I recently sent and enquiry to an agent asking if there was a place in the market for the subject matter I'm currently playing with. I've only written two chapters, which I explained, but I received a letter this morning asking for the full script.

Whoops.
What's worse is that I'm dumping the whole first chapter for a full rewrite.

Colin

Oh dear Colin.

The way I see it, you have two choices.

1) You can spend the next month or so in a frenzy of writing, foregoing food or sleep until your masterpeice is finsihed, and you emerge, Amadeus style, from your chamber.

2) Relax. Spin it out. Remember this is really good news, and if a publisher is interested in it, that interest isn't likely to wane over a few months. Explain you need to edit or something, and then get on it. Or even be honest, and explain you only have a rough draft (well, there's honest and honest).

At least you know you have a bite before you even begin, which is more than most of us lackeys get. I sent my novel to an agent recently, who praised it highly but rejected it on the grounds that the story theme isn't 'epic' enough.

The story is about the end of all existence, Armageddon. Go figure.

JB

Mate, I haven't even got a synopsis worked out. I've got three characters, who I think are quite interesting, and that's it. They haven't even done anything yet.

Maybe I'm the new Douglass Adams. I'm expecting the cheque next month and then a thousand letters demanding a novel.

It must be infuriating for those who've spend five years polishing the perfect novel and can't get anyone to even look at it.

Mad mad mad.

Well done, Colin! Wonderful news!! I'd be honest with the agent, if I were you and let him/her know when you're likely to finish it. Good luck!

LoL

A
xxx

Holly's right Colin. Otherwise you risk him/her getting a bit annoyed with you. However, they may get slightly annoyed that you're pimping an unwritten book, which may or may not be any good (from an agent's point of view that is - I'm sure you're a fine writer).

Really, you've been a bit hasty haven't you? Cart and horse and all that, but you know, with that kind of response, I'd just sit down, forget about daily life, and write the damn thing!

JB

Colin,

I sympathise as I made the same mistake two years ago. I was so excited about finally coming up with a whole novel's worth of ideas, and a few chapters, that I hurried them off to a 'top agency' and got a letter back requesting the whole thing. I was mortified. I don't know what I was thinking - I thought they wouldn't even look at it for 6 months or so, and that in that time I'd make good headway. So I panicked, and wrote an honest letter... And then I got pregnant, freaked out and forgot about the novel, and it's only in the last few months that I've picked it up again. What a fool. Still, I'm plodding on. I'm hoping to finish this year but with paid work to do and full-time mothering it's going to be difficult... I'm gutted about the agent because I really like the sound of her (ie. she gets good advances and isn't to be messed with). Learned my lesson.

My only advice would be: don't get pregnant and put off writing the novel. Get on with it. And write a clever letter.

Sympathetically,

Myrtle

Good luck with that Myrtle. Being in full time work myself, I know how hard it is to find the time to write. God only knows what it's like with a nipper involved!

Still, in a positive way, this shows you your original idea has legs, and that must be very encouraging. You can always re-contact the agent and remind her of her earlier interest.

I wish both of you every success.

JB

The thing is, I didn't make a submission. I've had a lot to do in the past with this agent so I simply wrote her a letter asking if there was a place in the market for this style and said, quite clearly in the first paragraph that this is real early days. All I was hoping for a word of encouragement, so in one respect I got an answer to my question, in another, it could be that the letter wasn't really read and they just assumed it was a submission.

Myrtle, I hope your agent will still be interested. If she liked the idea of it back then, then she probably still will. I am tempted to advise a phone-call, but that's probably bad advice, because there's no way I would phone my agent. I'm quite sure the accent would put her off.

Colin

And what accent would that be Colin?

JB

Geordie: whey-aye man!! Divvent give us nay mer hassle aboot me manuscript will ya, pet?

Hmmm, maybe not then eh?

Best send her a text message.

(insert winking emoticon - I have no idea how to do that)

grrrrrr

An accent is an accent. I doubt she'd be put off in reality. Anthony on BB is proof enough that the geordie can actually be a rather popular creature.

The winking symbol is achieved by pressing lightly on the ; followed by a ).

JB

Anthony's a star. He is so amazingly tolerant. I don't think it matters a jot that Craig is a bloke, but having that amount of nagging all day long from someone who is so obsessed about you must be intollerable.

Personally, I'm gutted. I put twenty quid on Craig to win in week 2. I would never have thought Anthony would go this far.

Mind you, Johnny, the Geordie fireman from BB4 was great.