Hello everyone, my questions to you today is! When searching for an agent or publisher how hard do you find it? Because I’m writing Erotic I find my options are very limited and this is so frustrating that I find myself screaming at the screen a lot! And when I do find one I find I have to be so perfect (That I still make mistakes) when I send off an MS. What do you all do when you find yourself facing a brick wall?
Many thanks...
It certainly does seem insurmountable sometimes.But, despite the frustrations, it is kinda fun too. Then again...perhaps I'm just masochistic.
I haven't quite tackled the cover letter yet. Well, I've had it bubbling away in the background and have occasionally jotted down the odd note. I've been wrestling with my synopsis, cramming 100k into one page *gasp*. I now that I'm rather terrible with typos (as you, ahem, may have noticed) and prepping for my beta feedback. And no that doesn't just mean drinking copiously and weeping on the shoulder of my muse. When the time comes I will certainly be gang pressing proof readers.
Are you involved in any writing communities? Circles? Hangouts? Forums? If not you could always put it up in the works section here, I'm sure these guys would give it a read over for you...if you felt comfortable doing that. :)
Also re. agents. If you find agents that cater to chick lit, or similar, you could check the books they have sold for how erotic they are. Don't constrain yourself by the word 'erotic', many different genres can and do have erotic elements: your setting/plot should give you an indication of where else to look. If in doubt, but it seems like your work may suit, you could always send a polite query.
Thank you A Fox, when it comes down to the research part I some times spend hours searching sites, and of course at books (W & A) I know I need to look harder.
And it is always down to the cover letter, I hate and I mean hate writing them (even when I'm doing it for a job) it is always after I've sent that email that I find the mistakes!
There seems to be two issues here.
1. " I find my options are very limited and this is so frustrating that I find myself screaming at the screen a lot!"
This seems to be a research issue. You need to do a lot more of it! And yes that does mean a lot of hours put into trawling libraries, bookshops, amazon, agencies sites, advice sites ect. And the W&A's yearbook ;) Dont just look at the general description of agencies, also look nto what individual agents want. IE I'm looking for those who want fantasy. Many of the good possibilities I have seen mentioned elsewehere to not, at first glance, seem to be look for SF in the W&AY. A bit more digging and voila: another option. Set yourself a plan. General reasearch whih wi give you a list of agencies/names to investigate then...investigate. Make yourself love tables! Dont fret about it seeming limited...crime/romance are hugely popular genres so they get a lot of instant hits, but it doesnt mean that is all thats out there. :)
2. " And when I do find one I find I have to be so perfect (That I still make mistakes) when I send off an MS."
Do you mean in your covering letter, synopsis ect? Or the novel itself? I can sympathise somewhat with the former as I am at that stage myself. I find it helps to take advantage of the advice that is out there and to break down each element into steps. For the latter: Well, yes. It has to be the best it can be if you hope to get published. There is stiff competition out there; why would a publisher want a half produced product that would take a greater expenditure to bring up to standard and that may not sell? Writer's circles and beta readers will be invaluble in this regard.