Happy Birthday to ME!

No one could wish for a better life than the one I have had so far, nor of the promise of what lies ahead. As I cross the threshold into another year, I can only thank the fabulous people who have chosen to share it with me. AND enjoy a bit of cake.

Heading to China!

I take off tomorrow to China as a delegate of the US Tea Association. We are guests of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Foodstuffs (yes there is such a thing) and will be touring tea estates, tea packing companies, and lots of tea houses. I shall be well-tea'd by the time I return. 10 days of tea, tea, tea. We are even escorted to all the tourist areas (Great Wall, Forbidden City, etc.) by Chinese tea companies. Every day a different company hosts our lunches and dinners. It should be fun. I am on a forum at the International Tea Expo is Changsha, though I'm not sure exactly what we will be talking about yet. All in all, it should be an amazing adventure!

I'd like to thank my agent, and my new agent . . .

Well, I have a NEW agent. If you want to hear some good stories about the ups and down and joys and woes of agents, let me know. It has been an interesting adventure. My OLD agent didn't manage to sell my first book. So I've shelved that one for now. Historically that isn't unusual. Though fiddle-dee-dee, I hate to be usual.

The good news is that I was talking about my current book to the guy who wrote Rambo (now HE's an interesting guy) at a party of editors and agents. Well an agent from his agency was listening and liked my ideas enough that she asked to read some of my stuff. She liked it and signed me up. Woo HOO.

AND, at the same time, I got a contract to write a book for Adobe, which is one reason I haven't been online much lately. The first draft is due next week. Luckily I'm on track.

ANYWAY, if any of my Tribal friends are out and about and wondered whatever happened to Swish. Well, I'm back around. Drop me a line!

In Search of a Publisher: "Very Close Miss"

My agent just sent me a rejection she got from Allison McCabe, Senior Editor at Crown (which is a division of Random House). This was my first choice of publisher, but not my first choice of Editor, who used to work at Crown and is now at Penguin.

Anyway, here's what she said:

"I've sat on this for a while, because it is a very close miss. There is much to admire here, and the author has an excellent command of the time period. However, the forward motion is very slow, and I could not get past my sense of impatience. I believe that some of this is due to the author's intent to unfold the narrative over three volumes. We have found that readers tend to be much less patient with new authors than they are with old favorites, and I'm afraid that on our very commercial list, this novel would not sell enough copies to please my publisher or the author, so I must pass with regret.

I'm sure other editors will feel differently, and I wish you and this very talented writer the best of luck!"

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My agent sent this to me via mail, with a note stating:

"I thought you would like to see the enclosed. While not as nice as an offer, it is nonetheless encouraging.

P.S. I do not agree with Allison's feeling about the novel's pace at all."

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So I guess a "very close miss" is a good thing. I like that MY AGENT thinks it is a good thing.

Cross your fingers

SUCCESS! I FOUND AN AGENT!

Those edits I made to my novel have paid off. I now have official representation. Thus the next adventure begins, to get the publishers. My agent (and doesn't that feel good to say) has sold many books to Random House, which is where I would love to be. So everyone cross their fingers.

And for me, it is back to the keyboard to finish up the next novel.

One Step Closer

The quest for an agent continues . . . but there is GOOD news. The one agent that requested my entire manuscript has read it and is INTERESTED. A rousing Yippee-yeah!

The catch is, of course, that they want a couple of edits in order to be REALLY excited about the piece. I have a few writer friends that would rather wrestle an alligator naked (not a naked alligator) than change their prose. Am I something less than a great writer that I consider it?

Granted, the edits aren't much. Some typos (oops). Plus rewriting a scene or two to strengthen the dynamics between the two major characters at the end. In retrospect, I wonder that I didn't do it to begin with, but it does mean going back and doing a little more rewriting . . . AGAIN.

Any other writers out there who write and then rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite? I mean, we aren't called rewriters, are we? Or maybe that SHOULD be my new title.

Elisabeth. Occupation: Rewriter. New drafts on demand.

But as a Rewriter, I WILL have an agent that wants to rep me. Maybe it won't be so bad afterall!

A Form Acceptance Letter

Those of you who are writers know about the SASE (pronounced sassy for the uninitiated), that evil little Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope that you have to send along with all your queries and submissions so that the agent/publisher can send you back the overly-photocopied instant rejection. I have gotten a few of these. They always bring about that sag of depression, as you flip through the mail, that yet another SOMEBODY didn't want your SOMETHING.

So imagine my surprise when I opened the one I got today and there was a form *acceptance*! I had sent out a query to an agent about a month ago (one of many) and they are now asking for the first fifty pages.

While this is a good thing (acceptance-good/rejection-bad), I have to wonder how excited they are that they send me a form letter! I can almost imagine the scene. There is a HUGE stack of queries (these folks get hundreds a day). The assistant walks over to the copier and makes her copies of the standard acceptance/rejection letters. She sets her venti quadruple mocha on the desk, flicks on the light, sleeps her computer and she's ready.

Let's say that she only has 100 today. In her eight hours, provided she works non-stop, she can give 4.8 minutes to each query. That is the time to read a query, think about it, write a response, put it in the envelope and stick it in the out box.

That said, I guess a form acceptance is pretty darn good. I just hope she has time to read my fifty pages. But then, I guess that is what lunch is for!

In Search of an Agent

They want to read my entire manuscript!

Not sure how many writers are out there who are in search of an agent, but I can say, with some assurance, that getting an agent is almost as difficult as writing the novel. Not that THAT was hard or anything.

The process has been very interesting. The more I learn about who the top agents are and how they work, the more encouraged I feel. But the beginning was fairly frightening. Most statistics claim a 98% rejection rate. If we play by the numbers, that means that out of 100 query letters, only 2 will be interested. And finding 100 quality agents that represent your type of work takes some doing. I keep a spreadsheet on it, so I can track exactly how the process goes.

I sent out 20 query letters in April. Of those 10 have responded. Of those 4 wanted to see the first 50 pages. And of those, 1 has wanted to see the novel, although I haven't heard from the others yet, so perhaps there will be more interest.

Keep your fingers crossed. They just received the manuscript today. How long will it take them to read it?