Today is the fourth in a series of posts by San-Diego-based writer named Thomas Shess who has decided to keep a journal on his journey to find a publisher for his novel.

WEEK FOUR

Networking. Last week Cathy Anderson, chief of the San Diego Film Commission reminded readers here that good old-fashioned networking-person to person-is important in getting any creative project in front of the right set of eyes. In my four-week search for a literary agent that point came across very clearly last week. I was not expecting valuable input when I emailed friends, colleagues and relatives suggesting that they take a look at mediabistro and the new on-line journal with my byline. Out of about 50 names on my friendship tree, I received memos back giving me a personal introduction to two agents and a book publisher in New York. Plus, many others shared insight and pats on the back. The point here is to go beyond your good friends for networking. Those good acquaintances are surprisingly valuable as well. The most encouraging note came from one friend, who e-mailed an introduction directly to a publishing source.

Lending Library. The aforementioned Cathy Anderson kindly loaned me the following books: (a) "Write the Perfect Book Proposal" by Jeff Herman and Deborah Levine Herman. Page 43 was an eye-opener on writing a first rate query package. (b). "Literary Agents/Revised and Expanded" by Michael Larsen. Both were published by John Wiley & Sons. (c). "2005 Writer's Market" [Writer's Digest Books]. I almost turned down the loan of Writer's Market because I had one at home (1994 version-how time flies). Anyway, on page 30 of WM there's a quick and effective primer on writing query letters. The big message I came away was something like if you want to be clever don't be clever.

I digress but is there anything more painful than reading a year old query letter? And just when I'm ready to give up on my novel, I recall Great-grandfather Adkisson going cross country on the family covered wagon. Gee what's a map? Gee, part 2 what's a road? Onward.

Redirection. When a kind agent asked to view 50 pages of my novel my initial thought was "piece of cake." But when it came to sending it, I froze at seeing my first two chapters. This past four weeks has been invigorating because I'm learning each day how to be a more succinct writer. I'm seeing my work with fresh eyes. Last week, a major revelation slapped me silly: I stared into the forest and noticed written on the trees was the fact my main plot and a sub plot were opening at the same time. How can a reader decide which is which? As the author it is my job (not the agent's or an editor's) to make the story work. I took a hard look at the subplot and realized it was novella all its own. I put the guillotine to the subplot and came away with a crisper opening. When I used the forest for the trees cliché my editor pal said while you're at it I think your protagonist is lost in the woods, too. Sigh.

Fine Tuning. Because I was asked by an agent to see my work, I did not send any queries out this week. In the meantime, I dove back into my 65,000 words to fine tune the novel one hour, one day at a time. If I spend an hour early in the morning I make the work stronger by pulling out those literary weeds. By doing so, I found a fragment of a sub plot I thought had long been discarded. And, I found my lost protagonist and rewrote him back into chapter one, paragraph one.

Good Day, Ray. I'm thinking of signing up for Publishers Marketplace thanks to a tip located on Ray Rhamey's website called FloggingtheQuill.com
Ray says his experience with Publishers Marketplace has been worth the $20 per month. He found an agent thanks to PM. Ray says, "...you gain access to a gem-studded database and tools to dig with." Go to Ray's website for a complete essay on how to use Publisher's Marketplace to find an agent. He says by using PM to hone his search technique he received positive responses from eight of the next ten agents he queried. Worth a try, eh?

Notes from my day job. One of my major freelance duties is to write articles for San Diego Magazine's home/style/architecture section. I'm also free to commission a few articles. Recently, I liked a publicist generated idea and worked with the PR type to produce an article that mentioned her client. A couple of days after the magazine hit the newsstands I received a steamed e-mail reporting that the press agent had just been in contact with her client and "what happened to the article that we had been working on? How come I didn't publish it?

I ignored the PR type and called the client directly. The client had been reading an other magazine entirely. Readers often mistake one city magazine for a home/garden magazine and I have no problem with that, however the press agent should have looked at the magazine first before moaning to me. If she had, the article would have smacked her retainer.

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