Thursday 18 March 2010

A full manuscript request and I have to string coherent sentences together?

Why?


Oh, why?


Why did I decide to check my e-mails in the middle of Parents' Evening?


There was a gap of ten minutes, just thought I'd check what was happening in e-mail-land, like you do.


So, there amongst the usual emails and regular notices I spotted the name of one of the agencies I submitted NEAR EDGWARE to at the end of December. (You remember the miserable post about attaching the wrong version of the first three chapters in January? Illness? Sending a drafting copy instead of the one I sweated blood over?) I sighed. Left the email until last.


But, with nothing else to do and only a minute until the next parent (already looking at books in the room next door) was due to pop in for my teacherly insights into the nature and progress of her precious poppet (I have a slightly different view, so I wasn't rushing) , I opened the e-mail and thought I read it.


I read the little black squiggles again because they seemed to be saying stuff like:


Dear Ms Smith


Thank you for your e-mail; we enjoyed reading your sample chapters. Would you please e-mail the complete manuscript. Here's what to do :-


When I wanted to run around doing the chicken dance of "But-I've-Never-Even-Read-What-To-Do-Now-On-Any-Of-The-On-line-Blogs" , I had to remember how to string polite phrases that adaquetly described the disparity between the fantasy and reality of the Mother's pride and joy.


At home later, I broke every one of Nathan's rules: my crowning achievement being to send it to the wrong e-mail address only to get a - fortunately, still polite - explanation of where I should st... send my submission from the agent herself.


This was my tenth submission (the next four I effectively disbarred from doing more than making the agent's reader laugh) so, number ten has proven to be a very lucky number!


I don't know if it is polite to say which agency has staff with incredibly impeccable taste?


However, has anyone ever mentioned how fabulous Sally, at Eve White Literary Agent, is?






22 comments:

  1. That's such AWESOME news!! :)

    Happy Dance for you!! So very exciting! Congratulations :)

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  2. Thank you, Jemi
    The news we've been reading, about the situation in the world of books, has been so pessimistic recently - multiplied by making elementary mistakes in the queries - I was so pleased.
    Hi, Keren
    I know all about the need for luck,thanks for sending a little more my way.

    This is how I've been looking :D

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  3. That's awesome! Congrats. I'm so excited for you. Good luck!

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  4. Wow, congratulations!!!! And to think I helped you with that query letter. Send some of that mojo my way please. that's really great news Elaine. I always liked that story.

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  5. Thank you Kelly, I'll need all the luck I can get :)

    Hi Anne, I have to say my first rational thought was how the help you and Anne gave really helped me condense the query. I certainly wish you lots of luck with your WIPs

    Cheers
    Elaine

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  6. Keeping fingers and toes crossed for you, Elaine. That first request for a full is awesome, but it can discombobulate you, big time. Don't beat yourself up. If they love your book it won't matter, and if they don't--or they already have something like it--they'll reject it no matter how perfectly you follow directions and color inside the lines.

    I don't know any writer who hasn't made a few faux pas in the query process. I make them with amazing regularity. Two query no-nos just yesterday: requeried someone who had already given me a form rejection six months ago, and FORGOT THE FIRST PARAGRAPH while cutting and pasting a query into email from Word. Got form rejections for both within minutes. Ouch.

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  7. Hi Anne
    It is comforting to know slappy-happy e-mailing is a disease that affects other wanna be writers too. : )
    Elaine

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  8. That's fabulous! Very funny story too - having to tend to the mother of the poppet and all that. And thanks so much for commenting on my blog post about the two teens. It is interesting about the Hobbit. There is a pay-off but you have to slog through some of it. Happy to discover you!

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  9. Hi Megan
    I can't even say it was because I was over excited, the whirling vortex in my head got right in the way of the bland pleasure I had been expecting.
    I was happy to get to know your writing journey, too.
    Elaine

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  10. AAAAAAAAAAAAH! That's awesome, Elaine!!!!!!! I'm so happy for you!!!!!!!

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  11. See lexcade, that's the celebration I always expected to have: the squealing and the jumping on each exclamation mark. The maelstrom came as a bit of a shock. ;)

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  12. eeeeeeee this was SUCH a cute post! you are adorable! and i'm so so thrilled for you!!!

    hoping everything works out!!! :D :D

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  13. Congratulations on the full request! I totally get the situation you read it in. That's why I forbid myself from reading agent or critic e-mails before I go to sleep ;-)

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  14. Well Done You!

    Best of luck I hope it's great news very soon

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  15. Congrats!!! I meant to respond to your DM on twitter the other day and forgot, but woo-hoo! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. :)

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  16. Wonderful news! Congrats on the request!

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  17. Oh Elaine, how wonderful! How did I miss this over the weekend.

    I'm so happy for you.

    .........dhole

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  18. Brava, Elaine. Congrats! Fingers, toes and crossed for you!

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  19. Many thanks, Jennifer, Donna and VR - all the good luck that people have been generously sending my way is very much appreciated. My fingers and toes are getting cramped from all the constant crossing ;)

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  20. overwhelming news! congrats! u must be soo excited1 well deserved! the BEST!

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  21. overwhelming news! congrats! must be so excited!
    the BEST!

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