Tag Archives: book agents

Did You Resolve For 2012?

Joe Wallace Vinyl Collector and authorby Joe Wallace

For once, I actually made a New Year’s resolution. I’ve guffawed at them for ages, but this year it seemed appropriate to make the resolution not to say “This year will be MY year” but instead try to work harder at making EVERY year “my year”.

For me, that means finding an agent for my book WTF Records: A Turntabling.net Guide to Weird and Wonderful Vinyl.

It also means NOT wasting my time sending off queries to agents who couldn’t care less about my book about strange and fun records because they don’t work with authors who don’t do narrative non-fiction or manage non-fiction books aimed at more scholarly pursuits.

For my resolution, I’m forced to spend more time doing my homework and research to maximize the postage and printing costs rather than firing blindly at anybody who happens to have an address posted on “Find An Agent” pages on the Internet.

It also means I have to carefully read the instructions on these agent pages when I do find someone who seems suitable–one agent wants only 25 consecutive pages, by mail. Another wants a sample chapter by e-mail, but ONLY after getting a positive reply based on my initial query.

It’s a lot of work getting a book written, polished, and published. Really, the easy part is the manuscript, or so it seems to me. That’s the part that requires no approval from anybody except yourself…until the agent and editors get a hold of it, of course.

Then your property becomes the subject of discussion, critique, possible revision, possible more revision, etc. I told myself to enjoy the manuscript part of it as much as possible, because it’s the only part of this I could do without having to wait on other people.

So the third portion of my resolution, at least where this book project goes, involves being patient and not expecting the world to come rushing to reply to me just because I bothered to drop a line.

I say all this as much to remind myself that I have to do all these things as to share with you what I’m learning from the process. So thanks for reading my glorified To Do List for 2012, disguised as a blog post.

Did I forget to thank you for reading this year? And last year? And the year before that? If so, forgive me for being so ungrateful and know that you are GREATLY APPRECIATED.

Here’s to an awesome and productive 2012 for all of us!

–Joe Wallace

Joe Wallace is the author of WTF Records: A Turntabling.Net Guide to Weird and Wonderful Vinyl, which is currently being shopped to agents interested in pop culture, music, and bad album covers. Wallace is the founder of Turntabling.net, and works as a professional blogger, social media promoter, and yes, he admits to being a music journalist. Wallace has been freelancing since 2003 and thinks the whole world may be joining him sometime soon. Contact him: jwallace(at)turntabling(dot)net