getting back to business

I'm about to descend into the office and work on the book--I figure that a bad chapter is better than no chapter. I'm even turning the ringers on the phones off for an hour. Really going to give the first part a once-over again and try to figure out how to extend it, and work on my chapter outline (the thing most agents seem to want to see, at first, is a proposal, chapter outline, and the first 100 pages).

I'm tossing around the idea of going back to State next semester to teach--there is a possiblity of a class I could do, and God knows, we need the money around here. Frankly, it's nice to have access to an office and a computer that is not at home--I used to get the bulk of my writing done in the office I shared with five other people, even when my officemates were talking. It's that old story of parents trying to work creatively--it can be really hard even when the kids get older (and sometimes more so when they get older--when they were little, I wrote in the living room of my house and they could play and do stuff around me, and they were mostly in school for the same hours when they got older, so I had a lot of uninterrupted time to work). Plus, Mr. Strega is still getting used to my work habits--he's astounded by the fact that, when I get into the book, five or six hours will pass before I emerge again from the office (I bring a thermos of decaf in there and just work, work, work).

I have not yet heard from the next agent (again, not naming names until after an agency rejection, but this person was the one who sold "The Hours." I chose her because "The Hours" is a bit quirkily written; plus, she sold "Three Junes," which I haven't read, but which has a cool author story behind it). I have learned a lot in my quest for an agent--I have ten folks to send to right now, and have done a huge amount of research on seeking an agent. The primary caveat I discovered is that you should NEVER pay an agency any sort of an upfront fee, either to read your book, send it to publishers, etc. That is the primary red flag of the multiple scammers that are out there--and there are sooooo many. Money should flow to the writer, not out of the writer's pocket. Most of the "fee agencies" will take any book, no matter how unpublishable, and take your money (some of them charge things like a $250 upfront, nonrefundable fee, will take your manuscript, claim they are sending it around to publishers, and nothing at all ever happens--or the writer keeps shelling out more and more money, to "book doctors" and things like that, thus losing both cash, precious time they could be spending getting it to reputable agents, etc). I think some of the reason people get sucked into scam agencies is because they simply don't know the red flags for a scam, or they simpy want to get published--very understandable if you're a writer who works hard and wants very much to get ahead. I've heard of reputable authors taking a long time to find a decent agent. I keep reassuring myself that if I work hard, it will happen.

So, my process of looking for an agent may take awhile--I'm at peace with that. I also remember what my fiction professor Chris said, that if an agent doesn't communicate with you, doesn't do jack for you in six months to a year, etc.--then "divorce" your agent and go find another one. He had a really rough experience with an agent who, though reputable, kept him stringing along for two years, doing absolutely nothing. I had another friend whose agent, though also legitimate, kept him stringing along for many more years than that. He finally switched agents and got a book published very quickly after that. I guess it's worthwhile to remember some of the horror stories from my friends--such as: don't believe a Great Writer who tells you they're going to recommend you to their agent unless they follow through (the Great Writer who did this in one of my classes also boasted about being drunk a lot--nice man, but a red, red flag as to his ability to follow up). Not like all the wisdom of the universe or of writing just flows forth from me--but I do remember horror stories pretty well!