JOURNEY OUT OF LIMBO
ON THE legendary trek to Contractua, the fabled land of book deals, most writers pass through Publishing’s Middle Earth: a swampy realm in which one has secured a literary agent but yet not the Triforce Gift of Clarity that will advance them on their quest. Hark! Clarity is obtainable if our heroes are valiant and don’t spend too much time refreshing their e-mail inboxes, which exhausts the writerly life force. Grab a rucksack, valiant writer! The paths toward Contractua are many, and the sun is rising: Let us begin our quest.
The Prophesized Signature
At last you have come to an opening in the maze of agent querying. After hearing that agents one through thirty-seven aren’t “the right fit” for your book, you have finally found someone who wants to represent your project. By way of contracts, you sign an e-document, or you work on good faith. Either way, congratulations! You have a Sam to your Frodo as you march toward publication.
The Vista…With No View
You walk to a scenic overlook to see what the world looks like now that you have an agent, then gasp: There is no view. A gray mist covers everything in sight, including your agent. Grasping the metaphor, you call into the mist for answers.
