I hate the moment before I open an email from a prospective agent. Hope and fear come together, churning my stomach, so I try to have no expectations; that way I’ll have no disappointments. At least that’s the theory. I do hope though and I do fear. I want to be published. I want people to enjoy my characters and their story as much as I do. At least I don’t get stuck in the hope or incapacitated by the fear. I tell myself that what will be, will be.
The story of the search so far…
In July and August 2009, I sent submissions to the six Australian agents that were accepting them at the time. After a period of time that ranged from one to six weeks, all of them rejected me. I wasn’t surprised. I’d done my research and knew that it was almost impossible for new writers to get agents before they had had something published. Nevertheless, I had hoped that someone would want to represent me.
The next step was to try Australian publishers. Once again, I rewrote my short blurb (the one that goes on the back of the book) and my querie letter (the one that is designed to hook people in the publishing business). Only a few publishers were accepting submissions from authors without agents ( ie unsolicited manuscripts) so I prepared submissions for them, carefully following the guidelines published on their website.
In the meantime, some teenagers and other fantasy fans read the book and loved it (see the ‘Lethal Inheritance’ page or my first post for their reviews). I knew then that my novel was good.
In March this year, I looked at the websites of the rest of the Australian Agents that had had their books closed last year and discovered that five of them were accepting new submissions. Great! I had another opportunity to inspire someone with my story. I sent submissions off to them.
Two rejections came quickly and with each one, my options shrunk. I had to work harder not to get caught in the hope and fear.
The waiting game continues.
