One Drop

I've made no progress toward finding a literary agent or publisher. It ain't for lack of trying. I've spent hours staring at the computer screen trying to come up with the requested pieces with absolutely no luck at all.

Usually this kind of frustration means I'm making something harder than it needs to be. I suspect that's true here, too. Making things harder than necessary is one of my gifts and a possible explanation for the slow learner thing.

Generally speaking, submission requirements differ depending on whether the book is fiction or nonfiction. For nonfiction, you submit a query, a book proposal with a complete table of contents (including descriptions of each chapter), a complete biographical sketch, a marketing plan and a bunch of other stuff. Arrrrrrgggghhhhh!!!

Now I'm rethinking my decision to classify the manuscript as nonfiction. Glass Houses isn't entirely true. I changed some names. I also took liberties here and there with the way things happened. If even one sentence is fiction, doesn't that mean the entire manuscript is fiction?

If it's fiction, all I need to do is submit a one-page synopsis and the first fifty pages of the manuscript. Coming up with a one-page synopsis is no easy feat, but at least it seems more doable than the stuff required for a nonfiction manuscript.

Yeah...Glass Houses is a work of fiction. Just ask Emmy, Tim, Wendy, Calvin or even Mom. I'm sure they'd agree with...

The Crotchety Old Man