Got another full manuscript request from an agent yesterday bringing the total up to five agents with the book now! I'm so excited and nervous at the same time...and only check my email about every five minutes!
It's hard to be patient, especially since a few months in the agent/publishing world is really nothing, but I have been able to find a lot of helpful sites in the meantime. The forums at Query Tracker and Absolute Write have been immensely helpful. Publishers Weekly has also been wonderful and it's been interesting to see which agents are selling which books where (although to get the full access to all the book deals, you need the $20/month subscription). Finally, the AAR directory has been great, too.
I haven't sent near as many queries out as some people have and am trying to be selective and fully research an agent before I send anything off to him/her. I looked up my supplemental comprehensive exam list and looked up who represented those authors, too, as I want to find someone who is interested in coming-of-age novels. Some agents are very easy to find and have a wonderful web presence while others require a lot more sleuth work and all in all, the whole process is pretty exhausting.
But, with all these requests for fulls, I am really not complaining ;)
I'm also going to meet one of my professors (who is a client of one of the agents who has my full manuscript) today, so I hope to get even more information then.
Meanwhile, though, like I wrote in my last post, I have to find other distractions, because catching your breath every time you see that you have a new email only to find out it's a notification from Netflix or Twitter really drives you batty after a while...
Luckily, I have plenty to keep me busy! I met my poetry writing class yesterday for the first day of class, and they were a lovely bunch. We are crammed in a really tiny room, unfortunately, but everyone seems eager to start writing and all share a love for poetry, so I have high hopes!
So with that, I'll leave you be, but first, a really funny GIF compilation for any of you who are also in the middle of the agenting process!
It's hard to be patient, especially since a few months in the agent/publishing world is really nothing, but I have been able to find a lot of helpful sites in the meantime. The forums at Query Tracker and Absolute Write have been immensely helpful. Publishers Weekly has also been wonderful and it's been interesting to see which agents are selling which books where (although to get the full access to all the book deals, you need the $20/month subscription). Finally, the AAR directory has been great, too.
I haven't sent near as many queries out as some people have and am trying to be selective and fully research an agent before I send anything off to him/her. I looked up my supplemental comprehensive exam list and looked up who represented those authors, too, as I want to find someone who is interested in coming-of-age novels. Some agents are very easy to find and have a wonderful web presence while others require a lot more sleuth work and all in all, the whole process is pretty exhausting.
But, with all these requests for fulls, I am really not complaining ;)
I'm also going to meet one of my professors (who is a client of one of the agents who has my full manuscript) today, so I hope to get even more information then.
Meanwhile, though, like I wrote in my last post, I have to find other distractions, because catching your breath every time you see that you have a new email only to find out it's a notification from Netflix or Twitter really drives you batty after a while...
Luckily, I have plenty to keep me busy! I met my poetry writing class yesterday for the first day of class, and they were a lovely bunch. We are crammed in a really tiny room, unfortunately, but everyone seems eager to start writing and all share a love for poetry, so I have high hopes!
So with that, I'll leave you be, but first, a really funny GIF compilation for any of you who are also in the middle of the agenting process!
Five agents? Now that is exciting. And I think your methodical, researched method is wise - wastes less time. Some might think throwing darts blindly at a board is a better strategy, but I've always tried to take the approach that you outline - seems more efficient. Congratulations again and I am sure you'll find the right agent and publishing home! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Amanda! I hope this is the way to go--it takes longer, but I am hoping that the results will be better than if I were to blindly send out a bunch of queries. I'm sure the agents appreciate it, too--I've seen so many blogs now from agents who get disgruntled at queries from people who just don't do their homework!
ReplyDelete