Comments on: Question: Agent Green-Hungry? Or Agent Salty-Busy?

By: The Novelist as Essayist: Thoughts on Turning Fiction into Non- « Dennis Cass Wants You To Be More Awesome

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:38:27 +0000

[...] 8, 2009 · No Comments Thanks to comments to this recent post, the Awesome blog back channel chatter (i.e. my Gmail account) and my own life, I’ve been [...]

By: Dennis Lang

Dennis Lang — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:17:56 +0000

Hi Robin S.–I’m with you and hoping Dennis has time to tackle the subject. I’m a total novice and began trying to learn the marketing side of the writing adventure with books like “An Idiots Guide to Getting Published in Magazines” (or something like that) and other freelance writers self-help books, with an emphasis on the “irresistible” query letter.

By: Robin S.

Robin S. — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:31:39 +0000

Exactly. What next? I’m pretty good at lyrical; I have no idea, however, what happens in the ‘what next’ phase.

By: chris eldin

chris eldin — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:18:05 +0000

Also looking forward to more discussion on this topic. I think it goes even deeper though. I think there’s a fundamental paradigm shift underway. Agents are way overloaded, and writers really are being treated worse, on average. Nobody’s happy. Usually when this happens, a divorce occurs and new relationships form. I am noticing a shift, at the ground level. Anyway, I’ll be looking forward to your thoughts!!

By: Dennis Lang

Dennis Lang — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:42:17 +0000

Good topic. So, you have all this intensively researched material for your novel that is either a sensational idea, or already written as a lyrically expressed draft of a nonfiction feature article that you know would be perfect for “Psychology Today” or “Vanity Fair”. What next?

By: Robin S.

Robin S. — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 22:44:46 +0000

Looking forward to it.

By: denniscass

denniscass — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:12:14 +0000

@Robin: Yes and yes. Sometimes you have to get tricky about translating the material. I’ll do a post about that soon.

By: Dara

Dara — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:07:33 +0000

My two cents: I wouldn’t spend a lot of time worrying about whether you want Agent Big or Agent Little at Agency X — if you send to Agent Big and she passes but thinks your work is good she’ll send it on to Agent Little, but it will never go the other way. (Agent Little will never pass but hand on to Agent Big.)

By: Robin S.

Robin S. — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:35:53 +0000

So if you have a novel about a certain kind of relationship and how it impacts the protagonist, then writing an article on the dynamics and problems in this type of relationship is a way to get your name out there? But you still have a hurdle to cross, right – that of having the article accepted for publication. Never having done that, I’m simply asking.

By: denniscass

denniscass — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:51:05 +0000

@bets: You make a good point about testing material.

I think it also applies to nonfiction.

If you have mentally ill character an article about mental illness still counts as testing (and audience building).

Also, e-mail me that question!

By: bets

bets — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 18:59:02 +0000

When I read that a certain popular author had sold short stories based on a planned series of novels prior to even writing the first book, I got busy and started writing some. It’s a great chance to test the waters for my novel concept and the stories will be a snap because I know the world and the characters. And how cool would it be to have a list of credits that directly relate to the book I’m trying to sell–not to mention a ready-made audience!

I have a question for you, too. I need to email you.

By: Dennis Lang

Dennis Lang — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:15:05 +0000

As a matter of fact I’m so impressed with Mr. Marzorati’s address decided to pitch him personally on a recently completed feature of mine. If it leads anywhere, round one is on me.

By: Dennis Lang

Dennis Lang — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:32:16 +0000

On the subject of spinning articles off your novel research, check out the link to Galleycat above, and “NY Times Magazine” editor Gerry Marzorati’s piece on “long-form” journalism. Wonderful description of the form that is far more subtle and sophisticated than dispensing information.