Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Great Reads and Good News Needs Advice

Ok,

So I've gotten some good reads on "The Pardy Boys," and Jake (the buyer) at West Hollywood's A Different Light read the book and said it was perfect for them. He was so enthused that he said I should go to Kensington and start talking a deal.

Readers have suggested a professional edit to smooth out the bumps before submitting, but said it was a good enough read to submit.

So now what? Do I approach an agent? An editor?

Lastly, the book is intended to be part of a trilogy, and I've only outlined the other two books. Do they have to be finished before starting a dialogue with Kensington, or editors or agents?

- Happy in Hollywood

4 comments:

The Bill Cochran said...

Hey Graeme,
Congrats on your good reads. Wish I had a wealth of advice for you... I hope that the answer your question about trilogy isn't "they need to be finished"... as my Midgrade mss is clearly the first in a series, but I have NO idea where it's going.

Do you have a contact at Kensington? If you quest if publishing and they're a publish-er... seems like that might be a good next step.

My 2 cents..

Tyler said...

Hey Graeme, it's been a while!

First off, congrats on the good reads! That's awesome what he said about Kensington.

I would say skip the professional edit, because no matter who you get to read it, they're gonna offer lots of changes, and that'll just delay you even more. If people think it's good enough as is, they're probably right.

Regarding the next books question, they definitely don't have to be done. Editors/agents actually prefer them not to be done, just in case there are some dramatic changes to your first book through the edits. A rough outline is exactly what you want.

Good luck!

-Tyler

Graeme Stone said...

Bill, thanks for chiming in. I will hit up Kensington and see what comes of it. The bookstore owner Jake had given me a name even, so that's always good too.

- Graeme

Graeme Stone said...

Tyler,

Thanks for the advice. I am also thinking that anyone else will have their two cents. I paid an editor for the other book I wrote, a tweener adventure boys book. The advice was great, the suggestions on the nose, but something's holding me back. And I think it's that any editor will have their own approach. She's retired from Harper Collins west coast office and I think, well get me a current editor and then take their advice.

I'll let you know what happens. Lee Wind suggested combing the SCBWI listings for agents and I'm going to add a trip to Writers Market.com too. Though their database leaves a lot to be desired.

I'm also reading the Shadow Children series and really liking it. So, so dark sometimes.

What's going on with your pre-Earth series?

Graeme