Well, for whatever reason – whether the rise of the ebook or the decline of reading in general or the bad economy or poor corporate planning on Borders’ part or the vast disconnect with the reading public by conglomerate publishers and literary agencies located on the periphery of the U.S. that remain totally, happily ignorant of the literary likes & dislikes of 85% of Americans – whatever the reason, I hate to see Borders go. It’s our loss. For all the refills at Panera’s, you just can’t beat the pleasure of sitting in the Borders cafe sipping a cup of Seattle’s Best surrounded by all those books!

Well, I see where that line of thought leads me: straight to a story about a turn-of-the-century werewolf suffragette (do werewolves always have to be male? I think not!) that falls in love with a playboy vampire. O wait. I already wrote that book – but without the werewolf and the vampire. If only I’d known then what I know now I would have titled it “Suck the Blood from my Circled Heart” & I’d be on my way to significant book sales. Well, rats! (Ooooo – another idea! – a story about giant rats living in the wilds of Wyoming that prey on single women homesteaders…)

(Some will do so kindly, will use your name in the response & say things like, “Don’t get discouraged” or “All agents are different” or “This may be the perfect project for another agent.” And some won’t bother with a greeting at all or use your name (unless your name really is Author, as in “Dear Author”) and will say something inconsequential and vague like, “I just can’t get excited about this project.” A few agents – like the young woman who recently requested the 1st 3 chapters of my Gold Mountain - may give a reason for their rejection, and believe it or not, those are the BEST rejections [oxymoron?] because at least you know the person read some part of what you wrote. Agree or disagree with the critique, always consider criticism from someone in the business of books to be helpful.)

Anyway, you stare at that final incoming rejection (you know it’s the last 1 because you’ve faithfully tracked all your queries & responses) & you ask yourself, “Now what?” Well, first give yourself time to get over the shock that agents are not lined up outside your front door with contracts in hand begging to represent you. (Come on, admit it. We’re all friends here. You KNOW not getting at least 1 little nibble would be a shock.) Once the incredulity passes, have a large glass of merlot (good for your heart and your spirits), and read on. The world only seems dark for the moment. Here are some practical options:

1. Do everything all over again; approach a new group of researched agents.

2. Skip the agent part & research & approach publishers appropriate for your book. Follow the same process you used for agents…
(…but be warned that many – most, even – reputable, top-line publishers will say unequivocally on their websites that they will not accept un-agented materials. IMO, they mean it, but I tend to play by the rules. If you choose to ignore their stern words & send them something anyway, I’d be very interested in what does or doesn’t subsequently happen.)

3.Go back to whatever writing project currently holds your attention & forget about getting your book into print (until the “I-want-to-published” bug bites you again.)

4. Start networking: research & – based on your budget – attend some literary conferences or join a writers’ association of some kind or join a local writing group. Volunteer to help on their committees. Get involved. Talk to published authors about what worked for them. Google writing events in your geographical areas & attend those that are practical for your personal situation.

5. Decide to bypass the traditional process in its entirety & read everything you can get your hands on about “Print-on-Demand” publishing.

You don’t have to pick only 1 of the above options & permanently eliminate all the others. You don’t even have to do them consecutively because it’s possible to take all of the actions simultaneously. But if – like me – you’re still working outside & inside the home & you have have limited time and/or money, juggling more than 1 alternative at a time might deplete you both physically & financially.

Anyway, for 3 years I worked my way up & down the above list – 1, 2 ,3, 4, & 5 with several repeats along the way – until my 1st novel, Lily’s Sister, came out in 2006. Clearly, with a book published (4 books, really) I must have made some kind of decision about the choices shown. And it’s true. I did. It wasn’t a decision without risk or regret, but my take on how to proceed if the standard approach to gettting published, the approach you’ll read in all the “How To” articles & publishing guides doesn’t work for you is a post for another day.

1) Researching & approaching literary agents. (see my post just prior to this one for the details of doing so. It’s a time-consuming process.) I haven’t been especially happy with the small off-off Broadway Print-on-Demand publisher I’ve used for all 4 of my books (To be fair, I think it’s the POD industry, not the publisher, but their accounting is not transparent & they’re always $$-motivated instead of service-motivated; just try talking to a live person once the book is out! Impossible!) So I made the decision – for the umpteenth time – to try to convince a reputable literary agent to represent me to major, mainstream publishers (Most of both agents & publishers are located in NYC.) I queried 10 agents, received 8 immediate rejections, had 2 initial nibbles – sent additional info – & was ultimately rejected by both. I haven’t given up & continue to add to my list of agents to approach.

2) The agent rejections, however, moved me along to contact those few publishers that will deal directly with the author without an agent. I sent The Dangerous Thaw of Etta Capstone (o, a lovely story!- not part of my Laramie Series but a wonderful female protagonist, set in the Piney Woods of east Texas in 1877, & supplemented with old TX recipes) to major NYC Avon Publishing in April so should know yea or nay by the end of July. Sent Claire, After All & Listening to Abby to e-publisher Wild Rose Press in May & June so I hope to hear back by the end of summer. (Those 2 books are lightweight; 2 of a series of 3 I wrote set in Victorian England & just meant to be a quick, fun read)

3) I am polishing (that is, rereading in detail & editing as I go) Gold Mountain, book 5 of the Laramie series. GM brings into the storyline several characters from the 1st 4 Laramie books: the dysfunctional Gallagher parents from San Francisco (find them at the beginning of Waiting for Hope, in Where Home Is, & Circled Heart, too,) Johanna Swan as a young girl (the female protagonist of Circled Heart,) & Hope Birdwell’s mother Bea from Waiting for Hope) seen at the very end of her unfortunate life. The 2 literary agents that looked at the 1st 50 pages of GM said it did not “grab” them. I’m not sure what that means, but I’ll pay attention & see if I can make the novel “grabbier.” (but without compromising style or content or storyline, which may be tricky)

4) I am rereading my 1st 25,000 words of the last book of the Laramie series – tentatively titled Magnificent Farewell from a Wilfred Owen poem (Owen was perhaps the most famous WW1 poet; he died in the war.) The book is set in the WWI timeframe. Gus – Lou & John’s youngest child from Lily’s Sister - fights in the first world war & it’s his story, really, tho told through another’s eyes. This is my 4th try at starting the book, which has never happened to me before – all my other books wrote themselves; all I did was punch the keys – & that makes me think it will end up being really wonderful, best-of-the-best or really awful. (Let’s hope for the former.) Although if I don’t find an agent or improved publisher, it’s unlikely it will ever be judged by anyone but me.

5) Blogging. This isn’t done by a ghost-writer, you know. Thought & time & editing all go into what you’re reading at this very moment. (& I haven’t found the spellcheck button yet so my hint of ocd kicks in before I ever hit the ‘publish’ button – you’d be shocked at how many times I read this post before it goes live!)

Of course, there’s day to day life, too – making the house payment & weeding the garden & keeping up with my part-time job & reading my Father’s Word – but it’s absolutely true that when I’m not writing physically fingertip to keyboard I’m writing mentally, always thinking about stories & characters & settings & dialogue. I have a blessed life, for sure! (A crowded brain being a happy brain, apparently) Part of that blessed life, the internal part if you will, sometimes overflows with ideas & words. The grace upon grace with which I’ve been showered still holds the power to surprise me. I don’t know how or when that literary faucet turned on – or even who’s at the spigot – but I consider it a gift & I wouldn’t have it any other way.

1. Write the great American novel. (You will likely discover that this is the easiest step of the entire process. Seriously.)

2. Write a 1-2 page synopsis of your entire book. 1st, google book synopsis & get all the details of a good synopsis. Then try your hand at conveying the full sweep of your novel in no more than 2 double-spaced pages. Keep at it. Write it 1 day & go back to it the next & cut more words. Repeat. Repeat. A great exercise in concise writing!

3. Use the web to find literary agents that specialize in the genre of your book (genre=mystery, romance, fantasy, women’s, western etc.) & make a list of the names & web addresses. It’s a simple search (“literary agents for romance novels,” for example.) Cross check each agent on your list to be sure s/he’s reputable by going to aaronline.org (Association of Authors’ Representatives) & be sure each name on your list is a member. Do not approach anyone that’s not a member of that org. It’s not a perfect guarantee but it will keep you away from the more carnivorous sharks.

(why an agent? you ask: 2 reasons -1) reputable agents offer entree to the best publishing houses because they have contacts there, often because they used to work in that arena, and 2) those same publishers will usually welcome only manuscripts that are ‘agented,’ meaning they will not accept anything directly from the author)

4. Go to each agent’s website & click on the Submissions link. Follow their Submissions directions EXACTLY; jump through every hoop. Use the font & font size they want; measure your margins; make sure your email has the greeting & word count they want. Be careful. Be very careful. IMO, it’s all a “screening out” process so don’t give even a superficial excuse to rule you out of consideration.

(In the old days [old=2002-03] agents still accepted USPS requests & I recall 1 agent that would consider your manuscript only if you included a self-addressed, stamped envelope for him to mail you his decision about representing your book -not unusual then, except the only envelope he’d accept was a self-stick, safety strip envelope – apparently, glue on the flap of your envelope made your entire manuscript unacceptable!)

5. Write what’s known as a Query letter. ‘Pitch’ your book. See #4 above. Jump through more hoops. See #2 above, but google “Writing a Query Letter.” Read about them & read examples of both good & bad queries.

6. Once you have your list of agents, send them EXACTLY what they ask for – which will almost certainly include your (perfectly edited) synopsis & query letter – in the manner they ask for it. (usually items are NOT accepted as an attachment in this spam-prone world but are included in the body of your email.) Use some kind of calendar to record when you sent the email & how long of a wait there will be before you get a response. *

*My opinion about #6? (I know you’ve never asked for my opinion but that hasn’t stopped me so far) Do not apply to a literary agent that says s/he will respond only if s/he’s interested in your book. You end up going into a great black literary hole & are never sure anyone even looked at your email. Besides all that, such a response is discourteous & disrespectful to you as an author. If you take the time to follow their directions, at the very least they can send a reply, even if it’s a ‘thanks-but-no-thanks’ form response. You deserve that much respect. Don’t buy into that “We’re so busy we can’t be bothered with a response unless we’re interested” stuff. Everybody’s busy. You know it. I know it. It’s a way to try to legitimize bad manners so straighten your author’s spine & take a stand~!

(Part 2 to follow another day)

‘So what can I do to help?’ you ask…(it’s likely you didn’t ask that, but I’ll tell you, anyway)…you can share my website and my blog address with others & link it on your facebook page or myspace location (do I know how to do that? No, but I intend to learn & if a technophobe such as myself can learn, SO CAN YOU!) If you know someone interested in writing or someone discouraged by rejections (literary or other) or someone curious about the reading & publishing environments, (& those parameters will include a lot of folks) give the person my website address & encourage her/him to check in now & then. And feel free to do the same yourself, even if you aren’t really curious about any of those topics. To paraphrase Hope Birdwell in Waiting for Hope: “I can do a lot with potatoes.” You have to read the book to understand the specific context but for me it means, ‘I can make a difference with just a little.’ And that’s my goal.