Yesterday, I finished the first draft of the novel. It has the working title, Billy. What it really means is the creative side of writing is almost done. I’m sure I will go back and edit things trying to sharpen up the writing, but the truly creative part of writing, inventing the story, is done. What is left is just pure dog work. Because agents tend to specialize in a certain genre, I will have to find an agent in the genre “literary fiction.” There are all sorts of places to search out agents these days on the Internet. There are three types. There are agents who want you to snail mail them your request for representation. Most now use one of two other methods. One is basically the same as snail mail but using email instead. The other is a form you fill out. It is becoming more and more popular. The form is basically a set of questions about your novel. All the different forms will require the plot of the novel, a synopsis, a sample ranging from 5 to 50 pages of the novel, and a biography of your publishing history; i.e., what you have had published in the past.
The next thing you do is wait. Some agents will never reply. Some will reply rather quickly, but all will use a standard rejection form while patting you on your back. Given the vast number of submissions they get, I can’t fault them for that. All in all, from my perspective it’s tiring work and a bit boring. When something interesting happens, I’ll put it here in my blog.
