Figurative Loin Girding Has Commenced

Agent and editor appointment scheduling opens tomorrow for this summer’s RWA conference. Yes, I’m pinning all my hopes and dreams on the last week of July. I can’t pretend I’m not. As such, I’m making sure my ducks are all rowed up nicely and that my agent appointments counts. I feel like I'm preparing for battle. Soon I'll have my husband jump out from corners and surprise me with questions about my books. Training has begun.

The research is slow going. Some of the agencies have been easier for me to determine – I mean, if I’ve read many of their client’s books then I have a great basis of understanding who they represent and what they’re drawn to. On the flip side, if I’ve read many of their client’s books, then they’re probably in too high a league for me.

The slow part is with the agencies where none of the names are familiar. Yes, the box is checked that they represent historical romance – but they only have one client who writes historical and that is Regency and inspirational. But the box is checked, so does that mean they’re broadening their scope? I have no clue, but there are only so many appointments available, so I get the distinct joy of selecting, font, and strikethrough on my list.  Feels like an accomplishment, but it’s possible I’m just shooting myself in the foot.

Speaking of my foot, I returned to work on May 14^th. It’s been awkward, but I’m glad to be out and about again. Yes, I’m still wearing THE BOOT when out, but got the okay to wear a sneaker when at home. My tendon has completely reattached, but the two bones still show shadows of the fracture and should be babied. I don’t think I’ll be in snazzy shoes for the conference. It’s possible I will have a cane.

Tired and out of time, I wish all agency websites would include cover images with their client lists (Thank you, Bradford Agency). Yes, this is me being lazy, but I just spent twenty minutes clicking through a list of authors I’d never heard of, that did not have their genre listed, only to find out they were all inspirational. Just to make sure I wasn’t an idiot, I double checked all the “About Us” blurbs and found nothing specifying that they only did Christian. It’s not that my books are anti-Christian, but there’s a whole lot of sex so…. Yeah.

Okay, back to the grind. Let’s see what Cori Deyoe at 3 Seas (I’m sure I’ve queried them in the past - does this mean I shouldn't meet them face to face?) represents.