|
Liquid Papar, Jan? Luxury! Now, when I was a lad ...
***O how the mighty fall!***
Never truer words spoken, Logseman.
Interesting POV, MTM, and largely true. Face-to-face contact is pretty binding if the apporach is well handled.
Steve, as always, your take on things is well considered and intelligently presented. I'd disagree on one point, though: NEVER send a publisher or an agent a full manuscript without invitation.
Consider this: A stranger knocks on your door. He doesn't tell you what he's selling but insists that you spend ten hours of your time to carefully inspect his product. The door slams, yes?
Another stranger arrives the following day and tells you, up front, "I'm selling double glazing." Immediately you can politely respond in the negative because you already have double-glazed windows, or you can invite him in to make his full pitch because the kids are freezing to death in their bedrooms and you're interested in the kind of thing he has to offer and the sample he's brought looks promising.
Which is the better approach ... both for the salesman and the potential client?
Bear in mind, too, Steve, that the who-you-know thing (effective as it may be, as MTM points out) is no longer a full road-block. You can impress someone as much with words on a screen as you can with a beer and a joke over a bar top. You can also do it swiftly, economically and without inconvenience on the other's part.
Anonymously -- because I know you from your work and posts -- check out the BeWrite Books submissions system, put something over, and you'll see what I mean. Reasonable tasters might not sell a book first or even fifth time around, but they will get you a speedier response so that you can move on if your proposal is declined.
Thanks for some fascinating reading in this thread, folks.
Cheers. Neil
|