Two Boulders

It's been nearly two months since my last post. What happened? I fell into a bit of a funk, or the "bad gunky" as Stephen King labelled it in Lisey's Story. I've finally manged to free my mind from the sticky stuff that's been holding it back for a while.

Sometimes the strangest things snap us out of the funk. This time it happened to be the pilot episode of Men Of A Certain Age on TNT. Yes, I admit to watching it. After all, I just turned 42 and that means I'm now firmly established in that transition period of life where you're leaving your youth behind but haven't quite reached old geezer status.

Ray Romano's character made a Sisyphus reference where he likened being a car salesman to Sisyphus. Having experience as a salesman for beverage distributors I could totally relate. But more than that, it reminded me of my blog and the fact that I hadn't made a post in almost fifty days.

I started thinking how I can continue to stretch the Sisyphus parallel that has now become synonymous with my toils in the literary realm. I thought of two boulders. Instead of pushing just one boulder up the slope, I've decided to push two.

My new strategy is to try to market my chapter picture book Handsome Heinz And The Balloon Heads while simultaneously continuing to pursue placement for Piercing Through.

After all, Handsome Heinz And The Balloon Heads has already made it half way to the top before by winning first place in a picture book competition, by being represented by a reputable agent and having been considered by the Assistant Editor at Viking Children's Publishing. Of course nothing substantial panned out from the experiences, but it does show that the picture book has some traction. I've decided to shop it around to other agents and maybe it will find success and pave the way for Piercing Through.

I've already submitted Handsome Heinz And The Balloon Heads to a number of agents. With the holidays encroaching I'm sure I'll have to wait a while before I get any responses, but it does feel good to get Handsome Heinz back in the playing field once again.

AgentQuery.com is an excellent resource for writers to meet other writers as well as possible agents and publishers. Check out my profile at the end of this post and join me there.

No Hat Trick For Piercing Through

My recent e-mail from Viking Children's Book Assistant Editor Kendra L. Levin has put the kibosh on my dreams of scoring a hat trick with my young adult dark fantasy novel Piercing Through.

Hat trick? For those of you who don't follow sports as closely as I do, the hat trick in hockey is when one player scores three times during a single game. How does that apply to my efforts to get published?

My dream was to score big with Piercing Through by marketing it as a young adult novel. The reason I chose the young adult audience is that there is no denying it's a very hot category. Landing a publishing deal with one of the bigger publishing giants in young adult would get you three scores; the hardback edition, the trade paperback and finally the mass paperback. Yes, I was aiming high, a little greedily I might add.

However, Kendra's latest correspondence has put a damper on that dream. Here's what she said:

"Hi Robbie,

Thanks for your patience in awaiting my response to PIERCING THROUGH. I really enjoyed discovering how your writing style differs between the picture book manuscript I’d read before and this much older piece. But what remains the same is your vivid imagination and your dark sensibility. You’ve got a great flair for the macabre, and in this manuscript, you’ve given yourself much more room to play and explore different morbidly fascinating details of Kelly’s world.

But I’m afraid I have to agree with Kelly Sonnack’s comment that PIERCING THROUGH is not appropriate for a YA audience. The content is just too graphic, from Alma ’s perversions to what happens to Kelly when she “pierces through.” I just can’t imagine a librarian or a bookseller feeling comfortable recommending this book to a teen reader. I think your best bet may be to target this for the adult market instead.

I hope this is helpful, and I’m sorry if it’s not the response you were hoping for. You’re a talented writer and I know you’ll find the right direction to take this manuscript!"

Paragraph 2 says it all. Now that I've had 2 professionals, one a Viking editor, another my former agent who ditched me after deciding she couldn't market my novel as young adult, maybe it's time for me to face the music and market Piercing Through as adult horror.

In reality, the story began as an adult piece, and perhaps it will become so once again. My hesitation to market it as adult came from the fact that horror is not a viable genre at the moment. If your last name isn't Barker, King or Koontz you're out of luck landing a hardcover deal. That means at best Piercing Through will be relegated to the mass paperback field. Not that that's a bad thing. Just getting my foot in the door will be a major accomplishment.

As I contemplate marketing Piercing Through as adult horror I'm faced with another problem. The word count is too small for an adult sized novel. I'm roughly 10,000 words shy of the average adult novel length. That's about 40 typed pages. Looks like I've got my work cut out for me. As soon I finish this post I must apply myself to the task of revision. 40 more pages? Any ideas? Anyone?

Sample chapters of Piercing Through as well as some of my other work can be found at my website:
rjfanucchiwriting.ws

AgentQuery.com is an excellent resource for writers to meet other writers as well as possible agents and publishers. Check out my profile at the end of this post and join me there.

Endless Optimism

"So goes the endless optimism one must nurture to make dreams a reality. I'm not too fond of the theory behind The Secret which everyone is into these days. I'm a little skeptical that the universe can be shaped to our liking by the power of positive thinking. But I do know this. The optimist is always putting his best foot forward, at least giving himself the chance for success. The pessimist never bothers to make the effort and so he always loses out."

When I wrote the above words in my last post I was pretty sure I'd be signed with a new agent within weeks. Alas, it hasn't come to pass. So I ask myself, am I still a believer in the "endless optimism" theory? What choice is there? I could bid adieu to my dreams and settle in to a safe existence where taking any chances is too big of a risk to my fragile ego. But what purpose would that serve?

As always, I can see the silver lining in every cloud. And there is a silver lining. A little over a month ago I dropped an email to a prestigious New York based agent. Without dropping names I can tell you she represented the book HOLES that was eventually sold to Disney and made into a popular movie.

Within five minutes I had already received a reply, the quickest turnaround time I've experienced. She responded to my query email by requesting to see several sample chapters of my young adult dark fantasy PIERCING THROUGH. Again, a big thanks to my pals at AgentQuery.com who helped me polish my query.

Three weeks later, the agent responded with this, "Piercing Through is an engaging if shocking concept and one which you exploit effectively especially in the theatrical scene. Kindly send me the balance of the manuscript."

Finally, my first request for a complete read. With fingers crossed and bated breath I hope this will result in a contract. I always wonder if somehow I'm jinxing myself by speaking to soon. I know a lot of authors who won't even speak of their manuscript out of superstition. Oh well. I can't help myself. Partly it's out of pride and a sense of self-fulfillment, but a good portion of it is about wanting to share positive news with fellow writers. So many of us authors give up when things get a little turbulent. Hopefully, my positives will help others see the silver lining in their own gray cloud.

One quick plug. I recently finished a website with sample chapters of PIERCING THROUGH as well as some of my other work. Check it out if you're so inclined:
rjfanucchiwriting.ws

AgentQuery.com is an excellent resource for writers to meet other writers as well as possible agents and publishers. Check out my profile at the end of this post and join me there.

Sinking In The Mud At The Bottom Of The Hill

It's certainly a struggle to succeed as a writer. I do believe it's one of the biggest challenges to face and it requires grim determination to continue seeking the elusive goal of getting published.

I've been chronicling my comparisons of the writing struggle to Sisyphus's seemingly endless attempts to push the boulder to the top of the hill. Every time he comes close, the boulder rolls back down.

My boulder is currently at the bottom of the hill. But worse yet, it's actually sinking in the mud at the bottom of the slope. Oh yeah, there doesn't appear to be any glimmer of hope at this time. That's how I've been feeling for the last couple weeks.

After being ditched by my former agent it's been a real ordeal to even get a prospective agent to read some sample chapters of my young adult dark fantasy novel Piercing Through. But like Sisyphus I continue to toil and by toil I'm referring to sending out endless amounts of query letters in an attempt to hook another agent.

I started out by sending 25 queries out to different literary agencies, confident I'd get some positive responses. Sadly, only one asked to see sample chapters of PIERCING THROUGH. Yep. It felt as if I was going nowhere fast. My boulder was definitely not inching back up the hill towards the illustrious summit of the publishing world. Rather, it was quickly sinking further into the mire at the bottom.

After days of reflection, I started to wonder if something could be wrong with my query letter. On a whim, I posted a thread on AgentQuery.com and asked for a critique of my query letter. It seems my hunch was right.

I owe big props to my friends on AgentQuery.com for helping me realize the major flaws in my query. After revising it per their suggestions, I sent it out to five agents and immediately received two request to read sample chapters of PIERCING THROUGH.

YES! The boulder is moving once again, not very quickly mind you. But at least it's working itself free from the deadly clutches of the mud at the bottom of the slope. Who knows. I can only hope one of the agents likes what he reads and requests to see more.

So goes the endless optimism one must nurture to make dreams a reality. I'm not too fond of the theory behind The Secret which everyone is into these days. I'm a little skeptical that the universe can be shaped to our liking by the power of positive thinking. But I do know this. The optimist is always putting his best foot forward, at least giving himself the chance for success. The pessimist never bothers to make the effort and so he always loses out.

My optimistic streak has me with my shoulder to the boulder once more, always hoping for the big payoff, knowing I'll get it to stick to the summit someday.

AgentQuery.com is an excellent resource for writers to meet other writers as well as possible agents and publishers. Check out my profile at the end of this post and join me there.

Flinging Mud At The Wall

Okay, after only three posts I'm tiring of the Sisyphus parallel, as I'm sure you are. How many times can I refer to pushing the boulder up the hill, only to have it roll back down? I'm sure you get the picture by now.

Recently, I've began my quest for a new agent and the first thing to pop into my head was "flinging mud against the wall". Not a very flattering analogy; my query letters are the mud, the wall is the possible agents I've lined up. Getting mud to stick to this wall is almost as impossible as getting one's boulder to the top of the publishing summit.

The 2009 Guide To Literary Agents has proved to be a wonderful investment. In it I've discovered over 80 agents who are willing to consider young adult. 80? The odds of at least one mud ball sticking seem pretty good, don't they?

Here's the count so far. I've got 25 queries out. 4 have hit the wall and failed to stick. Yes, I do mean the dreaded rejection. In the words of Billy Joel, "I really wish I was less of a thinking man and more of a fool not afraid of rejection." But hey, if you're going to be a writer you better grow some thick skin. Writers, I'm sure, get more rejections than a door to door vacuum salesman(does that species even exist anymore?).

One more thing; the biggest mud ball I've created is a letter to my favorite author, Clive Barker. After gushing on about how much I've enjoyed practically everything he's written, I hit him with my proposal. What large kahunas on my part to think Barker, busy writing novels, producing movies, painting morbid art, is actually going to make time to read my novel and give it an endorsement. This mud ball has a snowball's chance in hell of sticking.

But just think; words of praise from the world's leading fantasist could be the pad that launches my novel Piercing Through into the public's eye. Hey, it's worth taking a chance. By know I've build up enough armor to handle another rejection. At the very least, maybe I'll get a signed copy of one of his art masterpieces to hang proudly on my office wall.

Okay, back to Sisyphus. Remember, Sisyphus is not about futility, but rather persistence and perseverance. Keep flinging mud at the wall and someday something will stick. I have to believe that. I've spent too many years dreaming the dream of publication.

AgentQuery.com is the perfect place for publishers, agents and writers to interact. Check it out by clicking my profile link at the end of this post. Hope to see you there.

Sisyphus Is About Persistance, Not Futility

How do you view the fate of Sisyphus? It might seem he is the shining example of futility, forced to roll the boulder up the hill only to have it repeatedly roll back down. It does seem a pointless excercise until one remembers that there is more to it than the simple fruitless physical exertion.

Should Sisyphus get the rock to stay at the top of the hill he will break the ties that hold him in Hades. So you see, he is working towards a goal. It just seems he never gets there.

I choose not to view Sisyphus as a symbol for futility, but rather as a symbol of perseverence and persistance.

As aspiring writers, we have the goal of pushing our creative projects up the steep slope towards the publishing houses. Sometimes we come close, only to have it slip away. Often it does seem like we are wasting our time, trying to row upstream without paddles.

Right now, I'm at the bottom of the slope once more, having come ever so close to having my work published(see earlier posts for more details). I could have thrown in the towel, surrendered to a fatalistic view of my efforts. It's destiny. I'm simply not preordained to be an accomplished writer.

What a pile of crap such thinking is. Just like I don't believe Sisyphus's efforts are a waste(if he keeps trying maybe one day he will break free from hell), I don't believe my efforts are a waste either. Sometimes our past efforts have a way of helping us in the present.

Case in point: A few years ago I sent my picture book Handsome Heinz And The Balloon Heads to an assistant editor at Viking books. She loved it and took it to the next editorial board meeting where they voted not to pursue it further.

Kendra L. Levin, the assistant editor, said if it was up to her she would definitely publish my picture book. She commented to keep her in mind for future submissions. So after my former agent dumped me, deciding she was not the right person to represent my YA dark fantasy novel Piercing Through, I decided to keep Kendra to her word. I queried her by email, not thinking much would result from it.

After all, it had been three years. Bearing in mind the volatility of the publishing world, she might not even be employed by Viking anymore. Things shift fast in their turbulent society.

To my surprise she emailed back, the next day. Here's what she said:

"Hi Robbie,

It’s so good to hear from you! I’m glad to hear you are still writing, and how exciting that you’re now bringing your edgy sensibility to older fiction. I hope writing PIERCING THROUGH has been a gratifying experience and that you’ve enjoyed exploring the genre.

Though I usually don’t work on fantasy, I’d be glad to take a look at PIERCING THROUGH. Based on your description, it sounds fascinating though possibly too dark for Viking. But I’d be more than happy to give it a read. At best, I’ll love it; at worst, perhaps I can at least help point you in the right direction for where to send it. Feel free to e-mail it to me."

Okay, so dark fantasy isn't really her department. So nothing is guaranteed. But my point is that this is Viking Children's Books, which is just one part of the publishing behemoth known as The Penguin Group. If Kendra doesn't bond with Piercing Through, I'm sure she'll refer me to another editor she feels matches it more. Or so I hope.

She also mentioned that she has been promoted from Assistant Editor to Associate Editor, which means she has more say in what finally goes to print. That could bode well for me.

In summary, if I hadn't paved the way earlier with my Handsome Heinz disappointment, I would not be in the position of having my YA novel being read by one of Penguin's top editors.

Who can say what will come of this latest development. It certainly isn't unreasonable to think the boulder will slip back to the bottom of the slope again. But hey, one of these days I'll break the curse of Sisyphus. That's what Sisyphus has taught me: persistance and perseverance.

AgentQuery.com is the perfect place for publishers, agents and writers to interact. Check it out by clicking my profile link at the end of this post. Hope to see you there.

The Boy With Hundreds Of Heads

The Boy With Hundreds Of Heads? Curious title, I know. It's not conjoined twins gone wild. It's not a bad geneticist experiment gone wayward, or a story about an unfortunate soul in the rural parts of Taiwan suffering some bizarre unheard of medical condition that causes one to grow multiple heads(it's amazing the documented cases you see on Discovery or the Medical Channel these days).

Actually, the boy with a hundred heads is the first part to my latest episode in the Sisyphus Chronicles and should have been the prelude to my first post. Okay, if this is part one, why didn't I write about this first? After all, chronological integrity in narration is something the fledgling writer should not tamper with. Well, there you have it. Maybe there are legitimate reasons why I haven't attained nirvana at the impenetrable Fifth Avenue publishing Mecca. Oh boy, first compromised chronology and now I've confused Buddhism(nirvana) with Islam(Mecca). I really do need to be a more careful writer.

The boy with hundreds of heads is actually entitled Handsome Heinz And The Balloon Heads. It's a picture book I wrote several years ago, inspired by my five year old nephew who placed his cheek on a polished wooden table and ecstatically exclaimed, "Look, I have two heads." From that gem of a quote arose a tale about an arrogant young lad who finds himself growing multiple heads, hundreds to be exact. This fits into his plan to become the town's latest and greatest legend. But things go horribly wrong.

Not thinking highly of the story, I filed it away. I wrote it too fast with very little effort. It couldn't possibly be good unless I had toiled over it for months, suffering endless sleepless nights in an effort to get it just right.

My opinion changed when my wife happened upon the rough draft, read it and nearly broke a rib from too much laughter.

Encouraged by Rebecca's unpredicted response, I polished the rough draft and sent the manuscript to such lofty meccas as Clarion Books and Penguin Young Readers Group. Both received Handsome Heinz favorably with Kendra L. Levin(Penguin) loving it to the point she took it to an editor's board meeting to share with her fellow colleagues. Although she lobbied for Heinz's publication, her fellow work mates shot her down. And so my boulder, so close to the top of the hill, rolled back down.

True to Sisyphus's nature, I quickly flexed my soft biceps and prepared to push Heinz back up the hill. This time I discovered a picture book contest in ByLine magazine. To my astonishment, I placed first out of 173 contestants.

Along with a $60 dollar check, the first time I've received cash for writing instead of accolades, they wrote this blurb in the April 2006 issue of ByLine: "After several readings I chose the first place winner because it made me laugh out loud". Wow! Now, including my wife, at least two people found Handsome Heinz humorous.

I felt myself getting closer to the summit. Surely with the contest winner on my side, the big wigs on Fifth Avenue would now take notice. I pitched a few more big publishing houses with no luck. Not wanting to stay at the foot of the mountain too long, I decided getting an agent was the next step.

I had won a contest and almost attained success with Penguin For Young Readers. An agent would leap at the opportunity, right? Actually, yes. It turns out I landed a contract with Kelly Sonnack of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency, the most prestigious agency on the west coast, representing many lofty authors such as Amy Tan.

Man, I was really trucking now. Only a matter of time before I became the next Dr. Seuss. I could see my my picture book displayed in the front lobbies of bookstores across the nation. I saw myself on a massive book tour, signing copies for adoring young fans. Unlike Sisyphus, I was about to break the curse the literary equivalant to Zeus had placed on me.

After a year of pitching and revising, Kelly Sonnack lost steam. She said she still believed in Heinz but didn't have the energy to continue working on it. What? Was I being dumped? I felt as rejected as the awkward teen girl not being invited to the prom.

So what went wrong? Why did I find myself at the bottom of the slope once again?

After wrestling with some frustration I've concluded that Heinz is a tough sell in a market not currently geared towards 'fable' type stories, which Heinz definitely is. Heinz would be a difficult sale for any agent.

Kelly Sonnack is a good agent so I can't place any blame there. I truly enjoyed my time working with her. I noticed she sold a lot of other authors' works while I was with the agency. She even sold Down Sand Mountain which recently won this year's Golden Kite Award. That begs the question, is there something wrong with Heinz? I don't believe so. Hopefully the market will become 'fable' friendly in the future, making Heinz more appealing to the opportunistic editors of Fifth Aveneue.

My dilemna now is that Handsome Heinz has received so many face lifts that he has winded up a caricature of himself; like Joan Rivers or Michael Jackson(may he rest in peace).

So as I contemplate putting my shoulder to the boulder once more, I ponder which path to take. Do I return to Heinz's original form, the one Kendra L. Levin at Penguins found appealing, as did the ByLine contest judges or do I pursue Heinz's new direction; the chapter book it ended up being after multiple revisions?

Help me decide. Both copies are available on my AgentQuery.com profile. If you so choose, cast a vote for your favorite version. I'd really appreciate the input.

AgentQuery.com is the perfect place for publishers, agents and writers to interact. Check it out by clicking my profile link at the end of this post. Hope to see you there.