General Chit Chat

[2010 JULY 25Episode 191: Yamazaki vs. Leopold Goenitz, Part 3 (Conclusion): Egg in the Face!]

No, I'm not "leaving" again!

I've finally begun the submission process to get my novel published.  I've submitted about 22 query letters to literary agencies and I'm waiting the months to hear from as many as I can.  Right now, I've gotten 4 rejections, 1 "try next month" and 1 "send more".  The last is an agency whose books I've never heard of (but then, I'm not a big reader), so ... we'll see who says what in the coming weeks/months.

I was nervous!  I'd never done a query letter before (or heard of one) and suddenly, at the last minute, I'm reading tutorials about them.  I had to write a bio (they say minimize it to stuff relating to the book, but nothing in my background does ... I mostly studied stuff from wikipedia and other sources) and a synopsis (ever take a 586-page manuscript and boil it down to 10 pages?  Not easy).  I was hoping to get some help, but it never happened. 

Oh, BTW, LL & Squishy are getting a visit from MBASS, LFF and their little ones!  Those two are already so big!!! (the kids, not LFF & MBASS!  LOL)

Anyway, wish me luck, eh?

That's good news, man.  Keep us updated.  Worst case scenario, you can self-publish.

Good luck, I hope you hear some good news.

 What's the book called? I might like to read it.
 What's the publisher called? I might have read it.

Why are you meeting up?

So the book you wrote is almost 600 pager!
I don't like reading a book of 50 pages.
I'll wait for the movie.

Why are you meeting up?

So the book you wrote is almost 600 pager!
I don't like reading a book of 50 pages.
I'll wait for the movie.

Do you know what percent of books get made into a movie? not many...

Do you know what percent of books get made into a movie? not many...

GU should try to make it's own movie.
It wouldn't work but it is worth a shot.

Gratz Guardian. You'll do amazing!

Good luck with the novel! I seem to remember you telling me about it long ago.

[2010 JULY 25Episode 191: Yamazaki vs. Leopold Goenitz, Part 3 (Conclusion): Egg in the Face!]

I've gotten 11 rejections so far and haven't heard from the one who asked for more (of course, I'm not too sure about that one at this point).

I've revamped the middle into something more believeable and I'm hoping I'm done.  I've also started a conversion to a screenplay (as I learn HOW to write one).  Maybe a double-effort might help.

This story is 15 years old.  It NEEDS to be published.  Wish me luck.

If nothing else, you can always self-publish it.

[2010 JULY 25Episode 191: Yamazaki vs. Leopold Goenitz, Part 3 (Conclusion): Egg in the Face!]

Idunno.  I REALLY don't have the money to self-publish.

Now up to 12 rejections, but the last one included a "sorry about the rejection, Soldier, thank you for all you're doing" follow-up note.  Sweet, huh?

Keep it up, I'm sure you'll get published. Perseverance got the cat rich. (or something like that)

Keep on keeping on. You will get it eventually.

[2010 JULY 25Episode 191: Yamazaki vs. Leopold Goenitz, Part 3 (Conclusion): Egg in the Face!]

>BUMP<

I'm still at it.  I've now queried 80 agents.  I've received 21 rejections and have had 4 agents request to see a few chapters.

I want to get excited about these 4 "bites" as I call them, but ... with so little time left, it really makes me antsy.  It gets discouraging having to wait and receive rejections, but I already knew they'd be coming.  Maybe with so many agents queried I'm playing averages here.  There are some that say that I should consider myself rejected if I don't hear from them, so that would add onto those 21. 

One of those rejections reminded me that my high word count may be the culprit.  Well, I've managed since to cut about 35k+ words (from 171k down to 136k, or 586 pages down to 525).  I've also managed to translate the novel into a screenplay, which is also too long.  I've broken THAT up into a trilogy, which may need a little work if I'm to actually sell it ... of course, it could also be a 3-6-part-pilot or mini-series.  So many choices for such a difficult market!

Antsy!

But, I persist.  I can only keep at it.

[~Written Work~]

Yeah, word count is a big issue with books. 12k-14k, I believe, is the highest for a new author at fantasy to put in. Granted, some authors, like Branden Sanderson, can Debut with a 30k book because it was good enough (His debut book was Elantris--I recommend reading it.).

Anyway, keep trying. And keep manuscripts with the original word count and in the format of a novel. Screenplays are good for Hollywood, but bad for the book industry.