Sunday, March 24, 2013

The Long Road to Getting Published


In the past three weeks, I’ve sent an e-query on The Reluctant Spy to four agents, but received no responses. Along with three of those e-queries I sent several manuscript pages. The not hearing means, of course, that my query or those pages didn’t kindle any agent’s interest.


A Gutenberg letter press from the 15th century—one way of getting published! (Wikipedia)

            In tailoring the four e-queries I’ve sent, I scrutinized each agent’s web site to discover two things: Does the agency represent any authors I especially enjoy reading and what topics are of special interest to the individual agents? What I’ve read about queries is that being able to mention something about those two things in the query letter may capture an agent’s attention.
            Here’s the generic e-query I’m sending out, minus the tailoring, which I always put in an opening paragraph:

Within the fast-paced, yet character-driven pages of the historical novel The Reluctant Spy, Ephraim must save an old enemy . . . or betray him. There’s no doubt this first-century scribe can destroy his archrival. After all, just a few months ago his spying led to the beheading of another man—and all because of that Bethany woman.                              

Who knew his chance encounter with her would end in blackmail? Who knew that this man who dearly loves his wife and child and will do anything to relieve their ills would be forced to accept such disreputable work?                                                                                                        
One man holds the key that can unlock the prison Ephraim’s made of his life. But that one man is his sworn enemy.  Caught in web of dishonor, Ephraim stumbles. Will he despair or will he discover a way to help his family and redeem his good name?                                                                                                                                                                       
Blackmail, adultery, intrigue, and a crisis of faith—these four themes of The Reluctant Spy remain as relevant today as they were two thousand years ago. Moreover, the manuscript fits into a perennially popular niche: books based on Gospel characters. One example of this mushrooming trend is The Testament of Mary, which The New York Times picked as one of the 100 notable books of 2012.                                                               
Just as it portrays the mother of Jesus in a new way, so the characterization of the Nazarene and the Pharisee in The Reluctant Spy differs from the usual Christian understanding of them. In truth, its portrayal of the two main characters may both intrigue and enlighten readers.                                                                                                         
As to my publishing history: Crown published A Cat’s Life: Dulcy’s Story in 1992. It sold 14,000 hardcover copies and was then published in China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Germany. Wayman Publishing published A Cat’s Legacy: Dulcy’s Story in 2012, and in between, Capstone Press published twenty children’s books I’ve written.
The Reluctant Spy is a completed manuscript of 122,000 words. I’d be happy to send you a sample or the entire manuscript if this e-mail’s pitch has piqued your interest. Thank you for your consideration.


That’s the generic query I’ve tailored, tweaked, and sent out to agents who represent historical novels. However, I’m looking for agents who also represent at least two of the following genres: fantasy, memoir, and picture books. Why? Because I’m working on or have completed at least one example of each of these genres.                   

In the Writer’s Digest book 2013 Guide to Literary Agents, I’ve found seventeen agencies that represent a combination of these genres. I’ve now queried four with no results. So in the upcoming weeks, I’ll query the remaining thirteen. Any thoughts?


The traditional way of erasing and adding material to a manuscript. (Wikipedia)

            My own final thought concerns the manuscript itself. In the writing of it, I’ve often thought that its beginning limps. Numerous times I’ve crafted a new first chapter, but a suspenseful scene eludes me. Given that a writer must grab a reader’s interest in the first sentence or paragraph, I wonder if the beginning chapters I paste into the e-query may 
simply be B-O-R-I-N-G!

                                                                                                                                       

16 comments:

  1. I hope queries will go well with the remaining agents. I so admire you for all of your perseverance and strength. You're such a gifted writer and amazing woman!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Elisa, a friend, who's had two historical novels published, is going to read the manuscript and share her thoughts with me. I'm going to wait to send out any additional e-queries until I hear back from her. Thanks for all your support! Peace.

      Delete
  2. I don't know what to tell you. Your query seems excellent to me, but I'm not an agent. Perhaps I have better taste than they do. But if you have nagging doubts about your first chapter, then you're probably right that you need to make changes. Do you have any methods that help you form ideas? For me, ideas usually pop up when I'm not thinking about what to write.

    Love,
    Janie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Janie, I did work on the manuscript yesterday and today (Monday) and began it at a different place. I'm hoping that the scene at the Jordan will capture the reader's interest. Thanks for saying that you liked the query. Peace.

      Delete
  3. Agents and editors can be glacier-ally slow in getting back to you, Dee. When I was freelancing full-time years ago, it would sometimes take weeks or even a month or two to hear good news or bad. You would think that in this era of email and electronic submissions, things would speed up, but it seems not to be the case.

    Even my agent -- who encouraged me to write a proposal on therapy cats -- took several weeks to get back to me, saying then how much he liked it and was going to send it out right away. He said that many of his clients were following New Year's resolutions and inundating him with proposals, thus the delay.

    So the lack of an immediate response doesn't necessarily mean rejection or lack of interest. The same is true with editors these days, too, of course with leaner staff at publishing houses. And before they make any buying decisions, there are meetings with marketing and sales departments, etc. So it's never as quick a process as any of us would like.

    Please don't get discouraged! I think your novel sounds wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Kathy, thanks for your sharing your thoughts on how long agents may take to respond. I've printed the ms. and sent it to a friend who's had two historical novels published. I look forward to her thoughts on whether the plot works and the suspense draws the reader forward.

      I'm so pleased that the query letter has prompted you to say that the novel "sounds wonderful"!!!!! That makes my day. Peace.

      Delete
  4. Although I have very little knowledge of this process, I do feel like Dr. Kathy that they move very slowly. I wouldn't count out the ones you've already sent.

    I do hope this will bring a fruitful harvest. I can't wait to read those new books!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Shelly, Kathy's sharing of her own experience really does give me hope. A friend is reading the ms and I hope she'll be finished by mid-April. If so, that's when I'll start sending out queries again. And maybe.....just maybe....I'll get a positive response from one of the four whom I've already queried. Thanks so much for your enthusiasm. Peace.

      Delete
  5. In addition to admiring (so much) your writing skills, I am also in awe of your determination. You are way outside any area where I can claim expertise so all I can do is send heartfelt good wishes your way.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear EC, your "heartfelt good wishes" are all I ask. I trust that he Universe will bring about what's best for me and for my writing. Just as I trust that you are taking care of yourself. Peace.

      Delete
  6. Oh yes. I didn't query many agents for my first novel, because I got an idea for a second novel and that seemed more fun to write. But I always had that nagging suspicion that the first pages wouldn't snare the reader. I knew I was in trouble when an agent asked for "the first (x) pages" and I wanted to put in: "you really need to get past page 50 for this to kick into high gear." Not the best. But I love that novel.

    Now I'm in the same fix as you, querying agents with my second novel, which theoretically should be an easier sell. I would agree that you should not assume you are not getting a response in such a short period of time. Although I've gotten to the point that I'm happy just to GET a rejection letter because it's so much more preferable than...nothing.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dear Murr, so glad to hear from you and to learn about others out there in the far-flung galaxy of writing who are experiencing the same pangs and woes! Let's support one another in this effort. That's all part of the Oneness of All Creation of which you and your two novels and I and the two I'm working on are a part.

    And yes, like you I gladly welcome even the rejection letters because those are words and not the void! Peace.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is not an easy process, is it? I know the book must be very good, because I know now how you write. I really want to read it, so I hope someone will come to their senses and pick it up. Maybe you are on to something about that first chapter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Inger, I'm so looking forward to hearing back from the friend/published historical author to whom I sent the manuscript yesterday. Now that I've worked on it and started it with an action chapter, I hope that it works better. I'm going to wait to hear back from her before sending out any more e-queries. Thanks for your continued support. You are such a good friend. Peace.

      Delete
  9. Dee, I find your pitch catches my interest and encapsulates your novel's themes very well. But I think you should trust your writer's instincts. If you feel the opening chapter limps, it sounds like you may want to look at it yet again. In the meantime, from what Kathy and others have said it sounds like it's far too early to despair at not having heard back.

    Be strong, dear Dee, we're all here supporting you and willing you to succeed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Perpetua, thanks so much for sharing that the pitch captured your attention. I do think it works. I have decided to begin the manuscript with a more immediate chapter. As I explained in an earlier response to a comment, a frieind who has authored two historical novels and had them published by HarperCollins is now reading the ms and her suggestions will, I'm sure, help me greatly.

      I'm going to let go of this manuscript for the next few weeks and just give that friend a chance to read and respond. I'll send out no new queries. Instead I'll concentrate on the Bronze-Age Greece novel.

      Thanks so much for your words of encouragement, Perpetua. I value them. Peace.

      Delete