I have been advised that when one submits a letter to a prospective agent one should provide information regarding one’s publishing history.
I wonder if I should omit a certain piece because it was written a long time ago.
The piece in question appeared in a magazine/newspaper entitled “The New York Native.” (I believe it is now defunct) . It was published on or around October 7, 1985. It was seen in many newsstands in New York and I think it was commonly seen on newsstands, in gay areas, in other parts of the nation. It is to my knowledge NOT ON THE INTERNET. It was an unsolicited piece and I was paid for it (A mere fifty dollars). I noted that AIDS cases in the country totaled 1000 at the end of 1982, totaled 10000 at the end of 84 and I said that at this rate we would soon have millions of cases. I argued for intense political activity to obtain more research dollars for AIDS. The essay was entitled “Towards a New Political Offensive on AID.” (Of course I have photocopies of the two pages of the newspaper which contain the piece)
Since then I had nothing published until 2012 to 2013 when I wrote a few pieces for the Daily Dissident. Some of these pieces can be seen on line. I was not paid anything by the Daily Dissident.
In any event, my oldest published piece was, I think, more significant because it was in a more widely read periodical and yielded some dough. (I don’t mean that it was better because I got 50 bucks for it; I mean that in the publishing world that might make you seem less insignificant.) However, because it was done so long ago (As I said above, it was published in 1985) perhaps I should not discuss it.
So should I include that ancient publication or omit it in a query letter?
I welcome all intelligent advice. Please don’t sarcastically tell me that I am too old to even think about getting anything published. I am well aware of my age (60) and I know that as time goes by one’s opportunities wither and wane.
I wonder if I should omit a certain piece because it was written a long time ago.
The piece in question appeared in a magazine/newspaper entitled “The New York Native.” (I believe it is now defunct) . It was published on or around October 7, 1985. It was seen in many newsstands in New York and I think it was commonly seen on newsstands, in gay areas, in other parts of the nation. It is to my knowledge NOT ON THE INTERNET. It was an unsolicited piece and I was paid for it (A mere fifty dollars). I noted that AIDS cases in the country totaled 1000 at the end of 1982, totaled 10000 at the end of 84 and I said that at this rate we would soon have millions of cases. I argued for intense political activity to obtain more research dollars for AIDS. The essay was entitled “Towards a New Political Offensive on AID.” (Of course I have photocopies of the two pages of the newspaper which contain the piece)
Since then I had nothing published until 2012 to 2013 when I wrote a few pieces for the Daily Dissident. Some of these pieces can be seen on line. I was not paid anything by the Daily Dissident.
In any event, my oldest published piece was, I think, more significant because it was in a more widely read periodical and yielded some dough. (I don’t mean that it was better because I got 50 bucks for it; I mean that in the publishing world that might make you seem less insignificant.) However, because it was done so long ago (As I said above, it was published in 1985) perhaps I should not discuss it.
So should I include that ancient publication or omit it in a query letter?
I welcome all intelligent advice. Please don’t sarcastically tell me that I am too old to even think about getting anything published. I am well aware of my age (60) and I know that as time goes by one’s opportunities wither and wane.
