Quote:
Originally Posted by Xenophon
ASparrow:
Read Xenolith. Enjoyed it. It's definitely rough around the edges, but there's a nice core there.
Do you have an agent? Have you tried to get one? Have you tried submitting the book anywhere? Xenolith (and sequels) might be a good fit at Baen. Unlike most publishers, they accept non-agented submissions—and even publish some of them! The lag-time on the slush-pile is measured in years, though, so getting an agent would be a better choice.
Based on my prior volunteer slush-pile diving at Baen, Xenolith clearly falls in the top 1% of the slush-pile, quality-wise. Books need to hit the top 0.5% to get editorial attention, and the top 0.1% (or so) to get published; I am not competent to judge those finer distinctions.
Xenophon
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Thanks so much for your expert opinion. Submitting to Baen is certainly an interesting idea, but I seem to be afflicted with agentophobia.
The thing about Xenolith is that I never considered it to be commerically viable. It's not pure. It crosses genres. It's clunky in parts and has a weird structure. The two plot lines inform the reader about each other and they touch indirectly at odd little tangents, but they never meet. I'm sure that's been done before, but I doubt very often, and for good reason.
The thing about this book, is that I consider it more of an exercise than a fully-formed novel, so I haven't bothered to query any agents. (So of course, what do I do? I go and write a sequel).
I am also in a phase of incredible productivity right now with my writing that I don't want to spoil by taking time out to push Xenolith. I have two novels that I will finish revising and release this year, another one half completed on my back burner and two more being sketched out. Number four is the one that I am most excited about.