Blog Archive
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Query Recap
Apr 26, 2010
I sat down early one Saturday morning (before six a.m.) to do some queries and decided I would track them and recount what I found to you. So while reading queries one day, here’s what I came across: Total E-mails Read: 43 Total Rejected: 36In four instances I gave advice to the querier. The advice […]
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Kim’s Submission Status
Apr 23, 2010
Jessica mentioned that she’s received a few blog comments expressing confusion on my submission status. I’m currently not accepting any new queries and I’ve responded to all of those I received prior to closing them. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean I’m completely caught up on submissions. I apologize to anyone who is still awaiting a response […]
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Treat Each Query as Your First
Apr 22, 2010
I’ve been receiving a lot of queries lately that are far too informal and personal, queries in which the querier obviously had interactions with me before and assumed I would remember who she is. Frankly, it’s just confusing. The queries often go something like this: Jessica: I know you’re busy, but I wanted to let […]
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Thoughts on Memoirs
Apr 21, 2010
This morning I was catching up on my magazine reading when I came across this article in Newsweek. The article discusses whether or not publishing a memoir is really as therapeutic as we all presume it to be. I don’t represent memoir primarily because I feel I would have very limited interests. I also don’t […]
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Have I Been Rejected
Apr 20, 2010
Back in July of 2009, an agent made a full request for my manuscript. I sent it promptly. After not hearing anything for several months, I sent a polite request (with a copy of my original query attached) for a status update. No answer. Eight months later, I sent another polite request. Nothing, again. Being […]
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Post-Publication Thank-Yous
Apr 19, 2010
Recently, I came across a rejection I had received from an agency for a book that I subsequently sold and will be published. I thought about e-mailing her my thanks for her advice. I don’t feel a need to “rub it in” so it isn’t that. It’s that she took the time to make some […]
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This Week
Apr 16, 2010
Things I did this week that I loved . . . Called a client to tell her we got an offer Negotiated that offer Called another editor to say we were accepting an offer I negotiated last week Called an author to offer representation Signed that author Read a client’s manuscript and sent revisions Read […]
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An Agent’s Confession
Apr 15, 2010
I have a confession to make. The minute the final published book from a client lands on my desk, the second thing I do (after oohing and aahing over the cover) is check the acknowledgment section. It’s a little embarrassing to admit this, but I’m always curious about what the author has to say. And, […]
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Making Money
Apr 14, 2010
It’s not uncommon, when witnessing a tirade by a frustrated author, that you hear the complaint that the only thing agents want are books that will make them money. This is usually some thinly veiled criticism (I use that word loosely) of the books agents are representing. Well, once and for all I’d like to […]
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Getting Reviews
Apr 13, 2010
If you have a book coming out soon (yay!) and you want to make sure it gets reviewed, how do you make sure the reviewers get it? Do you buy a copy and send it? Do you send a PDF of it to them? How do they get them? Pretty much, how, what, when, where, […]
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An Agent’s Workload
Apr 12, 2010
I believe I may soon be getting an offer of representation. This agent is new, having just started representing her own clients in the past few months. I know that she has just signed two new clients three weeks ago. If I sign with her, that is three clients that she will be going on […]
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T.G.I.F.
Apr 09, 2010
The last few weeks have been busy, busy, busy and of course I love every minute of it. I’ve been catching up on a lot of reading, unfortunately for those who have sent me submissions most of it has been for clients. I’ve been brainstorming with clients, spending literally hours on the phone to come […]
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