Hi Everyone:
When is it enough? When do you know that you've done all that's reasonable? I'm not a quitter, but I would like someone to tell me when to quit trying to get a Literary Agent to read a manuscript. I had a good friend who used to say, "When you're doing the right things and you're not getting the result you want, you've just got to keep on keeping on."
Now I know that there aren't an infinite number of agents so somewhere there has to be a number, a law, or a standard that says when you've reached this number without a positive result, it's time to move on, either to a new endeavor or a new vocation.
I know that in order to get one of the major publishing houses to read my novel, it must come through a literary agent. They refuse to accept material directly from the author, so getting an agent is crucial if one hopes to be contracted by the likes of Random House or Simon and Schuster.
That's not to say that you can't get your novel into print. There are two or three dozen independent publishing houses that will deal directly with the author, which is what I did for my forthcoming novel, Alex, Peanut Butter, and Me. It will be published shortly in both print and digital form by Second Wind Publishers, a N.C. firm. In addition, thanks to the internet, self publishing is a viable alternative. Three of my earlier works are available for nook, fire, and other electronic device readers. However, the Golden Fleece of publishing still belongs to the big five publishing conglomerates.
I am not faulting Literary Agent's. There are just so many books that one person can read or authors they can represent. Many of these hard working people already represent as many active authors as they can handle in the time that's available to them. They are loath to take on a new author unless he or she is famous or infamous and I think it's a little too late in life to rob a bank or kill someone.
To attract a good Literary Agent, writers must compose a query letter. It's actually a sales pitch, condensed to a single sheet of paper and it's sent to those agents who indicate a willingness to consider the specific genre of the author's work, along with whatever else the particular agent requires, (sometimes a synopsis, a biography, and anywhere from a single chapter on up.) I'm not new to this process. I've written, what I consider an excellent query letter, which I have revised umpteen times for my 9th manuscript, The Unvarnished Truth.
Initially, I selected twenty agents. Each time an agent refuses to consider my novel, I eliminate that agent from my list and replace him or her with another prospect, thus keeping twenty irons in the fire at all times. To date, I've sent queries to 75 agents. WON'T SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHEN I'VE DONE ENOUGH?
