Today and tomorrow, I’ll be attending the Atlanta Writers Conference. I haven’t been around a huge group of people like that in a long time, and I have to say, I’m looking forward to it. It seems so silly to be sentimental about these things, but there you have it.
If all goes well, I’ll be pitching my novel I’m Your Goat, an adult literary sci-fi/supernatural blend, to two agents and one small-press editor. Yes, I’ve been querying and pitching my heart out. Agents are responding extremely slowly these days. Some full requests are taking a year, and very few agents give authors actionable feedback anymore. Alas, alas.
We have such a volume and homogenization of movies and books these days – and I think it may have something to do with the business pressures put on the publishing industry. I’ve come to learn that some aspects of the business that had once relied upon experience and intuition have become automated. A book called What Editors Do: The Art, Craft, and Business of Book Editing edited by Peter Ginna has enlightened me as to some of these changes and what editors have had to go through to get where they are. They have my sympathy, particularly after the recent shake-ups at some of the major publishing houses, which this YouTube video “Our Thoughts on Publishing’s ‘Great Resignation’” helpfully explains. I’d add this article (https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/3262675-companies-are-tethered-to-stock-price-at-the-expense-of-everything-else/) to the discussion, about the pressures businesses face to maintain their sense of success. Former assistant editor Molly McGhee, who quit her job so spectacularly on Twitter, brought long-standing issues to national attention. (Her new book Debt, by the way, will be coming out at some point, which I will be reading with great interest). She was scheduled to attend this Atlanta Writers Conference, and I was going to pitch to her. Though disappointed she left Tor/Nightfire, I realize we all have to be our own careers’ best advocate, and she’s no exception. Respect and professionalism matter, going all ways.
But I can’t control the world. All I can do is try my best to create good art.
So, I’ve received some interest in my book, but it hasn’t found the right agent yet. It seems in poor taste to be too explicit, so that’s why I’ve been fairly quiet about the process. We authors have to remember that we’re all just as passionate and hungry for the right champion for our books – and yet we have to present ours in a way that gives agents and editors a sense of what makes them truly unique and special. I constantly ask myself, should I focus on plot? But there’s more to my book than the obvious plot. Do I focus on subtext or its darkly atmospheric quality? Or its tech-poetry? Not too extreme. Or I could talk about what really excited my beta readers: the characters and the mystery surrounding them – the mystery of their needs, and the mystery of what’s going on. This story is an immersive tale taking place in a stylized reality. That’s how I’d put it. My beta readers called it a page-turner – which is unusual for literary novels, but I’ll take it! They told me they hadn’t expected the story to be what it turned out to be, and were quite happy with the experience (and gave great critique, too). They regularly ask me about how I’m Your Goat is doing, wanting to know if it’s found its place yet.
While I was taking my shower today, it struck me that this novel moves like an octopus. At first, the story’s coiled in a tight situation (an octopus in its underwater burrow?) and then, bit by bit, it thrusts its tentacles out from its body, one ahead of the other, tugging its way forward, arm by arm, rock by rock…. Weird, huh? I have not counted whether the story has eight “arms” per se, but it would be interesting if it did, wouldn’t it?
Anyway, enough talk! Authors are advised not to give away too much to an agent during a pitch and spoil the read (unless an agent asks for details), and so I shouldn’t give away too much to you here either. I hope that someday my book will make it out into the world. In the hands of an expert team, I’m Your Goat could go far.
I’m a proper passionate advocate, aren’t I? Haha!
It’s wise to laugh at ourselves sometimes. Good-naturedly, of course. Why be so serious?