This post was co-published at talanhorne.com.
It's been a good week.
And the best part of that week was the progress I made. I can't tell you much about what is happening, but I am making some modest, but promising, strides toward publication.
Still, in the interest of transparency, I can at least give you an idea about my current status.
Not my actual spreadsheet.
For my publication journey, I have been keeping an Excel file to track the agents I have queried and my current status with each one. This helps me in a number of ways, not least that it prevents me from querying an agent twice with the same project, or accidentally querying two agents from the same agency concurrently.It also serves as a safety against duplicating old work. Supposing there ever comes another time when I need to get a new agent, I have a list of names that I've already researched and vetted. Thus I never have to start over at square one.
I highly recommend all first time authors to put together spreadsheets like this. I cannot, however, post mine publicly, for reasons I am sure you will appreciate.
And if you can't grasp those reasons, then I will simply say this: it is never wise to list the names and contact information of total strangers and put that list on the internet. Every time that has been done, it has ended badly. DON'T DO IT!!!
But I can tell you how I the spreadsheet is organized, and that organization is what gives the document its power. Simply put, my Excel file has the following columns:
And that's the only information I need to keep track of which agents I have queried. Finding out which agents belong on my list, however, is an entirely different story. The internet makes it easy to research an agent's publication history and personal preferences, and most agents curate that information so that prospective clients to get a feel for what kind of books they're seeking.
Well, let's just say I'm starting to have more interaction with the people I'm querying. There comes a point where you're able to actually talk to agents about your manuscript, and where they actually have questions for you.
I am starting to see more of these moments, and I can only take that as a good sign. There are still no guarantees, but I can confidently say that I have never been closer to publication than I am now.
It's a learning experience, and I'm grateful to have it.
This is my publication journey. I am recording it in these pages, and I make no secret about what I am doing. However, everything is still up in the air, and I can hardly announce what is going to happen before it stands up and...happens.
Keep watching this space for updates. Until then, I'll be putting in the hours.
Thank you journeying with me.
