Finished Sending Out Agent Queries!

Cover Image

By Vladimir Yu. Arkhipov, Arkhivov - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8733781

Now Available In Kindle eBook & Paperback On All Amazon Sites Around The World!

I've completed sending out queries to 50 agents for my new book, Merlin & Arthur: The Awakening.

It was a lot of work. Every agent seemed to have slightly different requirements, but I was able to do it all digitally, which helped.

It will be awhile before I hear from them. Most of them said it could be 4-6 weeks.

Once that was done, I went back through the new book one more time and updated it on all the Amazon sites around the globe.

Also, because of the coronavirus, Merlin & Arthur: The Awakening was only available in Kindle eBook format and paperback on Amazon.com until recently. Now you can get it in either format on any Amazon site! 

Checking Out Some Agents

Cover Image

By Vladimir Yu. Arkhipov, Arkhivov - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8733781

I promised when I started my blog that I would share what I'm doing to promote and publish my books. Of course, I'm already self-published on Amazon, but I've also worked on trying to find an agent who would help me get a publisher for my books. I've started working through that same process with Merlin & Arthur: The Awakening.

This last week I used a website that I've gone to in the past to find a good agent in the US. The site is agentquery.com. It's been extremely helpful. On the site, I use the Full Search link. Then I select the genre and select YES in the drop down menu for agents who accept email queries, are a member of AAR, and are actively seeking new clients. From the search, I found three pages of agents, of which I sent out 22 queries. Next week I'll be searching for agents in Europe through some other sites.

Every agent seems to want something a little different, but it's a good idea to have at least a couple items ready before beginning. Those are a query letter specific to the book and a 1-2 page synopsis. You'll also need to copy and paste a portion of your full manuscript. Most agents require anywhere from 5 pages, to 50 pages. None of them want the full manuscript to begin with.

In the past, I've received many different types of responses, ranging from stock answers saying that my work didn't fit their particular requirements at the moment to very personalized responses, providing feedback that was valuable. I obviously haven't been able to find an agent yet, but I'm always hopeful and am not going to give up. I've worked very hard to improve as a writer and storyteller. Plus, from the reviews I've received, I know that people that have read my work have enjoyed it.

Wish me luck, and I hope the information that I've included is helpful to other writers.

Completing Promotional Projects and Beginning New Book

During the last three weeks

I have taken about three weeks off from writing to work on increasing my readership and sending my writing off to possible agents. I'm glad that I had the time to work on these promotional activities.

The number of people reading my books has increased, and I've started receiving new reviews of my work. I've also heard from some agents. The responses have been much more personal this time, and several have made suggestions. I hope to hear more and maybe one will decide to represent me. It will take quite a while to hear back. I sent out about 110 queries.

Next writing project

I have read some reviews of my work and may do a few revisions of Rooms. I've also heard back from some people about my latest book The Chosen, and the responses have been very positive.

My next big project will be to begin a new Fantasy book. It will follow Beatrice from a time perspective and will have some of the same characters. However, I will do my best to write it as a book that can be read independently of Beatrice. I've started doing the research that I need to do and have also begun crafting an outline and laying down some story ideas. It will be an extremely interesting, creative, and fun project. I'm excited to start.

Sent out 80 Agent Queries in two days!

                                       New!

                                       

       

It's been a mind numbing process, but I've sent out 80 agent queries for these two books in the last two days. You never know what will come of it, but I'm doing my best to see if someone will pick me up.

Last time I did this, I sent out about 30 and received three positive responses. I didn't get a contract, but my interaction with the agents was positive.

It's interesting how each agent has their own particular requirements for the queries. Some want a query letter with the first page of the book, or the first fifty pages, or ten. Some want a summary, while others want just the letter. It's important to read each agent's directions carefully and follow them as exactly as possible, but it gets a bit crazy sometimes.

I'm enjoying working as in independent author, but I'd like to see if I could break through to a larger audience. Getting an agent is usually part of that process.

I will continue looking for other agents this week and then hopefully start on my next novel after I've completed my search.

I've started re-reading Beatrice again. It needs to be freshly engrained in my mind so that I can continue the story from where it left off. I'm really looking forward to writing again, and I have some fun ideas bubbling up!

Books I've read, Disappointments, and the Future

I've been reading books for the last two years with a different eye than ever before. Being a working author, I see and read them with a much more concentrated fervor. I look at the plot, characters, setting, phrasing, words, and many other aspects of a book in much more detail.

Also, I've chosen the books that I'm reading much more carefully. I've read more Stephen King, Tom Robbins, Ian Rankin, Suzanne Collins, Tana French, Hugh Howey, Sheri S. Tepper, Margaret Atwood, Patrick Rothfuss, George R. R. Martin, Lois Lowry, Mary Stewart, Brian Jacques, and I just finished The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings again by Tolkien as well as several others. They all do things much differently and have varying strengths that I can learn from.

I was particularly excited to read Tolkien again. It had been a long time, and I also read more about his thoughts behind the book, which were very enlightening.

A great disappointment recently was that Amazon decided to discontinue their Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest. They didn't publicize that they were going to discontinue it, and I know that many thousands of writers, including myself, had spent a lot of time preparing only to find out very late that it would not happen.

However, Amazon has started something new that they call Amazon Scout. It looks like a promising venue for indy writers, and I'm going to look into it after I finish The Chosen.

Also, after I get The Chosen published, I will be looking at some other contests, contact more agents, and pursue some other promotional avenues for my works. I will need some time off from writing, as I've been working 6-10 hours, five days a week or more, since April of 2013.

The next project that I will work on will be a sequel to Beatrice. I already have a lot of it planned and ready, but the chance to do something else for a while will be good for me. I would also like to write some poetry again. It's been too long!

To all those who have been reading my blog, I again want to say thank you, and watch for The Chosen. It will be completed and published in March!

New Book - Continuing the Rooms Series & Agent Search

New Book

Greg Opalinski

I've finished my agent emails for now and have decided to continue the Rooms' Adult Science Fiction Series with Book II, titled THE CHOSEN. The cover above may not be what I will use as the final cover, but it's part of what Greg Opalinski  did for the first book of the series, Rooms. I really liked Greg's work, so I'm using this for now.

I just started the new book yesterday and have the general plan mapped out. It will continue the story from Rooms and have many of the same characters, but will have more action, more about Loon, the Earth, the lifeglobes around the galaxy, and an epic struggle for the future of humankind.

Writing this new book will be my first sequel and will be a challenge that I welcome and am very excited about.

Agent Search

I have more that I can do to search for agents, but I will stop for now and work on THE CHOSEN. I've submitted about forty email queries for both Rooms and Beatrice, and at this point, I just need to wait and see what happens. I'm crossing my fingers, but I also know that these things take time and that I will receive many rejection letters. It's just the way it is.

I remember when I sent out the songs that I wrote to publishers. The same thing happened, and then through some connections, I was able to get my second album published through a publisher in New York. That took a lot of patience and time as well.

Looking For An Agent

Before I discuss my search for an agent, I just want to remind you that if you haven't yet, please check out my three books on the right side of this blog and the links below each. You can also see and purchase them on Amazon by clicking on the cover of each of the books.

AGENT SEARCH

First of all, before I submitted anything to an agent, I did quite a bit of research on how to write a query letter. I referenced several sources for this. One of the websites that I used was this one. 

Then in order to find agents that deal with the types of books that I write, I've been using the Association of Authors' Representatives, INC. to locate them, and before I send them anything, I read their submission guidelines carefully. I know from all the reading that I've done that it's important to follow those, as they are often a little different for each agent. Also, it seems that most agents now prefer that you send them your materials in the body of an email.

The last two days I've sent out probably thirty emails to agents. I'll continue this for a few more days, and then I plan to get back to work on my writing.

I am very new to this, so it will be interesting to see what types of responses that I get. I know that it's going to be a learning process.

If you have any suggestions or websites that you've used, or if you have an agent that you know of that looks at science fiction or fantasy, please let me know.