If you write spec fic, and you've been on the great agent hunt, there's fresh game afoot. The ever-useful Pikes Peak Writers list serve reported that there is a new agent out there and she handles science fiction (and YA, too, if you write that). The list serve cited a blog entry interviewing new agent Rachel Downes of the Caren Johnson Literary Agency. Caren Johnson represents fantasy authors, too, so the agency seems reasonably spec fic-friendly.

It looks like they only take e-queries; they even have their own online form.

If not, you might want to check out the auction supporting diabetes research that's running on author Brenda Novak's site. The page that lists critiques and feedback from agents has some bidding over $300 already but there are some bargains there, too,

Of course, the auction has only been going on for today so everything will probably go up. It looks like most of the evaluations are up for bid until the end of the month. I'm glad I already have an agent or I would be glued to my screen poised to bid.

Why is it now that I have an agent I keep tripping over helpful sites about finding an agent? One of the comments on Kristin Nelson's PubRants blog included a mention of a Writer's Digest site that lists the best agent blogs—useful in terms of helping writers seeking an agent. Although it does list Ms. Snark without mentioning her unique blog is no longer updated.

Of course, by now I knew about all the agents on the list, but it was nice to see them all lined up in once place. All the agents on the list blog about being an agents—things writers should know like what they look for in query letter or m.s.s or how contracts work—but some post more often than others.

If you're shopping for an agent, you might want to check out the online auction that romance author Brenda Novak is running to benefit diabetes research. There's a category for bidding on critiques by agents, or in some cases read-and-quick-response from agents. The focus of the auction is for romance writers and readers but a lot of the agents handle spec fic as well as romance (e.g., Jennifer Jackson, Kristin Nelson). There a similar listing for editors but it looks like it's only romance editors.

And if none of that interests you, there's always the Mexican vacation!

The always useful PubRants blog by Denver agent Kristin Nelson has some particularly useful advice on why agent-rating services aren't necessarily what they're advertised as.

Kristin is a faithful blogger and her site is always of interest if you're trying to get published. I already have an agent, and she's hard at work marketing my work, but I still follow Kristin's blog because she has so much info on how things work in the publishing biz. Like a lot of writers, I have a link to Kristin's PubRants blog under my links section.

Knowledge is a good thing.

Writing a book is one thing. Getting it published is another. Unless you choose to self-publish, you have to sell the book to an editor. The question is, is it easier/better to persuade the editor to buy the book first, and then get an agent before you sign the deal, or is better to get the agent first, and let him/her sell the book for you.

In the "olden days" of twenty or thirty years ago, most folks tended to take the first route. All publishers had slush piles. A book would "make it over the transom" and then that writer would find an agent. That's harder to do now, when a lot of publishers have stopped accepting unagented manuscripts. But, while it's true that there are more agents than editors, it's also true that agents aren't exactly pushovers, either. Some writers still try the first route—sell that book! Find an editor!

But if you write spec fic, who can you send it to? I did a recent quick survey of the big name houses in science fiction and fantasy. Part of the problem is that houses have consolidated, so there are fewer of them now. Here's what I found, based only on what's posted on the web. I put links to their submission guidelines because they're all different. I included everyone I knew who published science fiction and fantasy, counting paranormal romance as fantasy:

Science fiction and fantasy publishers for which you need an agent
Del Rey Books, Bantam, Dell, all parts of Random House
Harper Collins, includes Eos
Pyr
Simon & Schuster (not sure they publish any science fiction or fantasy except for YA; Good news! see comment from Charlie below.)

Publishers who accept a full or partial m.s. without an agent
DAW Books -- they want the whole thing
Baen Books — send the whole thing; they prefer electronic submissions on their site
Tor Books, send a partial
Ace and Roc, two parts of Penguin Group, send a partial

Something in between
Avon Romance — they want a query first and then they might ask for a partial

A final thought.... if you send your book to every house on the "Don't need an agent" list and they all say no, and then you get an agent, you have to tell the agent the book has already been shopped around to those places.

Kristin Nelson's latest blog entry on pitching has some really good advice! Basically, she's pointing out the difference between a pitch and a synopsis. You're not summarizing the whole, book, you're just explaining why someone would want to read it.

Sounds so simple, doesn't it? This is the kind of thing that makes perfect sense in the light of day, sitting in your own living room with your feet on the coffee table. But somehow when you're in that little room across the table from a real live agent, all you can remember is you've got x minutes (8, or 5 or even 3, in some cases) to persuade this person that your book is what he/she wants to see so you have to tell him/her ALL about it. A deer babbling in the headlights is the closest I can come to describing what I call "pitch frenzy." Not a pretty picture, and I know because I've been there.

All that suffering, and I got my agent through the query letter route.

I noticed an item on Yahoo News the other day about the "speed dating" concept as applied to pitch sessions. Hundreds of writers pitched for three minutes per pitch to assorted editors and agents. The examples mentioned all seem to be nonfiction books, but having pitched to agents and editors, even at a more leisurely nine minutes, I could still empathize.

One of the most compelling comments was a quote from literary agent Peter Miller who said that less than 0.05% of the people who want to get published actually get published. Staggering number, isn't it? I blame it on computers! It's too damned easy to produce a manuscript. I think editors should start insisting on hand-typed copy! (that was a joke, by the way)

Of course nonfiction writers operate under a different set of rules. You don't write the book and then pitch it, you write three chapters and an outline and pitch that. And with nonfiction, who you are in relation to your topic is almost more important than publishing credits. Still, I assume fiction writers have some of the same problems. Meg Leder, nonfiction editor at Penguin's Perigee imprint, is quoted as saying that by the end of the speed pitching sessions everything was "kind of a blur."

Sounds a lot like going to the mall to buy perfume. After the third sniff, I can't keep them straight.

Even though I have an agent now I find I still tend to fixate on anything that gives advice on finding an agent. I noticed that Kristin Nelson (an extremely nice and up-and-coming agent) had posted a list of agents who accept e-mail queries on the Backspace blog. E-mail querying is so tempting. It's faster and cheaper than sending out all those envelopes with SASEs folded up in them (although Miss Snark recommended buying size 9 envelopes for SASEs, as a 9 will fit inside a standard size 10 business envelope without a single crease).

At the same time, my experience was that e-mail queries were often not a well-advised choice. Kristin's list is easy to use and has links for agents' web sites. What I would recommend is that you check each agent out individually and only send e-mail queries if that's all they take or what they plainly prefer (like Kristin herself does!). A lot of agents "accept" e-mail queries the same way I "accept" junk mail. These agents don't promise to answer the e-mail one way or the other. With an electronic query, you can't tell if they ever got it or not. With snail mail, if you don't get that tiny form slip of paper (no logo, at least six replies to a page) in your own SASE, then after six or eight weeks, you can try again. E-mail queries are too much like those TV commercials for Cingular/AT&T where the call has been dropped and neither party knows it. One wastes time chattering and the other one gets mad. You so don't want to be either of those guys.

Although Miss Snark isn't updating her blog anymore (sob!), I still go there often to use the handy links to other agents and editors. I noticed that this post from Lit Agent X, raleva31, (a.k.a. Rachel Vater of Lowenstein-Yost Associates) had some good advice on dealing with rejection. In addition to standard stuff about joining a critique group, she has some specific ideas on how to tinker with your story. My favorite humorous suggestion was this one:

"Turn your rejection letters into a small pinata and then smash it."

What a neat idea! Although I suspect for some of us it would be rather a large pinata. I also liked this more prosaic idea:

"Re-read some older stuff you wrote and congratulate yourself on how much better you are at writing now."

But I really liked her last item:

"Finally, picture the day when an agent opens your query, reads your first five pages, and gets totally excited. Goosebumps. Adores it. Requests it all. Loves it. Offers representation, and you gracefully accept. She sells it, and you get edit notes, which you're happy to use. Then you see your cover proof. Then you get to hold your book in your hands and other people get to read it. Hold on to that image. It's not a far-fetched scenario, and it isn't random like winning the lottery. It happens for dedicated writers all the time. Be one of them."

Hey, you haven't failed until you quit.

It appears Simon & Schuster wants to replace Microsoft as the most hated company in America. They recently instituted a change in their boilerplate contracts making it virtually impossible for the rights to a book they publish ever to revert to the author. Response has been less than enthusiastic. The Author's Guild is up in arms. The PPW list serve had a link to this story on Publishers Weekly. If anything, the agents sound madder than the authors.

What were S&S thinking? And this in the same week Miss Snark announced she is (sob) retiring. The world seems a harder place somehow!

Red Letter day!

First, the link in the left column that says “My Website” now actually does go to my web page! Thanks Karen, Bill, and Edmund for all your advice, thanks to Risa for the proofing, and thanks a ton, Mike for actually getting the files there!

If I can learn some HTML and get a nice graphic or two, I have hopes of making it a little fancier. Then I have to learn how to keep it up to date.

Second, I sent my agent the finished m.s. today. Now I have to work hard on the sequel to take my mind off what’s happening with the first book.

(Happy) sigh.

I loved this quote from Miss Snark's blog:

"When agents talk about commercial fiction they mean the stuff that sells well. When they talk about literary fiction they mean the stuff that gets reviewed well."

Never heard anyone define it better.