I have two completed novels that I am trying to get an agent for to represent me. It is a frustrating process as many authors are aware of. Even great works have been rejected many times. For authors that are trying to break into the business it is an almost impossible task.
At the present time my first novel has been rejected by 43 agents and my second novel has been rejected by 6 agents. Many people would give up at this point and throw in the towel. However, I am not one of those people that gets discouraged easily.
I send out many query letters to different agents and I was thrilled this weekend when I sent a query letter and the first chapter of my last novel to an agent. This agent was listed on the Internet. I received a reply back in a matter of minutes saying that she wanted to read my full manuscript. At that point I was on cloud nine. My dream was becoming a reality. I sent an email back asking if she wanted the novel single spaced or double spaced. She immediately replied back and said it didn't matter, just send it any way that I wanted.
Writers who contact agents know they are very particular and want everything just a certain way. This threw up a red flag to me that something didn't seem right. I did some research on the Internet and found out that this agent was in Boston, moved to Florida, and now is in New Jersey. I got in contact with a woman that researched this agent extensively. She said this agent goes by two different names and she couldn't find out where the agent had made any sales. The agent also wanted my manuscript exclusively and didn't want me to give it to anyone else until she had read it.
Going from a high point to a low point happened in a matter of minutes. Naturally I did not send my full manuscript to this agent. It just didn't seem right and appeared to be a scam. I am frustrated that this deal didn't work out for me, but I am very relieved that I didn't make the mistake of sending my manuscript to an agent that goes by an alias and apparently is unqualified to represent someone.
Now I am back to sending out more query letters to agents that I know are much more qualified. Anyone seeking an agent beware of the unqualified and the ones out to scam someone.
Copyright Larry W. Fish 2014
That's a shame Larry. It's a good thing that you had that feeling and went with it. You'll get there soon, I'm sure!
ReplyDeleteAsky asked me how much it cost to get my book published,
ReplyDeleteI paid 39, bucks extra to get a bigger cut of my book. I buy them wholesale for $3.75 each and I sell them at what ever price I want. You can check me out by going to amazon and pulling up my name...Ron Lemco, Rest Stop. It sells for 12.95 + postage of which I do nothing Amazon sends my book out and I receive about $4 per sale. Or I buy all I want for 3.75 and sell them myself and I inscribe the book personally to the buyer. I get 15 bucks sent to pay-pal and I mail the book myself. Best thing in the world is to hold a copy of your book in your hand, and you can do that for nothing if you want, Createspace will send you a finished proof for nothing.
Go to createspace.com for all the information on getting your book published.