Did you know that the week of Labor Day is the busiest one of the year for agents?
We edit and polish our proposals and novels all summer long to release them to the newly returned and rejuvenated editors now back from their summer vacations and working all-day long again on Fridays (it's an industry-wide practice to have half-days on Fridays from Memorial Day through Labor Day). The first weeks of September are when all the big fall books are sold.
I have four big books going out (three memoirs and one novel). I also had scheduled a lunch with a really senior editor at one of the major houses and "took" a surprise meeting with one of my clients and an editor to brainstorm ideas.
On top of this, I have given myself the assignment of writing an annual letter to the industry in which I give an overview of what's selling, as well as highlighting some of the projects I'm sending out, which I email to about 300 editors, with my up-dated client list attached.
Every day this week I've put in at least 10 hours of work.
I'm writing this at 10:30 p.m. while unwinding listening to the Yankee game.
TGIF
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5 comments:
Lori, are you also buried under a larger than usual mound of queries this week?
Do writers wait till Labor Day to send off a letter thinking agents are finally ready to get down to business now that summer's over?
Seems to me it's better to wait a couple of more weeks when agents have had a chance to get caught up.
Or am I wrong about this?
Best,
Josephine Damian
http://josephinedamian.blogspot.com
http://forensicsdiary.blogspot.com
http://quoteitwrite.blogspot.com
I want to thank you for starting this blog. I'm happy to have a partial out with you (via your assistant) right now. It's the work ethic and professionalism you reveal in this blog--e.g., this post--that prompted me to query you in the first place. You make me want to be a good writer so that I can land an agent like you. Just . . . wow.
It's a busy time for us freelancers, too. Seems the e-mails start the day after labor day.
But, how I'd love to see a copy of the letter you send out each year about what's selling. Maybe you could print a copy on the blog?
The letter basically states that the three areas where I've seen growth in the past year have been YA horror, well-crafted memoir and more erotic subject mater in women's fiction from romance to supernatural horror.
And, yes, there's a slight increase in submissions, but we won't get to them any faster. There's never a good time, only a slower time - summer and the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year's, although that's when some agents really do their reading).
Thanks...
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