What's the market (no, not THAT market) looking like these days?

[dem629]

I'm trying to find some news on the fiction market these days. I have heard (but can't seem to confirm) that it's getting harder and harder for new authors to find agents, let alone sell a book.

Any insight?

[DavidDvorkin]

1. It's easier for a new writer than a published one

who hasn't had big sales. There are a lot of good agents who accept queries and are looking for a new writer with a captivating style and story to tell.

[dem629]

4. That's promising. Thanks.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

2. It's always been hard to get an agent

unless you have a friend or relative who's already represented. Then, you can, at least, get someone to look at your work.

But it's no harder or easier than it ever was. The publishing business is in some tumult, but they're still cranking out books. They're also getting smarter about e-books, which is good, I think.

My agent's office gets about five hundred cold queries a week. People send cookies and stuffed animals and all kinds of edibles, which get thrown away. In her more than twenty-five years of being a literary agent, she's found one writer whose work impressed her, and that woman was Elizabeth George.

I got my work read because my godson's mother is a children's book writer, and she's represented by this same agent. That she liked my stuff and welcomed me in is a lot of good luck, but, there are other factors, too.

I'm not telling you this to discourage you. I'm telling you what I've been told, because it's always been hard - I only entered the business thirteen years ago - and it was, I understand, impossible then.

My agent once told me that it was easier to sell a book to a publisher than it was for a first-time writer to get an agent.

It's a rough business. Always was. But, you can't take it personally, no matter how personal it sometimes feels.

Good luck.

[dem629]

3. Thanks.

I write a column for a local entertainment paper, and I've been through the ups and downs of rejections. I've developed a thick skin on that front. :)

Personal point on your mention of e-books: I hate those things and hope the day never comes when they replace real books. That would make me sad. I've been encouraged to read/watch interviews with people in the publishing business who say that books will never go away completely, so I've got a little hope.