I've been checking out the Agents' lists mainly London. I'm just wondering if anyone can recommend an Agent, from experience?
I'm after one who doesn't require an experienced writer because I have my first and only book nearly completed. It's Narrative non-fiction. Thank you.
Stevie, having read your personal details, I'd say you almost certainly need an editor for your book. The part about having started the book 14 years ago, then shelving it for 15, then taking it up again for 3 simply doesn't make sense. You really do have to go through what you write with your most critical faculties switched to maximum volume, because otherwise you read what you think you wrote, not what's on the page.
This is clearly (and for obvious reasons) a hugely important project for you. You need to tell this story - your story, harrowing as it is; but you need to do it justice, too. If your point in writing it was just to get your past abuse down on paper, that's fine'; if you want other people to read it, it has to be well-written, grammatically correct, and well-organised. If, as you say, you rarely read, you will not necessarily have learnt the craft of putting words on paper in a saleable form.
What you've got is a first draft, not a final one. Writing 'The End' is only the end of the beginning of the process. It's like hewing a basic shape out of a piece of wood; you then have to sculpt and sand and polish before it takes on a recognisable finished form.
The chance of getting an agent for what is definitely a one-off book is small. Their business is to sell a book and an author to a publisher as a viable money-making product, and that means (to them) the probability of a follow-up book at least. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try to find one - you may be lucky; but you'll have more chance of hooking one if your work is as polished as it can be.
I wish you the very best of luck with your project, and hope it achieves what you want from it.
Lorraine
Hi, Stevie!
If you are writing an autobiography about your experiences as a child, i imagine that you can feel what it was like to be that child.
Do you think that you could write a book FOR children on the subject? Not heavy enough to give them nightmares, but giving advice/hope to victims and understanding to others. If you're at all interested, contact me.
Hi Stevie
Although your question was a common one, your reply to Adrian wasn't. "A writer who doesn't read books?" I thought; "How can this be?" So I read your profile. You're a courageous woman; I hope you achieve the catharsis you are seeking.
Writing, though, is both a craft and an art, and reading is a very important part of mastering the craft. You may be nurturing a significant book, one that we all need to read, but if you lack the technique to tell the story clearly few people will read it even if you self-publish.
Why not post an excerpt on your shared works page? - it's very easy to do. You'll almost certainly receive three or four helpful comments which will guide you as to how to make your book as good as possible.
You should understand that when you submit to an agent, you are competing against literally thousands of writers for a single shot at publication. It's ferociously competitive. So your offering needs to be as good as possible.
With very best wishes
Penny