Eyewall
The velvet hammer
I recently got a very nice–and prompt–rejection from a literary agent in response to one of the partials I had sent out. It was still a rejection, of course, but it was a heck of lot more palatable than getting one saying Don’t quit your day job. It was, essentially, a velvet hammer rebuff. Here’s…
Read MoreLooking for an agent for EYEWALL
I fired off my first round of four query letters (via email) for EYEWALL on July 7. Within two hours I had a response from an agent with whom I’d had conversations about the novel at a writers conference in June 2007. At the time, I didn’t have a completed manuscript, but he asked me…
Read MoreLanding an agent
The most common method for a writer to find an agent is by sending out a query letter. It’s a one-page letter–probably about 30 seconds reading time–in which you tell the agent about your project: what kind of a novel (adventure, thriller, romance, etc.) it is, how long it is, and what it’s about. And…
Read MoreFinding a publisher
eople have asked me occasionally how I go about finding a publisher. For fiction, such as EYEWALL, it ain’t easy. First of all, if you have aspirations of playing in the big leagues, that is, of being published by a major publisher, you need a literary agent. That’s the only route to the Random Houses,…
Read More