But now I'm used to sleeping in what sounds like the ancient rain forest, and I've met some new friends, and gone to the county fair, and started working a couple days a week at a very cute bookstore (which is a great way to get to know the neighborhood as well as keep myself in the mix about new books)... well, let's just say it's been quite a week.
Now that I have my internet set up, and a table that doubles as a desk, I am ready to get back to work. There are about a thousand unread emails to catch up on, and some client books to read. But here's a secret: I have more time on my hands here, and I gotta pay for this place somehow. So I am definitely looking to take on a few new clients. Have something awesome? QUERY ME!
And I need to get back in the swing of the blog, too, so if you have questions I can answer, feel free to fire them at me in the comments. If it is a short answer, I'll reply in comments, and if something warrants a long reply, I will blog it.
Hope everyone else is having a productive and exciting end-of-summer! Wheeee!
proper silence can be scary - like during a power cut and you suddenly realise how loud electricity actually is :)
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the East Coast!
ReplyDeleteAre you still going to be throwing those fab parties for books and authors? Hope so now that I can attend without having to take a plane.
I noticed on your tweets that you visited the DUTCHESS county fair. That so rocks! I'm originally from Ulster county (the county across the river). My sister even had her wedding reception at Astor courts (yeah, the same place as Chelsea Clinton). There are some places you HAVE to visit....for starters the ASHOKAN RESERVOIR (be sure to visit the spillway part - unless it's dry from lack of rain) and definately take a hike up Mohawk Mountain (the Lemon Squeeze/Labyrynth is the most awesome trail - you can see 5 states from the top) and of course, Woodstock! Ok, now that I look like a total freak, I'll shut up.
ReplyDeleteAre little pokes about, oh, I don't know, full manuscripts you might have all right in the email box??
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you got there safe and sound, the place sounds amazing. I live in what used to be 'the countryside', now it's just 'the suburbs'. LOL. Welcome to the East Coast!
It's been fun tracking your road trip on twitter. It sounds like you've landed in a beautiful spot. Glad you made it safely--and welcome to the East Coast!
ReplyDeleteJust a little warning...once you've gotten used to sleeping in the country...it's VERY HARD to fall asleep if happen to be spending the weekend in the city! Bring earplugs :) Good luck in your new place!
ReplyDeleteYay! East Coast haz Jen! And ditto what Stacy said. When are we going to see NYMBC-East? Was always so frustrated that those events were 3000 miles away. Now they are driveable. Stacy and I could carpool even!
ReplyDeleteyou have 24 authors already, and you're opening your email for more?? are you planning on never sleeping again?
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your relocation, and awesome Road trip. It was ver entertaining to follow your tweets :)
ReplyDeleteI do have a question about querying you. Are you staying within your regular guidelines, or might you be interested in other genres? And if so, which ones?
Thanks,
JD
I've been traveling the US in an RV, looking to understand my country better. I am presently in a super, super small town called Monroe City, MO where the corn fields out number the population. Coming from a south Seattle area of buzzing 24/7 activity, the sounds here in MO are more distracting - crickets yell as you try to sleep! Poor dears, they need Starbucks :) - Rebecca
ReplyDeleteMan, you are so brave! Glad it's all coming together.
ReplyDeleteS.Mozer, Christine, Chris, Ant, Sarah, Jm, Stephanie - Thanks!
ReplyDeleteNYMBC will still be going strong in SF (with me as consultant!). I don't know about doing events like NYMBC here, I think it'll be a bit different. We are having Suzanne Collins TONIGHT at the Oblong store in Millerton, though!
Amie, thanks for the tips!
Christine, still working on digging self out of email hole, but fulls are on the horizon.
Nicole & Rebecca - Amen!
Anon: blogged it.
Do you usually respond to all queries, even with just a form rejection, or do you not reply if you aren't interested?
ReplyDeleteJm: sorry missed this question the first time - As always, I rep Middle Grade & YA books. I am not looking to add other categories at this time.
ReplyDelete--
Anon 8:22 - Though the official agency stance is "no reply means no", there is an auto-response so that everyone knows that their email was received.
I personally do respond to everyone that follows submission guidelines AND has submitted something that I represent.
(Submissions that don't follow guidelines, are not addressed to me or are for inappropriate things I don't rep, are just deleted.)
Ooh, I wish I could query you but I'm not ready yet...still revising. I don't even know if I could send you a query and that's what my question is about.
ReplyDeleteI'm writing a Chapter Book, aimed at 3rd grade level, hovering about 9K words(goes up and down right now because of revisions). Would this be considered Middle Grade?
I have Googled and researched this to death and cannot seem to get a straight answer. Some agents and publishers call Chapter Books up to 1K words but I think of those as Easy Readers. Then the Middle Grade seems to pick up with 10K and up. I can't figure it out.
How do I know which agents to query? The ones who only specifically say they take Chapter Books or also the ones who take Middle Grade?
Thanks!
Emily
Emily, you are right that chapter books kinda fall into "no mans land" of not-quite-middle-grade.
ReplyDeleteI do rep some chapter books, you can feel free to query me. And most agents who do middle grade will look at chapter books as well, unless they specifically say NO CHAPTER BOOKS.
Publisher's Marketplace is subscription only, and it costs about 20 bucks a month, but is worth it while you agent-search. Though there is no specific chapter book category (they fall under MG there) - if you keyword search "chapter book" you'll find some other agents who rep them.
Good luck!
It all sounds like The Happy Hocky Family Moves to the Country.
ReplyDelete*lines up on the horizon next to Christine*