Thoughts on getting an agent

I’ve started to become disenchanted with the idea of getting an agent.  Don’t get me wrong, I still want one at least for my first manuscript to help me learn more of the ins and outs.  But I’ve been observing agents still picking up more of what’s out there already, more of the abuse-as-romance and fanfics and fanfics of fanfics.  I know a few authors who’ve gotten agents this past year, and even they admit their manuscripts are similar to the stuff already published.  In fact, this is a large part of why they think agents have taken them.  They’re in “safe” territory that’s been tested and proven successful for a while, and publishers seem less willing to be the first to move onward, even as readers are getting bored (just read Amazon reviews and you’ll find so many that say “Not another story like X,” and you don’t have to look hard to find them).

Where does an empowering novel about a young woman who gets herself out of an abusive situation who them goes on to take charge and save a civilization come on?  Even though she’s a character it’s easy to fantasize about being and she has her own romance (which is not central to the story), she’s not waiting to be rescued.  I refuse to rewrite her into the “desirable” helpless maiden to appease publishers.

I also admit that the contempt I’m seeing by a lot of agents on Twitter who are panning self-published writers is grating on me.  I agree that many self-pubbed books lack much in the way of editing.  So do 50 Shades and Twilight, if you want to be perfectly honest here, and 50 Shades doesn’t seem to have had any editing at all.  So I don’t think this can be used as a valid criticism.

These particular agents are also using the promoting the power agents and publishers can have, though I’ve gotten them to admit that only some authors will receive any promotion.  I know quite a few published authors, including award-winners and best-selling authors, who haven’t had a lick of assistance in promoting their work.  I removed an agent from my to-query list a few days ago for her refusal to directly answer a question on how publishers decide which books will receive publisher-paid promotion (saying agents want publishers to promote all the agent’s represented books and that no author complains of too much promotion aren’t answers to the question).  If an agent is going to claim that the one right way to get published is through an agent and that part of the reason is the promotion, then writers deserve to know more information instead of non-answers.

I get the sense that some agents, not all, just some, want to control the industry a bit.  I understand that agents’ jobs rely on this, but so do the futures of the writers.  I am not comfortable with agents who assert that there is only one correct way to publication, and that is through those with a financial incentive.  Personally I still want to go this route, but I am uncomfortable with panning another perfectly valid route other authors have chosen to take, so many as their first choice.  Agents should support whichever route a writer wants to take.  I say this as someone who actively encourages people to learn how to do my day job knowing it may result in me losing sales, and in fact I teach people how to do my job – for free.  This is a positive reflection on my business and results in good word-of-mouth that brings in other clients.  Slamming on self-publishing, which for me is the equivalent of people learning to make for themselves the things I make, is a clear indication that the ONLY correct way is the one that puts money into agent pockets.

Sure, there are some stellar agents out there who are open, honest, supportive, directly answer questions, and who make themselves accessible to writers, even those they don’t rep (*finger crossed* my favorite agent makes a request because she is exactly like that), but the squeakiest, at least that I am personally seeing (and I fully acknowledge that I may just be seeing the “wrong” agents’ posts who may be in the extreme minority), are reflecting on the industry as a whole.

I know a handful of writers who’ve decided to go the self-pub route after seeing the disrespect some of the loudest agents have toward those who self-publish. I’m feeling more solidarity with self-pubbed authors, and have started  giving serious consideration to that route, not because of rejections, but because I am pretty upset that their route is seen as less than valid and as the wrong way.  Helping this feeling is that I’ve had requests for my book from complete strangers, and the only answer I’ve been able to give about availability is that I’m still querying, and if I got an agent tomorrow, a very quick on-shelves date wouldn’t be for at least two years.  Even well-known writers and celebrities see long delays of a year or two.

It really blows knowing that the people who are interested in an anti-abuse book NOW may have moved on later.  The iron is hot NOW, the time to strike is NOW, NOT two years or more in the future in the middle of 50 Shades movie fever.  The time to publish and promote is NOW, start building up a dedicated fan base NOW.

An agent could do nothing about getting my book out there this year. But a good agent and publisher could help this IF they chose my book as one to promote.  An agent could set me up with a great editor.  A publisher could get my book in stores whereas I’d have to foot the bill on my own.

All in all, I don’t know at this point what I want to do.  I’ve got a few agents I’d love to work with if they would like to represent and we seem compatible after personal communication, even though it will take a while and there’s still no guarantee of a publisher, but I also really dislike the disrespect toward self-publishers and I really dislike  the idea of trying to release during 50 Shades Mania.

I’m leaning against sending out more queries at this point.  I’ve already queried half the agents on my short “I Would Love to Work With” list, recently enough that it’s too soon for a reply. All I’ve really decided beyond that is, if I don’t have an agent or a good prospect by the end of the writers’ conference I’m attending at the end of July, I will lean heavier toward self-publishing, and in the meantime, researching promotional methods.  Looking at some people I know who’ve been published through agents, it doesn’t seem like they’ve reaped much benefit, and a couple are even constrained in how they can promote themselves, to some great detriment.

In some ways it feels like a coin toss.  Perhaps it’s a new form of luck of the draw.  I don’t know.  But I’m not going to close any doors.

My brain is swimming

I’m not sure what it’s swimming in, but it’s trying to take a vacation without my permission.  The last few days I feel like I’m getting in over my head, so much, so fast.

Yesterday we bunch of people on Twitter managed to flood a company with messages regarding their pro-rape t-shirts.  The company gave a weak excuse about a computer program spontaneously making and posting the shirts on Amazon using random dictionary words, and few people bought this.  If no one overlooks what is made before it goes live, you’ve got a bad company.  Adding to the skepticism is more shirts from the same company saying things like “Keep calm and hit her.”

Last night I had a conversation with a couple friends about whether or not the actions of a couple characters in books are abusive if they claim to love the victims.  Hours of discussion later after an already late night, and finally they started to realize couching abuse in with claims of love doesn’t mean it’s not still abuse.

Also last night author Jenny Trout and her friends experienced some frightening harassment.

Between all that, the unexpectedly high number of people reading my non-fanfic and commenting either on the fic or via e-mail or on Jenny’s blog in comment, and an influx of requests for my book, not from agents, but people who want to read it, I am overwhelmed at the moment.  Doesn’t help that I’ve got a full plate as far as my day stuff goes, dozens of pieces to create for a faire in a couple months.  For a few days, I need to just step back and regroup.  

I do have a tendency to dive full-force into whatever I’m doing.  I’m very passionate about what I do, and am willing to put myself out there.  But putting myself out there on this type of a scale is new and frightening.  (At least it means I’m willing to heavily self-promote.)  So let’s toss that emotion of fear on top of being overwhelmed and my desire to help pull the pendulum back from the abuse-as-romance side of things.  

I need a mental break for a few days.

Also I’ve pre-set the first reader’s interview to auto-post on Wednesday.

The hidden costs of writing

Want to write a book?  Great!  Write a story, have a friend or two proof-read it, and start sending out letters to agents hoping they’re interested.

Not so fast.  Back up.  Some more.  Way back here.  Now take a seat.

Now, only is it not as easy as that, but something I don’t think many aspiring authors think about is how much it costs to write and try to get a book published.  If you already work a couple jobs, you’re going to sacrifice sleep.  That comes with a cost to your health.  If you work one job, write, and sleep, you better get a second job for what you can reasonably expect to pay out of pocket trying to “do it right” and get noticed.

Information isn’t free anymore.  Forums can be a great help, but only go so far.  Take a peek at the books out there.  $50 on up for some of them. Want to take a class on honing your craft?  Several hundred you can expect to pay for online classes.  Some universities offer classes, but even at the community college level, you’re looking at $600 on up (going by my local community college pricing).  You can take a session with Neil Gaiman and pay about $6,000 (paying for residence at a certain location is mandatory).

Want to skip that?  Well, prepare yourself to hear about how unprofessional you are for not coming up with thousands to pay for professional editors.  What’s that?  You can’t afford it?  Someone will tell you to just get another job, as if it’s that easy.  In fact a couple people telling me this on Twitter sparked this post.  If all it took to come up wit a couple thousand was to “just get another job,” then no one who is struggling would struggle.  Everyone willing to work would have jobs instead of pounding pavement for months on end, sometimes a year or more.

I’m a bit peeved Neil told me to skip the editor and just attend his seminar back when I was still trying to raise money for an editor.

Conferences?  This is supposed to be a good way to learn more and to try getting your manuscript out there a bit, and every agent and published author I’ve spoken with have said these are becoming vital.  (Caveat: I haven’t spoken with all.  Some might think these are a waste of money.)  Typical costs are $500 or so for a ticket, plus travel, hotel, and other associated costs.

Software programs, printing and mailing things off (some agents want everything digitally, some still want manuscripts printed), contests to get notice, and on and on and on all add up.  I’ve got several writer friends who’ve shelled out five grand or more getting their manuscripts ready to submit, and for those who’ve self-published, $8k on up has been standard.  Layouts, covers, all the other design elements.

For every Stephanie Meyer out there, someone who claims to have just written it and gotten an agent on her sixth try, you’ll find many more published authors who sacrificed every penny they had and then some to get their manuscript ready for agents, and for every one of them, many others who have spend all they had with nothing to show for it.

You may get lucky and be picked up without spending a lot.  But don’t count on it.  Better to overestimate what you may spend and have money left over than to underestimate and quit.

The two months of this year alone I’ve shelled out $500 for a ticket on top of $65 for a membership, a $35-contest fee, for a conference in July, and mercifully am going to get out of spending several hundred more on a hotel.  Printing and overnight shipping for an entry.  $117 on a program that searches for redundancies, cliches, etc., in your manuscript that are easy to overlook when reading.  If I want to be nit-picky, I’d add in the additional coffee I’ve bought to stay awake.  I get about two hours of sleep a night.

And the sad thing?  I’m in it less than a lot of other writers, and that’s only because I’m fortunate enough to have some connections so that I’m not paying for other professional services.

Evidence of society accepting violence against women?

Today a company called Solid Gold Bomb found their Amazon wares going viral for a reason no company wants.  Rather than laughs, people have been furious.  Please let this be the beginning of society saying NO MORE to glamorizing and laughing at violence and assault.  

I’ll update this post when I can think clearer.  I’m so furious.  This is the sort of thing I’m fighting against.