Tuesday 5 January 2010

O.F.Wannabe Blog 2

                                    The Agent


                                              


 So here we are. I did a little superficial investigation on Google and came up with some Agents who accept on-line submissions.


I hesitated a long time, about a day or two (at my age that’s a long time) until I sent a sample off as an attachment. Believe me, if you’ve never done it, it’s a bit like making the decision to walk naked through the park except for an unbuttoned raincoat. Not something to be done unless you are driven by a compulsion to get your name in the papers. Anyway, for my particular walk in the park nobody came. Well its not quite like that, it’s much worse actually. It’s as if lots of folk were hiding in the bushes, saw me, had a little snigger and then ignored me and carried on with whatever they were doing.

My submission disappeared like a pebble dropped down a well. There was a slight splashing sound, for it’s receipt was acknowledged by e-mail ( a great courtesy for which I am grateful) and then silence as my pebble sank to the bottom of the well. Never to be seen or heard of again.

After some reading and research, which I should have done before rather than after the event, I found my experience was the norm for perfectly good reasons. Some sources recommend: careful researching of agents for compatibility with the work to be placed.  Didn’t do that, guilty as charged; preparing a list of at least fifteen such Agents all to beapproached simultaneously. Didn’t do that, guilty as charged.

Anyway, I don’t think my tender ego could stand permanent silence from 15 naked walks in the park. What would I do in my morning haven then? I really don’t want to start another book until I have some quantifiable closure on this one and 15 sets of silence are the same as fifteen zeros; a total of nothing; or worse, fifteen sets of sniggers.

So --- do I need an Agent?  My research reveals some say yes, some say no. I don’t know. The truth is I don’t know much at all: about the trade of writing; about agents and publishing; and mostly whether the quarter million words I have strung together are a load of rubbish or worth reading, entertaining, and hence publishable.

I need to go into my haven and think this over and make a plan.

Take care of yourselves,

OFW

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