THE STORY SPOT

Our friend Jim Cirile over at Coverage Ink: The Screenwriter’s Advantage and Writers on the Storm posts a chock-full-o’-goodies newsletter to his subscribers-only list. But lucky you! We’re reposting an excerpt here for you.

Jim’s February, 2009 installment included this useful reminder: “The 5 Best Ways to *Lose* an Agent.” Witty, insightful, and oh so true, here is Jim’s article, posted with permission, for THE STORY SPOT readers to enjoy.

“Got agent? Good. Now can you hold onto them? Hmm…”
Read on »

Here’s a good giggle. Literary agent Sharlene Martin posts this sample of truly pathetic query letters she’s received (sorry, there simply is no better word). The desperation is palpable, people.

(Scroll down on her page to view)
Query Madness, Writers’ Digest, Nov-Dec 2007

Okay, snarkiness aside, I can see how many of these folks might have thought they would win her over–cut through all the earnest wannabes–with their wit and self-deprecating manner but please! Can an agent sell self-pity? Give people something to work with.

My favourite?

We have written a “self-help” book. It actually is more than just self-help because it helps others also.

Great. I can see the bidders lining up for that one.

“There is a disbelief in our culture that writing, or the creation of any art, is actually work.”
– Betsy Lerner in The Forest for the Trees.

The Forest for the Trees: An Editor’s Advice to Writers at Amazon