The Latest

I submitted an email query to an agent on Thursday and got back a rejection within an hour-and-a-half. (He promised fast service, and that's what I got.) That really didn't bother me. It was something of a practice run anyway, although I would have gladly signed a contract had one been offered.

Yesterday, I mailed a query with sample pages to another agent. I should hear back within the month.

More updates, as warranted, will be posted here, your one-stop shop for Drayton news.

The Contest Is Over--For Me at Least

Michael Drayton, Detective Guy did not make the cut in the contest over at Gather.com. Twenty semi-finalists were chosen yesterday, leaving Drayton, I'm sure, at position 21 or maybe 27. So close and yet so far. I got the impression that all the semi-finalists are genre-friendly potboilers, something which Drayton certainly is not, and since the imprint that all this is directed toward, Touchstone/Fireside, specializes in genre-friendly potboilers, that is all well and good.

Be of good cheer, though. All is not lost. I have already sent a query to an agent. At the very least, this contest gave me a solid deadline to shoot for, and I made it with a reasonable draft left behind for my troubles. The current version isn't perfect--the last half needs a thorough rewrite--but the story is in place with enough good writing along the way to show that I can write somewhat. And whether this first agent bites or whether it takes 100 queries to find somebody, I'll keep on. It's really that good.