Sent out five query letters to literary agents this week in the latest round of “Represent My Novel, Why Don’t You?”  The first round involved 20 queries fired off in Tommy gun fashion at any agency that moved within my field of vision. Big surprise:  Not a one of them managed to bag the game.  This go-round, I took a breath and did significantly more research into which agents and agencies might be most interested in – and best suited for – my manuscript.

An agent put a call out for submissions? Great, but which writers does this agent already represent? Does any of their work fall within the same genre as my book? What about the agency as a whole?  A literary firm with a hundred clients but only one science-fiction writer among the bunch isn’t likely to jump at the next space opera that comes its way.  Instead of firing blindly, I zeroed my weapon, chose my targets carefully, and only then did I squeeze the trigger. OK, I may have driven this hunting metaphor into creepyland -- suffice it to say I did much more homework this time.  Whether that gets me anywhere, we shall see. 

Post by Laura Hayden.

The U.S. government just shut down. If you're like me, you're asking yourself, "What does this mean for David Silva's book?"

Just started both the next round of query letters for my book and a big ol' pot roast using the last of the summer carrots. It remains to be seen which will go down easier. 

The big gimmick for my next book will be I wrote it entirely while idling in line at In 'N' Out. 

Seriously considering sending this the next time a literary agent requests a bio: "David Scott Silva was born in the Los Angeles suburb of Southern California. He attended various colleges in the region, majoring in completed entrance exams. Following a twenty-year newspaper career highlighted by ten years of health insurance, he received an honorary doctorate in alcoholism and a 6-piece set of quality bake ware from the Society of Professional Journalists. He lives in Riverside with his wife Sharon, Australian shepherd Gus, and Italian cat and former city editor Marley."  

Frederik Pohl

Deeply saddened by the passing of 
Frederik Pohl, who proved you can be
a cynic and starry-eyed optimist at once.  

I've decided to make my book infinitely more marketable by lowering the characters' ages to 17 and turning the hero into a bodice-ripping vampire.