Guide to Literary Agents - How Live Readings Can Help Your Writing
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Thursday, October 21, 2010
Posted by Chuck
I am working the streets of San Francisco. Nightly, I prowl around Haight-Ashbury
and North Beach, the Castro and Tenderloin, Fourth Street and Folsom. I ply my trade with men … as well as women, transgenders, at least one self-described Druid and the occasional mental patient. Oh, and writers, lots of wonderful, polished, professional, prolific, amateurish, awful and eager writers.
My trade is my novel: Finding Clarity: A Mom, a Dwarf and a Posh Private School in
the People’s Republic of Berkeley. And reading from it in a wide variety of venues to
a complex and varied audience is a ball. I am having the time of my life – and that’s without landing either an agent or a publisher yet.
Guest column by Laura Novak. Laura was a television news reporter before writing for The New York Times on business, health and the arts. She is working on the Clari Drake Mystery Series set in Berkeley. Laura lives in the Bay Area and you can find her work on Scribd.com or reach her on Twitter. She also writes the "Medicine & Manhood" column for The Good Men Project Magazine.
Two years ago I began transitioning from my career as a journalist by tapering off my work for The New York Times. I took my debut novel through several edits and began to explore the complicated road to publication. Social Media provided an opportunity to write for others and vastly expand my network of friends and colleagues.
THE VALUE OF AN OPEN MIC
In less than a year, I have become a top female author on Scribd.com, with 43,000 followers. As a result, the Scribd team invited me to read from Finding Clarity at this year’s Lit Quake festival in San Francisco.
I’d been a television news reporter back in the day. But to prepare for Lit Quake, I decided to scour San Francisco’s “open mic” scene. I figured if performance venues are good for struggling comics, they might just as well be a great idea for an author with a completed manuscript.
A simple Google search turned up a well-organized Bay Area open mic calendar,
which meant I had no excuse but to dive in. As with most things in life, the first
Guide to Literary Agents - How Live Readings Can Help Your Writing
3/14/11 9:38 AM
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night was the hardest. But at each reading I’ve made friends, broadened my author
connections and learned about the best places to read (the criteria being
microphone quality, lighting and available food.)
The words “Smack Dab,” “Melt,” “Brain Wash” and the “Sacred Grounds Café” now
roll off my tongue as if I’d been on the scene for decades. I’ve stood elbow to elbow
with scruffy young things and their guitars at the Hotel Utah and I bonded with a
working girl who gave me her undivided attention while I read from Chapter One in
the Tenderloin.
REVISION FROM READINGS
You don't have to wait for "something to happen" in order for things to be
happening with your novel. I am out there doing it, living it! And I'm broadening my
exposure for my manuscript. Each time I read, I explore my own text, emphasize
words differently and take chances on intonation and pacing. I’ve absorbed silence
and learned to pause when the belly laughs were so loud and long, even I had to
chuckle at my own writing.
I don’t know what will happen with Finding Clarity. All I know is that I love it and
love sharing it. And I am delighted that people sit quietly and give me the gift of
7 Things I've Learned So Far
their undivided attention when my five minutes on stage has begun.
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My novel is undergoing a final copy edit as I write this. But I am not on hold.
Finding Clarity doesn’t have to come to a bookstore near me for this journey to be
complete. I am living my life by reading my words weekly, in all sorts of glorious,
wild and crazy places. For me, this is what it is to be an author. And now I believe I
just heard the timer. You’ve been a great audience. Thank you so much!
Need to sharpen the beginning of your novel?
Check out the great resource Hooked, which is
all about writing an excellent Chapter 1.
Want more on this subject?
Want to pen a guest column? Write me at literaryagent@fwmedia.com
Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.
Read about What Agents Hate: Chapter 1 Pet Peeves.
Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2011
Guide to Literary Agents today!
Craft and Story Beginnings | Guest Columns
Thursday, October 21, 2010 9:35:19 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Guide to Literary Agents - How Live Readings Can Help Your Writing
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A literary agent shares secrets.
Agent Lori Perkins blogs and tells all
From the Ashley Grayson Literary Agency
Literary agent Andy Ross in Oakland runs an agency blog.
Agent Barbara Doyen shares her knowledge.
A blog from the whole agency.
Agents from Bookends Literary blog
Agent Brenda Bowen's "Bunny Eat Bunny" kids writing blog.
Cameron, with the Donald Maass Lit Agency, runs her "Book Cannibal" blog.
The official CJLA blog
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Guide to Literary Agents - How Live Readings Can Help Your Writing
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See where Chuck will be presenting and |
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when! |
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new agent at FinePrint Literary blogs |
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David Hale Smith's "Literary Show and Tell" blog. |
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literary agent talks publishing |
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An agent from JABberwocky Literary blogs. |
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blog from the whole agency. |
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Buy Guide to Literary Agents and a bunch |
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other great WD Books. |
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blog from the whole agency. |
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All the agents chime in on this new blog |
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An agency blog. |
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Agents from Full Circle Literary in California blog |
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Agent Jamie Brenner of Artists & Artisans blogs. |
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Agent Sarah Davies shares her thoughts and wisdom |
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blog from the whole agency. |
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Agent Janet Reid of FinePrint Literary gives her two cents on anything and |
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everything |
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An agent with the Donald Maass Literary Agency blogs |
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From the founder of The Bent Agency. |
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kids agent at the Herman Agency blogs. |
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JABberwocky Literary Agency |
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Kathleen with Lowenstein Associates |
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Agent Kelly Mortimer's "Perils of Publishing" blog. |
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The president of AEI, a script and literary management co., blogs. |
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blog by kids agent Mary Kole of the |
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Andrea Brown Literary Agency |
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blog from the whole agency. |
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Exactly what it sounds like |
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The "Agent Savant" blog |
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An agent at the L. Perkins Agency blogs |
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blog on "Authorial, Agently and |
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Personal Ramblings." |
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Guide to Literary Agents - How Live Readings Can Help Your Writing
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Agent Jonathan Lyons blogs |
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This new WD blog features Kate Monahan and all things about getting an MFA |
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Agent Michael Larsen of Larsen-Pomada Literary Agents blogs about publishing and nonfiction writing. |
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No longer active, but this blog by anonymous agent Miss Snark still has oodles of priceless info in its archives |
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popular blog from an agent at Curtis |
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Brown in San Francisco |
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An agent with the Knight Agency blogs |
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poetry blog from the editor of Writer's |
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Market |
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WD's own blog of writing prompts, run by magazine staffer Zac Petit |
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Kristin Nelson's Agent Blog |
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Janet Reid's blog where she dissects query letters |
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WD staffer Brian A. Klems answers questions of all kinds |
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blog by an agent who specializes in |
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Christian Writing |
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Dorchester editor Leah Hultenschmidt blogs romance. |
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An agent from Harvey Klinger blogs. |
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The great Greyhaus agent blogs away. |
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WD scriptwriting blog from Chad |
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Gervich, TV producer |
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Christian agent and former editor talks |
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the biz. |
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new assistant agent at FinePrint Literary |
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blogs. |
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An agent with Hartline Literary blogs. |
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"The Writing Life," as told by a former editor and agent. |
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blog dedicated to juvenile writing (YA, |
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middle grade, picture books) run by an |
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editor at CBAY Books and Blooming Tree |
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Press |
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The agency blog. |
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Hollywood Executive Talks About |
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Screenwriting |
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few new literary agents share advice. |
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WD contributor Nancy Parish talks writing. |
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Jane Friedman of Writer's Digest Books, |
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Guide to Literary Agents - How Live Readings Can Help Your Writing
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talks about publishing trends and has interviews online |
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An agent from Curtis Brown, Ltd. blogs |
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blog from the whole agency at Upstart |
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Crow Literary. |
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blog from the whole agency. |
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Multiple agents blog. |
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site dedicated to protecting writers |
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from scams of all kinds - including unscrupulous agents |
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Primarily devoted to genre fiction, this site features plenty of interviews with industry pros |
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This big hub has tons of online articles from past issues of WD. Check out the revamped new site! |
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Online writing courses are taught by WD staffers and contributors |
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This pay site is our online database of listings (magazines, book publishers, agents, and everything else). It has more than 6,000 listings. |
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huge writing website and resource |
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writers should check out. |
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Agent Andrew Zack blogs. |
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Admin Sign-in |
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Guide to Literary Agents - How Live Readings Can Help Your Writing
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