Not Dead

So I haven’t posted in a while. This is a natural consequence of having applied my butt to a chair and my hands to a keyboard in the direction of actually working on my writing for the last couple of weeks.

Specifically, I’ve given Hunters another quick polish and edit, based on Mr. Agent’s feedback on the full, and I am now doing some intensive research regarding who’ll receive my next round of queries.

I’m bucking the trend with querying. I know all the advice says query widely, and it may come to that, but rather than sending out form query letters to every agent on the list (and receiving as many form rejections, I figure), I’m hand-tailoring each query to the agent. I’m researching the agent through a variety of methods, including looking them up in Jeff Herman’s guide, at Publishers Marketplace, through Absolute Write and the Writer Beware projects, and on their own personal website. I’ve even gone so far as to google map the business addresses of a few (and trust me, I will not be querying the guy who’s working out of his Florida retirement community or the lady from the Conneticut suburbs).

I’d like to sell Hunters, but my focus isn’t on finding anybody (and I mean ANYBODY) who will take it off my hands. My goal is to find an agent who will work with me toward building a solid career as a professional writer. And that means only submitting my work to people I want to work with. It means being selective, even downright picky. It means trusting my gut when my gut says even Big Name Agent isn’t right for me. And most of all, it means trusting that even if Hunters isn’t the book that launches my career, that book will come.