Has blogging fell out of fashion? It seems like I read something somewhere that more or less gave me that impression. One thing is for sure - apparently it has for me. It has been a long time since my last post.
Writing used to be therapeutic for me, but not so much anymore. I don't really know why. I have written two and a half books. One was published. One was a professional manual for my line of work, and the unfinished one was a follow-on to my first novel. I never finished it.
It is very hard to break into the publishing world. I just did not want to go through the hassle again. I ended up signing with a small publisher. I was not overly happy with their editing process, their marketing or the pay (I got a percentage of each book sold), but I took it when it came up and had finally been published. As I began work on the sequel, I started looking around for an agent. I almost landed one too, but in the end, it was not to be. After that, with eleven chapters completed in the sequel, I just quit.
If you ever try to pitch yourself and your work to an agent, it can be tedious. Everything must be just right. Every i dotted and t crossed. You must use a professional business envelope and a regular U.S. postage stamp with no Elvis Presley or other off-beat art on the stamp. The American flag is acceptable. Anything else and the agent (or publisher for that matter) won't even open the envelope.
If you make it to the stage where your envelope is opened and your inquiry is actually read, you must be concise, polite, professional and straight to the point. If you make a spelling error in your letter, any reputable agent will immediately throw your letter into the trash. They just don't have the time to deal with someone that can't even proof an inquiry.
Yeah, writing used to be therapeutic for me, but not so much anymore. More to come.
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