Chapter 3: Two down, five to go

My first postal rejection came through, well two days ago actually but I've been too busy/lazy to do anything about it. This one was a boring, unsigned form letter which was a bit of a dissapointment but as they say - life goes on.
Good things to remember at this point:

1. I've only had rejections from general agents, not sci-fi/fantasy specific
2. The majority of my propsals are still floating out there somewhere
3. I now have an idea for another, possibly better book

So all in all things aren't looking so bad :)

Chapter 2: Rejection #1

Yep, after just 4 days I've had my first rejection, but that's ok.

Honestly, it's ok. Some people say that you're not a proper writer until you've had at least one rejection.

Of course that's a load of crap, that friends tell you when you get a rejection letter, but as with all things it's the thought that counts.

Actually it wasn't a letter - it was an email. That's right, our one up to date and technologically capable agent has taken himself out of the running. Which is a shame. At the moment I'm less concerned at the rejection - after all I've got 6 more proposals floating around, I'm more concerned that it was this one that's rejected me. A non technophobe agent who provides quick responses and seems genuinely friendly (assuming the email wasn't just a clever form mail written by someone else), I don't care about the others now - I wanted him! Never mind though, it's human nature to want what you can't have isn't it? Let's pick the novel up, dust it down, and send it along the road to it's next adventure.

Chapter 1: The Journey Begins

It's finally happened - after weeks of hesitation and doubt my little manuscript is now winging it's way to 7 lucky agents. It leaves in its wake dozens of sheets of screwed up paper, an exhausted laser printer and my mental state slowly driping into a greasy puddle on the floor.

Yes, it's an emotional time for me, the book that I've fed, nurtured and watched grow for close to a year now has been sent out into the world with nothing more than a white envelope for protection and first class postage home, should it get lost. What will happen to it? Who will it meet? Will it find it's fortune or just be thrown screaming onto the bonfire of failure? Which brings to mind the more relevant question: Am I taking this anthropomorphisation too far? also, can I even spell anthropomorphisation?

For those who want details to root for rather than disturbed ramblings, the current count is 7 package sent out, 6 through regular post and, at the risk of turning into a scifi, one through email. Each submission package consists of a covering letter, a synopsis, and however many pages/chapters the agent requested. My original plan to send a half page about the author type blurb has been dismissed after much discussion. The general concensus of opinion being that the less the agents know about me, the better.

I believe that I have found and submitted to the best agents in the country for fantasy work, but then I would think that, wouldn't I? Should none of these reply with anything positive I will have to have a good think about what to do.
My current plans for this eventuality are as follows:
1. Send out to more agents - move to the 2nd best set of agents for fantasy, repeat.
2. Self publish. Send someone a whole bunch of money to print the books for me, and then worry about getting people to read them
3. Give up on this book and write a better one. This sounds a bit harsh, but that's life really, and the sooner my book learns that, the better.

There's a sci-fi/fantasy in my head that's trying to get itself written at the moment. It's quite disturbing the way it's affecting my sleep. I keep finding myself on the verge of dropping off, when I suddenly have a great idea for a character/setting/plot point that I need to include. I'm refusing to give in though. I'm not going to write this one until I'm ready.

Honest.

Well, maybe just a few notes?

Telephony

I read somewhere that it's a good idea to telephone the agencies you're considering approaching, before sending anything. Firstly to make sure that they're accepting submissions and that they deal in the sort of work you've written, but also to try to get extra information - like the name of the agent who deals with your type of book, or just general info that will help you tailor your submission to that agent's tastes. 'For just a 4 minute phone call you could find something out that makes the difference,' says the well meaning article. Well, seeing as I wanted to do everything properly and with the maximum change of success, on Friday I took a half day from work to try this out.

All I can say is that it probably works great, if you're good on the phone. As it was, my 4 minute phone calls were all over in under 30 seconds. Almost all the callees refused to give out any more information than was in their respective entries in The Writers & Artists Yearbook. One gave me the name of an agent working there (although as we never discussed what I was sending them, I don't know how suitable the agent will prove to be). One just told me that they weren't accepting submissions, so at least I've saved myself the trouble/cost of sending anything there. Another was just an answerphone. Oh, one word of advice to anyone trying this. If you're right handed, hold the phone in the left one. This means that if they do tell you something that's not in their WAYB entry then you can write it down, rather than assume you'll remember it. 'Click' goes phone, 'pop' goes all memory of the number of words the nice woman asked me to send in as a sample. I'm fairly sure it was either 3,000 words or 15,000. Sadly this is ever so slightly less useful than knowing nothing. The plan of course is to send in 3 chapters and subsequently deny all knowledge of any telephone calls.

Interestingly enough, I've seen details of agents who specifically say not to phone them. Best guess would be that this is because they're sick of people calling them for information and distracting them from their real job of breeding hamsters (why else would so many insist on paper submissions rather than email? Bedding!)

Oh well, not a great start but on the bright side, none of them got my name. At least that makes it unlikely that I've been blacklisted already :)

Next task: Put together packages to send to agents (synopsis, sample chapters, etc. What do you take me for? I'm not that annoyed at how things went.)

Getting Published

Every story needs a beginning. Also a middle and an end of course, but without a beginning the latter two tend to feel awkward and out of place, much like a penguin at a Marilyn Manson concert.
So this is the beginning. Well, technically not the beginning. The beginning probably happened last October, although depending on how you look at it, maybe it happened many years before that. My own, personal beginning happened over 25 years ago, but this story isn't about me. Not really anyway, I'm just a bit player here. My ego insists that I point out that it's a big bit but perhaps we shouldn't read too much into that.

The hero of this story is a story, a very different story to this one. The hero story involves vampires and werewolves, this one is very unlikely to do so unless things get really out of control. This story is the story of that story. This one really happened, or at least is happening right now.

Enough Rambling! I hear you cry. Not really of course, that was my paranoia. It's telling me that you've already got bored and moved on by now, that no-one will ever read what I write and that I have a poor taste in clothes. That's ok though, I'm used to that by now. But you want to know about the story, not this one, the story that this one is about.

This story is the literary equivalent of a teenager, that's not to say that it's currently sucking down bottles of white lightning in a park somewhere and throwing up on passers by. No, this story is a well behaved teenager. It was born out of a slightly sordid thought that crossed it's father's mind one dark evening. It's grown, developed. It's been sent to school and come back wiser and more complete. This story is ready to go out into the world and shout 'look at me, I'm really quite good aren't I?'

This is where we join this story, this story of a story. The story has been written, edited, re-written, sent out to a select group of people for criticism and comments. It has been re-written again, shouted at, had entire chapters torn out and destroyed and replaced with slightly better ones. This story is now complete and looking to make it's mark. It wants, even needs, to be published.

This, then, is the story of this story's journey on the road to publication. A road normally littered with obstacles and diversions, joy and heartache. How will it turn out? Who knows? I hope it has a happy ending, it's all true you know and I do like a happy ending.