Greetings,
I am very happy to have found this site. I've been a sort of mercenary for years writing as a business analyst and have a pile of huge and incredibly boring reports in my past, but have recently decided to take a stab at making it as a writer in my own regard. Still have the day job -- got a mortgage to pay -- but would like to see if I can make a living as a writer.
One project is already complete and in the hands of an eager agent, though I'm not sure we're a good fit, but in the meantime I'm working on a second, lighter fiction project and this is really challenging my abilities so I figure I should rub elbows with folks who know what the hell they're doing and see if I can learn anything.
Hello to all! Does this place have restrooms?
Greetings Corpus and welcome to the watercooler
The restrooms are around here somewhere. There can be a queue, so brace yourself. You've come to the right place to get some help with your novel. The site is packed full of information and great advice. It can be hard to navigate sometimes though. If you needed some feedback, which is always helpful, on your novel, you could try posting some in our
Share Your Work forum (the password is vista). The critiques can be harsh sometimes, so prepare yourself for that. Everyone means well, though. Their goal is to get you the best novel possible and to get it published. Also, it does help to bring them cookies
. Also, you could critique some of the other members' work too. It is surprising how that can help with you own.
Something that can sometimes let a writer down, when they have a great novel that is well written and plotted, is the query letter and synopsis. You could try posting yours in the
Query Letters & Synopses part of the Share Your Work Forum (password is vista) to get some feedback on that. Ya never know, it may help.
In your search for agents to represent you and your novel, I would recommend two sites:
www.agentquery.com and also
www.querytracker.net
Also check out the
Ask the Agent forum for help with agents and such. We have
Nathan Bransford, who is our resident agent, and
Jennifer Laughran as a guest agent answering agent related questions at the moment.
If you haven't stopped by the terrific Newbie Question of the Day thread yet, then don't forget to pop in and have a go at answering a few of the really easy questions (the link is in the sig line below). There are easy. Yep, they are. And it's so much fun.
Oh, and do you like double choc-chip cookies? Of ocurse you do. You'd have to be like ... weird if you didn't
. You do like them, right? Say you do, for no other reason in that it will annoy Danni
.
Halloo!!! I did it, I did it, I did it! I'M THE FIRST POSTER!!!! JVC, if you move this one on me, I'm beaning you with a brownie. Now, down to business. Ahem. WELCOME! I'm especially glad you're here, since I get to be the first on this welcome wagon. Come on in, pull up a chair, and have a brownie. Congrats on finishing your first novel, well done! Good luck with the agent, and the bathrooms are down the hall on the left.
I was so tempted to move your post or delete it. So very tempted. But I'm being a good dragon today
.
Thanks again all for the welcomes.
@Mumut: I took your advice and checked out the agent threads -- thanks -- and luckily did not find my agent there. His honesty and integrity are not in doubt, just his availability and priorities. He's a semi-retired professor from a prominent ivy league university and an eminent scholar in his own right, with a heap of books to his credit, at least some of which are probably used in courses at places like Harvard, Yale, etc. The problem for me is that though semi-retired, he's still quite busy and often difficult to reach, and I get the sense my book is competing with a dozen of his own personal projects for his time. I've looked around and his fees seem fairly standard, and I was at first very flattered that such an eminent scholar took interest in me -- he latched on to my book very enthusiastically -- but I worry he's just too busy to get the job done for me, at least in a timely manner. On the other hand, he's been through this process before (and I haven't), and the economy certainly isn't optimal so perhaps he's stalling on purpose. If that is the case, I wish he would communicate as much though....
I see here you mention fees. Something to always remember is that money flows to the author. You should never have to pay money to an agent or publisher up front. None. Nada. Never pay a fee to an agent. They make their money once the book is sold and not before. Check out the
Bewares and Background Check forum to see if any agent is listed there. It's a search that can save you a lot of time, stress and money in the future.
Oh, I like this chic. Way to go, C H!!! You tell that lazy old dragon what's on your mind! Don't hold anything back! 
