I am an agented author, represented by a very hardworking group of folks in the big NYC. So I managed to navigate the rocky shoals of the agent-query process with a reasonable amount of success. They represent Hugo/Nebula nominees, which is a good thing, because I write Science Fiction and you need an agent who lives/breathes your chosen genre.
One hard lesson? Having an agent is by no means the 'golden ticket'...
I have two novels on submission to the big imprints who publish Science Fiction/Fantasy exclusively, and as a result, I have a few kilobytes worth of personalized rejections from the best editors in the field. And why that doesn't seem like much of an achievement, to have gotten my meandering prose across the desk of a big name editor and to have wasted their time for an hour or two, its actually been extremely helpful. Most have given me the boilerplate "not for me", "didn't connect with the characters", but a few have given me very thoughtful comments/rejections. A few, I hope to share...
Also, I love Science Fiction/Fantasy. I read it almost exclusively, and have a pretty good head about what's worth reading and what's not. I tend to switch authors every book, which helps to expose me to different styles and sub-genres. I also try to skip decades. There's absolutely terrific stuff written all throughout Sci-Fi's century-plus history. I'm not a 'quick' reader, so my need for variety may be a result of my low throughput book-wise. I know a few folks who can read a novel every two days... I'm a little slower, a novel every two weeks typically. I wish I could read faster, but alas...
More reasons to come....
One hard lesson? Having an agent is by no means the 'golden ticket'...
I have two novels on submission to the big imprints who publish Science Fiction/Fantasy exclusively, and as a result, I have a few kilobytes worth of personalized rejections from the best editors in the field. And why that doesn't seem like much of an achievement, to have gotten my meandering prose across the desk of a big name editor and to have wasted their time for an hour or two, its actually been extremely helpful. Most have given me the boilerplate "not for me", "didn't connect with the characters", but a few have given me very thoughtful comments/rejections. A few, I hope to share...
Also, I love Science Fiction/Fantasy. I read it almost exclusively, and have a pretty good head about what's worth reading and what's not. I tend to switch authors every book, which helps to expose me to different styles and sub-genres. I also try to skip decades. There's absolutely terrific stuff written all throughout Sci-Fi's century-plus history. I'm not a 'quick' reader, so my need for variety may be a result of my low throughput book-wise. I know a few folks who can read a novel every two days... I'm a little slower, a novel every two weeks typically. I wish I could read faster, but alas...
More reasons to come....
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