Quote:
Originally Posted by neilmarr
The agent is the clearing house. Where an author is not represented by an agency, he must put in the groundwork himself to make sure his submission is well targeted and properly prepared.
It's not a tough job ... hit the library and refer to the latest Writers' & Artists' yearbook or Writer's Handbook ... hit some book stores, find books in your genre and note the publishers (sometimes even editors are mentioned) ... ask around ... hit the net ... visit publishing websites that are in submissions season and read their guidelines.
This research, remember, is a drop in the ocean compared to the efforft you put into the book itself. Surely you think your work deserves the extra mile. You wrote the book in isolation, now accept the fact that you are its salesman.
|
Thanks, as always, for your point of view, Neil. I just want to stress that advocating for a different model does not mean one is not up to the challenges of the current one. And I think things are changing. I have an e-book original coming out this fall from a large indie press, and I got this deal without an agent and without submitting. My manuscript was solicited because I've been actively self-publishing and promoting my work for years. So in my experience, it is not true that "publishers and agents do NOT trawl for material."
That said, I do think tools for trawling will have to become much more sophisticated -- and I think they will.