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Okay, Sonya and Bob, you should be good to go.

Let me know if you’ve got questions.

Catherine

ETA: Email query completed to Laurie McLean of Larsen Pomoda. Will try to finish this week’s queries tomorrow.

ETA: Rejection from Colleen Lindsay of Fine Print

Agent A was Ann Behar of Scovil Chichak and Galen. This was the agent who had requested a partial, a full, and a revision.

You can see why I was excited. This is a very prestigious agency, with some excellent clients.

Unfortunately, I used up all last month’s good karma on Hulk Hercules, as Ann decided she wasn’t interested in picking up Substance. I was hopeful, but I’m always realistic about my odds. Still, it would have been nice to have been represented so well. So, yeah, a little down, but moving on, and reminding myself that I made it farther than 98 percent of my fellow writers in a mere 9 months. Nothing wrong with that.

Just would’ve been nice to be agented.

Here’s some interesting stuff from the final letter, things to think about…

Further, all of the children have a distinctly mature, adult-like voice that I can’t see young readers going for. The editors are looking for a young, authentic voice, where the children, whether they are 10 years old or teenagers sound like real 10 year-olds or teenagers that the reader can relate to. This stiff, formal way of speaking distances the reader from the characters.

What I could see future revisions looking at is making sure all the kids besides Errol and Stephan speak more naturally. I thought I had made an effort along those lines, but apparently not enough. I’m not sure if I want to make those revisions. I think it would be a very different piece, and I like this piece.

I didn’t really start to get interested until the children go off to boarding school. That long first section when Stephan and Errol are at home still struck me as too long and not particularly engaging.

Food for thought. Again, maybe the first section is more for me than the reader, and maybe that could be a problem.

I liked the scene with Esme’s trial very much–it was compelling and thrilling–but nothing else I read drew me in that way.

At least we succeeded in some way!

***

The book still has a partial out to Agent B, who is reputed to be very slow, so no news is good news here. I still have queries out to five agents, and will send out another 5 this week. I’m not giving up, but the book may well have too much strange tone to be the book that gets me agented. Well, it will be or it won’t be. And we move on to other projects to take another stab.

***

It’s all part of the journey. It’s all good. I mean, if I have a movie deal in the wings, I find myself wondering if I can get an agent then? 🙂

So, focus. I have projects to be working on in sewing and academia, and I have two published pieces to work on this year for which I will be paid. If one of them has a film deal attached, then maybe someone will be interested.

And the next book will go around too. And there’s always the slush pile for Substance, or later, when I am in demand. Perhaps.

Okay. Teachity-teach today. Still positive. Go, me.

Catherine

Thanks, Jools, for the Publisher’s Weekly with the children books features.

Rejections from Robin Rue of Writers House and Jennifer Jackson of Donald Maas.

Sonya mentioned casually at dinner Friday night that Jim Henson is interested in looking at Cats Curious’s Faery Tale project. That’s good news for Jim Hines. AND also Hulk Hercules. That’s good news for me. Yes, count ’em. Two companies interested. (Soap bubble! Remember, soap bubble!)

Bob and Sonya, if it’s a snow day, I’ll send you both feedback tomorrow, as well as send out this week’s queries. If it’s not, it’ll be Wednesday.

Believe it or not, I actually taught my last make up class tonight. 🙂

Catherine

…one of the agents at Andrea Brown, and, as a consequence, all of Andrea Brown, I understand.

More somewhat interesting and positive stuff when I have a moment. Which I don’t have now.

Catherine

…Jennifer Lyons. Interestingly, mailed query, but received rejection by email.

Catherine

Today’s doing them at home while I’m snowed up queries:

Joy Harris from Joy Harris
Steven Axelrod from Axelrod
Moira Sullivan from Maria Caivainis

That’s the end of the AAR member prefer snail mail queries for whom I don’t have duplicates out for agents at their agency (which means as I get some rejections, I’ll be sending out a few more of these!)

and a new email query:
Jamie Weiss Chilton of Andrea Brown (which essentially means all of Andrea Brown)

That’s it until next week.

Catherine

Julie Rose is interviewing a bunch of writers about the music their writing is inspired by. I just finished mine, and posted it off to her.

She’s looking for other writers that might want to play, so let her know if you do, through me, or through googling her.

Catherine

…Colleen Lindsay of Fine Print Lit. Mark pointed out a new agent, and I couldn’t add her to my Query Tracker list, so I wanted to send something out before I lost track of it.

Catherine

ps also bumping the revision of Mistoreth’s Eyes until later. The venues I haven’t tried for a story its size are few. So, we’ll lay low for a while and see what opportunities present themselves.

Sonya and I wanted to wait to see how this came out before I talked about it here, but now we know, so I can.

So, the story goes something like this:

Drollerie Press, which has accepted Sister Night, Sister Moonsuggested that all of us Drollerie authors post our news at Publisher’s Marketplace. Good publicity. I thought, yeah, and I did this.

That made me think about whether or not we should do it for the Cats Curious deal. I asked Sonya if we should post a blurb about Hulk Herculesthere. Sonya said yes, so I did that too, and went on my merry way, back to teaching, writing, and snow management.

Flash forward to last Friday night. It’s been a hectic day at the radio ranch, so after work on Friday night I decide to look at my email and see if there’s anything I need to take note of. There is an unusual message from Sonya, to the effect that a woman has called her to ask about how to get in touch with me, if I have an agent, and would I be interested in selling movie rights to Hulk Hercules. Our first inclination was, riiiigggghhhhtttt. We were thinking this was something shady. I mean, where would they have heard of our book, and why would they be interested in it?

Detective work ensued. Sonya backtracked the number left on her answer machine. Shock! It was a legitimate production agency…Jane Startz Productions. As you can see from the link, Jane Startz has been responsible for Ella Enchanted, The Baby Sitters Club specials, and The Indian in the Cupboard. They’ve just settled with Judy Blume for adoption of her books. They wanted to look at Hulk Hercules to see if it could be developed into a film. They found the deal on Publisher’s Marketplace, and decided it looked like a potentially good project to develop.

Pardon me for a moment… WWWHHHHHHEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Okay, I’m better now. It’s just that I’m so new to this stuff, when the adrenaline hits, you go with it.

Sounds good, right? There’s a small problem. The contract has been signed, and the book will be written. WILLbe written. Not is written right now. Shoot. There’s also a lot this writer has to do before she settles down to Hulk Hercules. That’s why it’s deadline to Cats Curious is December 1st, and I’m trying to get some time to write it next fall out of the college.

Here’s the good news. Jane Startz is willing to wait. We’ll send the book to them and see what they think when it’s done. Both Cat’s Curious and I stand to gain something by this IF they buy the movie rights. Being ethical sorts, Sonya and I are both going to work out terms. I wouldn’t be writing the book if she hadn’t come up with the concept, and of course I’m writing the book. So we’re partnering in, if it happens.

Of course, I’m going to keep trying to get an agent. I hope to have one by then, because I need someone who knows more about these things than I do, especially if they actually make us an offer.

You know, I’ve been seriously trying to do the writer thing since last year’s Wiscon. I expected the successes that I’ve had. I think one novella and one novel are good efforts for 9 months, and I think that my agent search has been successful overall, as I’ve had some good nibbles. THIS, however, came out of left field. I never expected this. I expected this maybe, in the long run, after I’d written a successful book and it’d sold lots of copies. Based on Sonya’s idea and my conceptualization of it? Now that’s luck. Beginner’s luck.

I thought I would share the story. Even if they don’t option our book, I have something to look forward to, just to send it off and see. The world is my oyster with three kinds of sauce.

Catherine B)

Well, I thinkI’ve just sent Apex and Abyss The Initiation Rites and Incantations of the Junior Vampire Auxiliary, but I’m not sure, as it bounced. I received an acceptance message, then a bounce.

And then I sent a question about bouncing, which bounced. Which makes sense, if you think about it.

Anyway, if you know anyone at Apex and Abyss, let them know they’re bouncing. 🙂 I’ll see what I can do about following up my submission later, if it looks like it didn’t really float.

Okay. I’m outta here.