Anonymous asked:
I’m curious….what it’s like on the other end of the agent hunt? What has changed since you signed with your agent and what has stayed the same?
Wow. OK. Heavy question.
Here you go:
no change
- I still write every day
- I still feel horribly insecure about everything I write
- I still have to write summaries (which is essentially what a query body is) and synopses
- I still have to wait
- I still don’t know what I’m doing most of the time
some change
- I don’t check my email as often as I used to, because I’m not waiting to hear back on anything
- There’s less pressure on summaries and synopses, because if something doesn’t work, it becomes a dialogue instead of a rejection
- I’m more focused on long-term goals, as in, looking at what comes next and preparing for that so I’m not running around all crazy between books
- There’s less writing-by-committee. I still go to my friends for ideas and support, but a lot of the “should i do this or should i do that?” happens with my agent
lots of change
- My core group of friends stayed the same (because they are awesome) but there was definitely a dynamic shift, especially with writing acquaintances. Some saw me as suddenly legitimate, others as undeserving.
- Finding an agent had become a habit, part of my routine. When I signed with Jessica, for the first month or so, I found myself sticking to that routine. Reading agent interviews. Checking Query Tracker. Refreshing email every two seconds. I would catch myself constantly going through the motions of pursuing something I already had, and I’ve had to make a conscious effort to reallocate that time to other, more productive pursuits. (Like writing.)
- Way more editing
- Pressure and deadlines. Before, when I’d give myself deadlines, I would try hard to meet them, but ultimately, they held no real threat, because I was the one who had set them. Now, it’s about respecting other people’s time, and that adds a finiteness that wasn’t there before.
That’s all I can think of at 2AM.
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