With the official start of my new "job" yesterday, I knew that I had to sit down and devise a plan on what I wanted my summer to look like. I knew without a clear schedule I was apt to get sidetracked by all of summer's ___. After finding a quiet place to snuggle into I prioritized what needed to be done so that I could find myself an agent to represent my book. This had to be number one on my to do list. Without an agent, there typically is no publisher, and without a publisher, there will be no book.
The first thing I did was dust off my query letter and started revamping it. The trick to query letters is they need to be short. This is hard when you are used to drawing out details to keep your reader on the edge of their seats. So I took the challenege of summarizing my 50,000 word manuscript into one short paragraph. Not as easy as it sounds but there's one more thing you absolutely need in there if you want to catch an agent's eye. It's called a hook. Without a great tag line you're doomed.
Once I conquered my synoposis I moved on to perfecting my author bio. An agent wants to know if you are qualified to write about a particular topic and wants to see that you have already established a platform for yourself. Given the fact that I am writing about my life, my qualifications were easy. I have kept myself invovlved with various writing classes this past year and with the help of social networking my platform is growing.
My final goal is to research agent directories and find somebody who represents my genre. Not all agencies are accepting new clients and some will only look at your information if your name has been passed on by other published authors. So now my work is cut out for me. Will I be able to find representation? I haven't given up hope yet. It only takes one "yes" to get my book into the shelves of Barnes & Nobles. As I have learned from my writer's group, every rejection letter should be celebrated. Many of author's have a large pile of "no's" sitting underneath an autographed copy of their latest book. I strive to be one of them.
The first thing I did was dust off my query letter and started revamping it. The trick to query letters is they need to be short. This is hard when you are used to drawing out details to keep your reader on the edge of their seats. So I took the challenege of summarizing my 50,000 word manuscript into one short paragraph. Not as easy as it sounds but there's one more thing you absolutely need in there if you want to catch an agent's eye. It's called a hook. Without a great tag line you're doomed.
Once I conquered my synoposis I moved on to perfecting my author bio. An agent wants to know if you are qualified to write about a particular topic and wants to see that you have already established a platform for yourself. Given the fact that I am writing about my life, my qualifications were easy. I have kept myself invovlved with various writing classes this past year and with the help of social networking my platform is growing.
My final goal is to research agent directories and find somebody who represents my genre. Not all agencies are accepting new clients and some will only look at your information if your name has been passed on by other published authors. So now my work is cut out for me. Will I be able to find representation? I haven't given up hope yet. It only takes one "yes" to get my book into the shelves of Barnes & Nobles. As I have learned from my writer's group, every rejection letter should be celebrated. Many of author's have a large pile of "no's" sitting underneath an autographed copy of their latest book. I strive to be one of them.
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