Agents Need Not Apply

Yesterday I talked about why I needed no agent. But that was specific to KILLER OF KILLERS. So I thought I’d talk about THE VASE today.

A little more than a year ago, I had decided to submit THE VASE to publishers on my own, because the agents I had at the time were unwilling to represent it. The only explanation I received was because it dealt with the Middle East. It was like, Okaaaayyy… Most disturbing to me at that point was that they never even bothered to read it. Had they at least read it, they would have learned it wasn’t the standard Middle East terrorist yarn. Although there were terrorists involved in the plot, there was so much more to the story – really unique and original stuff. But they just blew it off. Other agents blew it off, too, and I realized the agent thing was a waste of time.

So I submitted it myself to the publishers who didn’t require an agent. And in my first round of submissions, I received three contract offers. The first one I decided not to sign, but the second one I signed. That was Virtual Tales. As I’ve chronicled on this blog, after the first round of edits Virtual Tales folded. So I got busy advising the publishers who had expressed interest from that first round of submissions and the third contract followed. That was Cogito.

But after another round of edits, Cogito flaked as I explained in last week’s post. Fortunately, there was a clause in Cogito’s contract that enabled me to terminate that contract and I did.

And it’s where I stand today. Right now, two other publishers are still willing to publish it. But I’m not quick to sign contracts anymore. Another publisher, in England, is still looking at the full, and three pretty good publishers right here in the States have requested the full. And I will most definitely wait to see what their answers will be.

All writers know about waiting, but I feel good about my chances because every publisher who requested the full, after having read the partial, has offered a contract. Stay tuned. It’s a heck of a ride, and I’m not jumping off.