Queries: Round Four

Got a rejection from Mr. Christopher Schelling this week. In my query I'd congratulated him and Augusten Burroughs on their recent marriage, briefly mentioning mine saying I'd hope they were enjoying married life as much as I am. I mentioned how I'd hope he'd seen some similarities to Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (one of his authors). This was before Richard Florest had compared the manuscript, after having read it, to that book. So hopefully I'm on to something here.

Here's Mr. Schelling's kind response:  

"Thanks so much for sending your novel - and for your kind words on my marriage. (Congratulations on yours. We're ridiculously happy too.) There's a lot to like here, especially how you capture the emotions so clearly. I see why Eleanor & Park would be a comparison, but..." and it goes on from there.

And instead of talking about that but, I'd much rather talk about this one (I love talking about buts): I was bummed to receive Mr. Schelling's rejection this week, BUT was thrilled to receive a SASE back in the mail yesterday from none other than John Green's agent, Ms. Jodi Reamer at Writer's House. I was teaching a 20th Century American Drama night class, and by teaching I mean watching the Dustin Hoffman/John Malkovich Death of a Salesman  holding back tears in front of my students, when my wife messaged me on Facebook. Previously I'd been very ceremonious about query responses: Don't open the email until after you're home and have had dinner; Don't let your wife open the SASE if you're not home; Finish x number of student registrations before opening it at work. I decided I was probably jinxing myself. So I told Jessa to open the envelope and message me whatever it said right then and there. If I was going to cry in front of my students anyway, I might as well have a better reason than it being a real darn shame Biff had to burn those sneakers after he flunked math.

Ms. Reamer, who had received the first 10 pages with my initial query requested the first 50ish. So a once over of those 50 pages, selecting a good breaking point, and emailing the requested file on was how I spent my lunch break. And then I even had time left over to query Tom Perrotta's agent, mostly because Jessa and I realized that both my book and his Little Children feature disturbing masturbation scenes. And what else could an agent possibly be looking for than that?

Maybe one day my book can be turned into a movie with sexy, sexy people in it too. 

On an unrelated note, Jessa and I discovered we'd "made it" this week when our Google alerts pointed us to this article on citations: "How to Cite Large Sections of a Poem."

Despite our book, The Way We Sleep  having no poetry in it, the author, Adam Jefferys chose to use us, of all multiple editors of all volumes of anything ever published, as the example for how to cite a volume with multiple editors: "For a poem from an anthology, include the editor's name or names after the book's title, preceded by "Ed." For example: Ed. C. James Bye and Jessa Bye."

So yeah, it's been a good week. 

Update: I completely forgot until Jessa mentioned it that Ms. Reamer is also Bruce "Ash" Campbell's agent!

First Manuscript Request Rejected (Queries Round Four)

Sunday I queried Mr. Richard Florest of Rob Weisbach Creative Management. This is the agency that represents Brad Meltzer (who wrote one of my favorite comics of the last decade, Identity Crisis), not to mention Jon Stewart and a slew of big name celebrities. This was a hail Mary on my part, but as I mentioned before, in the early stages of querying, I'm aiming big and throwing the spaghetti at the wall to seeing what sticks here. Plus the agency is focused on developing careers, and in their submission guidelines they even asked to hear about future projects and overall career goals, which really appealed to me.

Needless to say, I was shocked when Mr. Florest responded less than 48 hours later asking to see the manuscript. He did mention he wasn't crazy about More Like a Siren, Less Like a Bell as a title, but if I wasn't married to that, he thought it sounded like a really exiting project. I do love the title, but the book has had other titles in in various draft stages (including "Glib" and "Loretta's Scars" after the Pavement song, seeing as the main character, Loretta, actually goes to see the band near the end of the novel and the whole thing is about little events that have messed her up in one way or another).

So I sent the manuscript and yesterday got what I can only imagine is one of the most encouraging rejections ever emailed. 

He starts, "I tend to glance at the first few lines of every manuscript, only rarely setting aside the day's business to read (in this industry reading, I'm sure you've heard, happens at night, on weekends, etc.). Well, your story has a strange pull, and it proved to be one of those rare instances." So some nice ego-stroking there. At least this gives me an idea that my query letter is doing what it's supposed to.

He continues, "You have literary chops but a knack for pacing and tension that I'd typically associate with a gifted writer of suspense. And there are elements of the story that have settled under my skin in ways both pleasing and disconcerting." Okay, hugely complimentary and then that tiny, tiny pause for consideration in that word "disconcerting." I'm reading and praying, maybe it's something he thinks we can work through?

"So, then, know that I think you have the seed for something great here--I just think it needs to evolve quite a bit more before it's ready for publishers."

Tear.

He goes on to explain how, although he's a big believer in young audiences "reading-up," the content in the book may be too dark for YA. I've considered this myself, though have been encouraged to submit as YA from writing friends and in a writing consultation with First Blood  author, David Morrell. I've also been concerned about the book starting with an eight-year-old protagonist told by a third person narrator whose voice remains, throughout the book, mostly consistent with the grown, twenty-two-year-old version of that protagonist who we see in the majority of the book. Mr. Florest mentioned this "seemed to me a disconnect between the controlling narrative perspective and Loretta (and then, by extension, the primary intended audience for the book)." With the narrator's "concerns, perspective, sophistication (and then eventually the arc of the story)--too often it just didn't read YA to me."

So for a brief moment I started stressing myself out about how I might address these concerns in a rewrite, and would I even be able to, and am I a decent enough writer to make this stupid book even work?!? And then my confidence was restored in the next paragraph: "...As I read in spots I was reminded of some very successful stories: Mathilda Savitch, Eleanor & Park, a little bit of The Lovely Bones, even one of George Saunders' short stories. And maybe someone else will see a way with it in its current form. Regardless, good luck, and thanks again for giving me a shot."

A big time agent. Just compared me. To George. Freaking. Saunders. 

Rejected! (Queries Round 3)

Another rejection! Lara Perkins from the Andrea Brown Literary Agency liked my book. But not enough. Sad face. But she had some really positive things to say (Is it weird that the thing I'm maybe most pumped about is that she loved the title?)! It's a roller coaster of emotions over here! Like Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (quip-quip-slapstick-sillysong-DEATH!).

Anyway, here is the letter. The GIFs are my addition, but, agents, take note--they kinda ease the pain a bit. Something to consider, eh?

Dear C. James,

Thank you so much for your query and for your patience while I considered your work. I'm very grateful for this opportunity, and I think there is a great deal to recommend MORE LIKE A SIREN, LESS LIKE A BELL (for starters, some terrific writing, a compelling character, and a killer title).

However, after careful consideration, I'm afraid I don't feel I'm the right agent for this project.

I think the premise here is quite promising, but I'm afraid I didn't connect with the voice as fully as I'd hoped. As you know, voice is incredibly subjective, and I'm sure another agent will feel differently. I'm truly sorry not to be able to offer you representation at this time, and I wish you the very best of luck in finding the perfect home for MORE LIKE A SIREN, LESS LIKE A BELL. 

One of the most difficult parts of this job is having to pass on projects, sometimes even on promising projects with great potential. Yet, like all agents, I can only take on a small fraction of the work I see--an unfortunate business reality. I have enormous respect for authors, not least because it takes great bravery to share your work with others. I very much hope that you keep this one pass in perspective.  As you know, all it takes is one "Yes." I wish you great success in finding that "Yes," whether with our agency or with another agent or publisher. 

Thank you so much, again, for thinking of me and for giving me this opportunity to consider your work. I very much hope to read of a deal for your work soon. 

All my best,

Lara

So, in the end, I'm heartbroken in the rain. But it's cool. Because at least I'm Martin Freeman.

Pre-Posthumanists Present: Paranoia!

If you live in the Chicago area, I hope you'll check out the first Pre-Posthumanists event Wednesday, August 28th at Strawdog Theatre. It's a great idea for a new reading series started by the ever-awesome Ryan Duke, Grayson Daskawicz-Davis, and Simon A. Smith (whose work appears in The Way We Sleep) where they select pieces of prose fiction and produce them as plays.  The show will feature a piece by (again, another The Way We Sleep contributor) James Tadd Adcox, as well as a section from More Like a Siren, Less Like a Bell. James' is about a mean computer (I believe *UPDATE: IT WASN'T!) and mine is about '80s music and V.D. so there's something for everyone!

Here's the press release:

The Pre-PostHumanists will host their first reading to the delight of their Overlord, the Singular Consciousness, on August 28th, 2013 in Strawdog Theatre’s Hugen Hall, 3829 N Broadway.

Titled "Pre-PostHumanists Present: Paranoia" the reading will feature the stories of James Tadd Adcox and C. James Bye, hosted by Brandon Eells (Singular Consciousness) and Eleni Pappageorge (Melissa Maynard), with performances by Sara Gorsky, Matt Kahler, John Leen, Kayla Pulley, Ben Vigeant and Johnard Washington, and directed by Alex Huntsberger.

Editors Ryan Duke, Simon A. Smith, and Grayson Daskawicz-Davis select short stories and deliver them to a director for casting. The story is then presented as a short play reading with actors playing different roles and minimal staging.

Doors open at 7pm, show at 8pm. Tickets available at preposthumanists.com.