I work in the mail room at one of the "Big Six" publishers in New York City and I am in constant contact with people involved in all levels of the publishing industry. Despite seeing these people five days a week however I have mostly kept the fact that I'm an aspiring writer with 4 novels in the trunk to myself. That is, until now--I'm nearly finished with the second draft of my WIP and I'm seeking advice about how to broach the subject of asking for a referral to a literary agent. If I understand correctly referrals aren't given lightly so I want to be prepared for any questions I might be asked and have ready all the materials that may be requested.
I have two reasons for wanting to be referred: with NaNoWriMo happening I feel like my own query will drown in the deluge causing every slush bucket out there to overflow. Tough nuggets, happens all the time, them's the breaks. Sure, I get that, and my sentiment might even come off as selfish if not for my other reason: there's a lot of advantage to working for and having a good reputation with publishing titans, so why not use it to make my dream come true? I'm not looking for some secret, magic trick here and I certainly have no illusion of six-figure advances or becoming mega-rich. I've been writing half my life and it's all I want to do. I seriously feel like I ended up at this job for a reason but I don't want to mess it up. That said, if there are any reasons I should NOT ask such a thing of the people I work with please tell me as I'd love to know before I put my foot in my mouth.
Thanks for any and all advice, all.
I have two reasons for wanting to be referred: with NaNoWriMo happening I feel like my own query will drown in the deluge causing every slush bucket out there to overflow. Tough nuggets, happens all the time, them's the breaks. Sure, I get that, and my sentiment might even come off as selfish if not for my other reason: there's a lot of advantage to working for and having a good reputation with publishing titans, so why not use it to make my dream come true? I'm not looking for some secret, magic trick here and I certainly have no illusion of six-figure advances or becoming mega-rich. I've been writing half my life and it's all I want to do. I seriously feel like I ended up at this job for a reason but I don't want to mess it up. That said, if there are any reasons I should NOT ask such a thing of the people I work with please tell me as I'd love to know before I put my foot in my mouth.
Thanks for any and all advice, all.