imperfect fictional self.

I'm sure George Clooney will sleep better for it.

Labels: agent hunting, blogging, Inside Writing, Miss Snark

I got TWO rejections from agents Monday, and like the two before them, they said the same thing, if you read between the lines. It's either they hate that Trevor gets sick, or that they think they can't sell the book somehow.

I think the worst part is that these rejections I'm getting come in one of two varieties: the form letter that tells me they didn't read past the first word, or else the personal letter that's truly regretful and yet hopeful that I'll find the right one of their colleagues who'll take this on. One of the letters yesterday, from a VP at one of the biggie agencies, handwrote an additional "I am sorry" on the bottom of the letter. Like she'd wanted to take me on but someone stopped her.

Okay, enough of my frustrations. On to the good stuff.

I've been talking to Breeni about having a graphic made for when I talk up my groupies and when you guys blog about me. What do you think? You game? Do you want an official West of Mars Groupie graphic? What? (go on and say t-shirts; I'm on it)

Claire found this gem of an idea. We all know what I want for the world -- for everyone to have the chance to meet Trevor. What do you want?

Now, the real news: Camille at Littlebird blue sent me this link, to Green Man Review, where she's got a few reviews posted. Check them out.

And Karen and Janelle and I have been discussing this one via e-mail: The Bookseller is out with their (his? Her?) annual list of the oddest book titles. Be sure you vote.

Debut a Debut author Joshua Palmatier dropped into my inbox to tell me that his debut novel, The Skewed Throne, is one of the four finalists for the Baltimore Science Fiction Society's Compton Crook/Stephen Tall Memorial Award for best first novel of 2006. HUGE congratulations to Joshua!! May the best book be yours!

Lastly, a shameless plug that you go check out what's new at Front Street Reviews. Nothing from me (I'm too busy with the query letters), but plenty of other gems that you might want to consider for the summer reading contest... Stay tuned for that, as well as that graphic I'm thinking about. If you'd like it, give me a yay or nay in the comments.

Labels: agent hunting, book reviews, books, Front Street Reviews, Green Man Review, Joshua Palmatier, Trevor's Song, writing process

After finding my groove yesterday for the first time in what felt like forever, I wrote six or seven pages of the WIP, which I'm thinking will be the follow-up to Trevor's Song. Although it's nothing like what I used to be able to do in the days before small distractions who like to call me such odd things as "Mom," it felt good.

I finally shut the computer in time to pick up a book and wait for James to win Best in Show at Westminster. I'll have to rave about this book once Debut a Debut is over (why haven't you entered yet?), but for now, let's just say that its sensibility is so similar to Trevor's that I've embarked on an information-gathering expedition about the author's agent. Interesting that the books I've been encountering lately that seem to mesh with Trevor are all represented by agents who do a lot, if not all, YA lit. What does that say about literature right now?

What does that say about my getting Trevor's Song into print?

Labels: agent hunting, Debut a Debut, Susan Speaks, Trevor, Trevor's Song, writing process

I just got a rejection letter for Trevor's Song that makes me wonder if this agent needs one of Miss Snark's Clue Guns.

I kid you not, but this was hand-written on the bottom of my query page:

"Thanks, but I represent commercial, category fiction."

Now, if you follow this link, you'll see only part of the query letter. What you're not seeing is the part where I go on to give the word count and clearly state that this will be my fiction debut. It mentions my degrees in creative writing. Nowhere does it infer that this is anything BUT a work of fiction.

And for crying out loud, the book is about a man named Trevor. If there's any doubt if this is non-fiction, that should be cleared up by noticing the fact -- that she must have, as she personalized this note -- that I am a woman named Susan.

I suppose I ought to be grateful that she thought this fictional world I've created is real. I suppose that ought to reinforce my belief that I've done good work and it's only a matter of finding the right person -- who she, clearly, is not.

But I can't help but wonder if instead of spilling coffee on the envelope, she would have been better off if she'd consumed that coffee, instead.

Labels: agent hunting, publishing

I know that lots of us are out there, looking for literary agents. I know that a lot of times, it feels like we're competing against each other for the same person's time and energy (not to mention attention and hand-holding).

But I firmly believe that we're all in this together, folks. We all have our own slice of audience that'll be completely unique to each of us.

And because I believe that, I think we need to stick together when the scammers raise their ugly heads.

This time, it's in the form of the The International Independent Literary Agents Association (IILAA). I'm not going to post a link directly to them 'cause that'll just give them one more link at places like Technorati, and who wants to help out a bunch of scammers? (My link goes to Victoria Strauss, who I'll mention later on, so keep reading)

This is what steams me about them:
1. They claim that charging a reading fee is normal and good business practice. Yes, they sort-of have a point in that you often pay a lawyer a retainer.

BUT... not ALL lawyers ask for retainers. Many work the same way reputable agents do: They take a cut of what you win in court (granted, agents take a cut of what you earn, but you see my point). Many just send you a bill.

2. If this The International Independent Literary Agents Association (IILAA) is to be believed, there are ten agents they recommend. That's fine. But... who's number 10? They only list nine on their site.

Yes, counting to ten may be math, but it's not higher math. My kids could both do it before they were two. Most of us have ten fingers and ten toes for the express purpose of using two of the four (YOU get my higher math, right?) appendages for counting to ten.

3. They make a BIG STINK of denouncing Preditors and Editors, Writer Beware, Miss Snark, and other sites that many of us rely on for information.

4. As they denounce these people, they can't be bothered to spell some of these places properly. Hello? You're a LITERARY agency. A little show of your own LITERATE capabilities would be nice. (And let's not get into how nice it was of them, in their literary worldliness, to point out that a group called The International Independent Literary Agents Association is composed of Independent agents.)

Yeah, yeah. We all make typos. See my own post from yesterday, which invites you to capitalize on one I made. But c'mon, folks. If you're going to cut someone down, do it the right way. Those last two examples aren't even as amusing as "be a retainer," which also appears on their site, in the bit about why fees are acceptable.

If all those sites are so disreputable, why do so many of us hold what they say to be canonical? Because we're stupid? Or because we're smart enough to do the research that backs us up. Look at some blogging agents. My favorites are Agent Kristin, Lit Soup, The Rejecter, and Dystel and Goderich Literary Management. Miss Snark goes without saying.

What do these agents have in common?
1. They support the efforts of Ann, Victoria, and all the rest who are out there, keeping us abreast and warned of the scammers.
2. They're NOT on Writer Beware's list of 20 Worst Agents.
3. They don't charge fees.
4. They are careful about their typos and the way they present themselves. That many mistakes... c'mon. Would you want THEM to represent you? What would happen if they offered you a contract for a book you didn't write? You wrote Under a Blood Red Sky, not Over a Bloody Die. That doesn't even make sense, unless you play craps!

Think about it. An agent represents you. They are your face to the publishing world, at least initially. They are your advocate, your business partner.

Do your research before you commit to any agent, even the ones I listed here as the blogging agents I particularly like. This is your career, people. I've already had one bad agent in my life. I can tell you, firsthand, what a frustrating time-suck it is. And he wasn't even a fee charger. He didn't ask me to BE a retainer.

Be smart, folks. Writing is a craft, an art form, yes. But there's also a business end to it. Please don't ignore that.

/rant over

(by the way, if I've offended you and you want me to take this post down, you'll have to go through my lawyer to get me to do so. Don't say you weren't warned.)

Labels: agent hunting, publishing

Trevor's Song is back on the market again.

Just thought I'd let you all know... cross your fingers, wish me luck, keep on stopping in, and tell your friends to do the same.

Look for some content changes at the website coming soon. Nothing major. Some streamlining, the new query letter, and changes to the Cast of Character pages that I think you'll like.

I'm always open to suggestions to how to make the website better. And yes, a new picture of me is in the works. But I just had my hair cut and so far, I'm not liking it. :(

Labels: agent hunting, publishing

Just taking two seconds here as the printer runs to say that I've finished this draft of Trevor's Song and am mailing it out to one of my readers tomorrow, assuming I've got an envelope big enough for it. I cut a bunch of chapters and still managed to add 7,000 words, give or take.

Let's see what she says, but if she gives me the go-ahead, we'll be hitting the market again.

Not that there's any pressure on her. *wink*

Labels: agent hunting, publishing

Trevor ordinarily would scorn bandwagon jumping. He'd start yelling about sheep, lemmings, being blind, and how we're losing the ability to think for ourselves. He'd brag about how proud he was of being an individual.

And that's all fine and good, but when there are people out there whose only aim in life is to take advantage of someone's good intentions, well, you need to stand up and raise your voice. After all, Mitchell is one of those who's probably naive enough to be taken advantage of, and taking advantage of Mitchell Voss is a definite no-no in Trevor's book -- err, well, his thinking, anyway. His book is something else. Trevor's Song

So... without further ado... Writer's Beware list of the 20 Worst Literary Agents. I nabbed it from Miss Snark's blog, of course, but it's the Writer's Beware list, all right.

Please, none of you folks on this list call me about representing Trevor's Song. I'm not interested in what you claim to have to offer.

* The Abacus Group Literary Agency
* Allred and Allred Literary Agents (refers clients to "book doctor" Victor West of Pacific Literary Services)
* Capital Literary Agency (formerly American Literary Agents of Washington, Inc.)
* Barbara Bauer Literary Agency
* Benedict & Associates (also d/b/a B.A. Literary Agency)
* Sherwood Broome, Inc.
* Desert Rose Literary Agency
* Arthur Fleming Associates
* Finesse Literary Agency (Karen Carr)
* Brock Gannon Literary Agency
* Harris Literary Agency
* The Literary Agency Group, which includes the following:
Children's Literary Agency
Christian Literary Agency
New York Literary Agency
Poets Literary Agency
The Screenplay Agency
Stylus Literary Agency (formerly ST Literary Agency)
Writers Literary & Publishing Services Company (the editing arm of the above-mentioned agencies)
* Martin-McLean Literary Associates
* Mocknick Productions Literary Agency, Inc.
* B.K. Nelson, Inc.
* The Robins Agency (Cris Robins)
* Michele Rooney Literary Agency (also d/b/a Creative Literary Agency and Simply Nonfiction)
* Southeast Literary Agency
* Mark Sullivan Associates
* West Coast Literary Associates (also d/b/a California Literary Services)

Labels: agent hunting, Inside Writing, Miss Snark, publishing