Friday, March 26, 2010

Author, do you need an agent or an editor?

Life is funny, and frustrating, sometimes all in the same day. This business is subjective. And although you may have written a fabulous story, an editor or an agent that you send it to just might not personally like it. And that's okay. Somebody, somewhere WILL. You MUST keep on believing in yourself and in your work. If you choose to quit (it is a choice) you will NEVER find the right editor or agent for you. You have got to find a way. Maybe you need to go to conferences if you can afford them, or take an online writing class, anything to get you out into the writing world.

I have generally found that the writing community is helpful, and friendly. What you must remember is this...you may be looking for an agent, you may be searching for an editor and a perfect publishing house, AND guess what...they may be looking for you too. More than likely they are not going to come knocking on your door, so you MUST go knocking on theirs.

You have to take chances and get your work out there into the world.

We had a cat that came and knocked on our door. Not literally (although that would be a cute visual wouldn't it?) he hid in the shadows of our porch for months. We named him Shadow. Finally we opened the door and let him inside. We found out that he had never had a home before. We live on a fairly long dirt road. He had to walk by a lot of houses to find ours. I picture him knocking on every door along the way, and not one door would open for him. He did not give up.

When he made his way to our house, we saw the beauty in him. He was loving, gentle, kind. We were GLAD to open our home, and our hearts to him.

Keep knocking.
Keep believing.
Keep hoping.

If your work is good, if it's polished, someday, somebody will open their door for you. They will see your beauty, they will see that you are different. They will want you to be their client, or they will want to be your editor.

But if you never go knocking, you'll never find a home.

"Knock, Knock?"
"Who's There?"
"Iza!"
"Iza who?"
"Iza want to be your agent or your editor!"

Simple as that.

You find a home.
They find a masterpiece.
And we all live happily everafter.

1 comment:

Write2ignite said...

Heehee! Love the cat analogy. A cat just came knocking at our door the other day. He is now named King Cori. It's a long story. :)

Keep on knocking!