Susan, yup. What Betsy said, especially the bit about "I get a zillion Regencies a year, etc."

Who else are you submitting to? Want a shortlist of agents, just to see what they're after?

I've already got a shortlist of agents--I took the list of agents who are affiliate members of Romance Writers of America, and crossreferenced it against Writer's Market listings. I'm going to send it preferentially to those agents who let you send a partial instead of just a query letter, because I think my strengths, especially in Lucy, are style and characterization rather than plot. If none of those work out, I'll go to the ones who make you start with just a query letter.

I'm going to submit again as soon as I finish this pacing edit, and the rewrite I'm planning for the opening section. Goal is to get it out by the end of February.

Sorry to break in. X-Post from Firefly...

The editor of the local paper tracked me down via local academia*. She wants an article on the fan effect on TV-On-DVD, and the effect this revenue stream might have on the creative effort. I've read the Cassutt piece. I'm not sure how a background in chemical engineering helps me, here, but I'm thinking of assailing the piece.

In pursuit of this, I'm soliciting the best numbers available for budgets of shows (google helps not). Also, any anecdote of how fans have influenced the production of series DVDs, and how series DVDs might have influenced the production of … anything, in any medium, would be handy. (Profile addy good.)

• She was looking for an "adult fan" of a TV show. My name came up, pretty quickly.

Thanks (Again, for the interuption, sorry.)

edit: spelling. Gawd, I'm doomed.

Don't forget, you may not have had your story read by the head person. Often 'newbies' get read by a 'first reader'.

Takes a while. Don't give up.

Gus, don't forget the Buffistas who raised money to buy Firefly DVDs for the armed forces.

(yeh, I know that didn't lead to getting them made, but still....)

Gus, if you want to talk about the Farscape campaign, and the (utterly vital) importance of DVDs there, I'm around. Also, of the Buffistas, Mickie and Buggs are excellent sources for Farscape stuff. You can usually find them in the Boxed Set thread.

Anyway, if you want me, in about 2 hours (late for you, I know), I'll be on IM as grendelbabe.

Gah! The Boxed Set thread! What could be more obvious? I am so completely fucking doomed. Thanks, 'Suela.

sfmarty: That one, I got. I made myself so malodorous among that crowd that the subject is seared into my memory. ;)

Some astute observations from Teresa Nielsen-Hayden about slushpiles and rejection. Susan W., pay particular attention, because I think the issues she talks about tend to substantiate that your MS is getting serious professional consideration of the "almost buy" variety.

[link]

Thanks, Theodosia--I've bookmarked that for future reference and to take to my writers group.

And, yeah, it does sound like I'm making it into that top 1-5% with almost everyone who sees my manuscript. Which is not bad at all for a first novel, especially given that now that I'm looking at it after several months away, I can tell I submitted it before it was really ready. The story doesn't really pick up until Chapter Three, for example. And I knew that, and knew it was a strike against me, but I couldn't think of a way around it that would still get in all the backstory I need. Until now, after it's already been seen and rejected by three people. Now it's obvious--open with a dramatic incident currently in Ch. 3, flashback, flashback, a few dialogue explanations, and Bob's your uncle. Oops. From now on I'm going to do that thing all the books suggest where you set the manuscript aside for a month or two and give it one more edit before you submit. And I knew I should do that too, but I was afraid the contacts I'd made in early fall would go stale. Oh well.

That's a fascinating article.