Today is the first in a series of posts by a San-Diego-based writer named Thomas Shess, whose freelance work has appeared in local, regional and national magazines. His most frequent assignment was a monthly "house of the month feature" for San Diego Magazine. He also edits the San Diego Magazine's award winning Home Design Quarterly feature and is also the current Best of Show winner in architectural and design reporting via the San Diego Press Club. As Tom says, though, "That doesn't mean squat! I have just completed a novel. An entirely different area code of writing! I've decided to keep a journal on my journey to find a publisher for my mystery (same genre as the popular flick Chinatown )."

WEEK ONE/Monday, June 27, 2005

Intro. Sunny Monday in San Diego, if I was smart by now I'd be on the dreaded 4th hole at Balboa Park golf course, about a mile away, but instead I'm working (day one) on marketing my recently completed 2nd to last draft of my 1st novel. I started this journal to keep a record of my journey toward finding a publisher and/or literary agent. It is meant to be reminder of what decisions worked and where I need to improve my self-marketing approach. Learning is the by-product of chasing the goal. If my goal isn't met then I can reflect on the journey because of all that I have learned. All you need to know about me is I'm a rookie novelist: nothing more and nothing less.

What I've learned going in: I have targeted a mid-August 100% completion date. By then, I will have local plot doctor results incorporated into the work, plus the grammar editor's input on non-dialog sentences. At this point, I am happy with the story and its ending. But I need to trim the mss. from its present 100k to 85k.

As a beginning fiction writer, I'm beyond the phase where I refuse to cut anything because it is art. Early-on I was locked in the grips of self-denial: how can I toss away such brilliance? Answer is easy. I haven't sold a dime's worth of fiction so who is to judge what is brilliant? Anyway, the past six weeks have been a real revelation. After a painful self-analytical roto-rooter job, I realized not every word or phrase or scene I wrote was gold bullion. Now, I can slash stuff that's not foreshadowing or anything resembling the plotline.

My problem is to find consistent time to spend on the novel without cutting into my day job as a freelance magazine writer. Of course, now that I'm ready to work on mss. marketing my non-fiction work is presently soaring.

Novel approach. I've cut out a chunk of time before 9 am and in the late evening to work on the book. My main competition for time to write is my always cheerful spouse, who provides a litany of the usual distractions, such as popping in a really cool film from Netflicks. This summer I've turned one distraction into something positive for my writing (and health). I've set up my stationary exercise bike near the plasma TV and during the movie or a ballgame I can do seven miles (20 minutes) while staring at the tube. Also, watching a movie I force myself to stop being entertained and focus on plot line and dialogue. Ok, I'm not writing, but with exercise I feel better and my creativity is booming. The everyday exercise is giving me energy to get up earlier and stay up later to work on the novel revisions without my chin hitting the space bar.

Day One: I began my search to find an agent and a publisher on a Monday. The first communication was an email to Eileen Zimmerman, the book editor at San Diego Magazine. SD Mag is my largest freelance account. They buy 30 articles per year from me. I never met Eileen, however, so I dodged a phone call in favor of an e-mail and asked her the burning question: How can I find a publisher or an agent?
She got back to me quickly and was very gracious. She said San Diego has two excellent literary agents in Margret McBride and Sandra Dijkstra. I put them on my blank sheet of literary contacts. She didn't know any agents on a professional level or have any publisher's contacts. But she did give me a tip that my gut tells me I may be on to something.
Ms. Zimmerman said she is a member of Media Bistro, an online writer's service that has been very helpful for her to get more freelance writing work.
A phone call interrupts this day. I have to run to the magazine to check galley proofs of my recent articles. Tomorrow I check into Media Bistro.

Day Two: I google (the verb) mediabistro. Check out the site and it comes off like an excellent online press club. I immediately try to weasel out as much free info as I can, especially the feature on the Larry Weissman Literary Agency. Of course, like a peep show, they only offer the lede paragraph before cutting me off.

I remember Eileen Zimmerman saying it was the best site of its kind. Eileen knows her stuff. Plus, the phrase time is money seeps into my consciousness. I pull out my Southwest Airlines Visa card and pay the $50 membership fee. Immediately I click on the literary agent data. Cul de sac: I also have a copy of Jeff Herman's Guide to Book Publishers, Editors & Literary Agents. What I've done is cross reference what mediabistro's article and Jeff Herman have said about the agent. If MB & Jeff have an agent listed then it's my gut feel that the agency is top notch. So for under $100 I have agency quality control assurance-maybe.

I scan MB and Jeff Herman for agency's that accept email queries. I pick two. I spend the rest of the century fine tuning what to say on my email query.

Day Three. I finally finished two one page queries. One in hard copy letter form and the other for e-mail queries. I send off two email queries. Proud of myself, I repair to my kitchen to make a homemade cappuccino (if I look over the neighbors garage I can see trees from the San Diego Zoo and on those real still nights when the doors and windows are open you can hear feeding time at the Zoo). Little did I know that as I was grinding the coffee beans I had my first email reply from a literary agent.

Back at the computer I notice two messages. One from the Media Bistro and the other from the Gettysburg Address of Literary Agents saying "DON'T DO FICTION. GOOD LUCK."

OK, I knew the agency didn't do fiction. But my reason for sending my query was my work would so overwhelm them that they would accept my Mss. and I'd be the only fiction account in the house. Now that would be attention. At this point I amend what I said earlier about myself: not only am I a rookie unpublished novelist but I'm really, really stupid.

So I turn my attention to the email from Laurel thanking me for my membership at Media Bistro. Moved by a simple thank you from her I immediately dashed off a reply saying San Diego Magazine was sold yesterday do you want the scoop.

Of course she did. I sent her the info.

Day Four. Today, my day job consumed my attention. But I did see the San Diego Magazine item in mediabistro's "Feedback" section. While I had the boss's attention I emailed Laurel suggesting she take a look at my rookie (and now stupid) novelist journal as a possible blog column. She sent me back an answer before I finished frothing my cappuccino.

She sent my idea to Claire Zulkey, Editor, MBToolbox.
Claire asked to see a sample and by the end of the day mediabistro said:

"Yes, this is excellent, Tom. You're a very clear, incisive writer (your
novel must be great!) and I think this will be very well-received on
mediabistro.com. We will promote it heavily if you do this as a series.
Not too long at all. Keep sending!"

--Laurel Touby, founder & cyberhostess.

Day Five. Dashed off my first column to Media Bistro and received an email from literary agent Larry Weissman, who responded to the second query I ever sent:

"Dear Thomas,
Thanks for your query. Just a brief note to let you know I'm on
vacation and will be returning in mid-July,
when I'll respond more
fully.

Best,

Larry."

[Preview of next week: Who says an unpublished novelist can't take out an ad in the New York Times?}

* ...because it's a jungle out there.