The Hunt For an Agent

Sorry for the short post, but it’s been a long day and I just realized my agent tracking spreadsheet is corrupt. Not fun. Now, back on topic.

I’ve come to the point every writer obsesses about…the hunt for an agent. I’ve sweated over my query, rewritten the first chapters of my story a few times and spent more time than I could count on agents’ sites, blogs, AgentQuery and Publishers Marketplace.

Now comes the time to put a plan forward. I’ve made an excel template (that I was going to share with this post except it now seems to be corrupt for no reason) with information I need to keep track of who I’ve queried, when and their response. I also have a section on the agents I would like to send to, what and whom they represent and the format they’d like (query, synopsis, sample pages).

The query process can be daunting. Organization is the key. You don’t want to be the one to put hand to face, sending the wrong information to the wrong agent. Any suggestions from writers who have been around the block with querying, your comments are most welcome! I’m nervous, excited and a little apprehensive!

When I get my excel sheet back on track, I’ll try to post it here for those interested.

A Bold Look at Point of View

Tami and I have recently started new WIPs and have been discussing the challenges of changing our writing from first person, to third.

Under My Skin, my first book, was originally told in third – then changed to first during a major edit. The process deepened my understanding of my main character - through literal “I”’s. I loved how into-Eyrn’s-head I could get with first, how intimate the tone could be – if the occasion called for it. Frankly, I didn’t think I’d ever go back to third person narrative. I was done with all that he said/she said and had embraced the illogical, emotional world of "I".

Then this WIP started to kick my ass from here to Vulcan (Vulcan, Alberta, that is, it’s an actual town. They even got a special screening of the new Star Trek movie. Read all about it) and I boldly went where I had gone before and failed – third person.

Now I’m in the land of limited omniscience and hopping into the heads of two main characters. It's powerful – I can take huge steps back and set the scene and then zoom into a character’s thoughts. I’m learning the mechanics, the dos-and-don’ts of third person by skimming though all the great YA titles on my shelf told in this POV and taking mental notes. I’m likely still making a ton of errors, but this is a first draft - so just finishing the novel is a major priority.

Anyone have suggestions for third person? Some real no-no’s to share or titles Tami and I should be reading? And, more importanly, have you seen Star Trek yet???