Hello!
My name is Jimmy Hollis i Dickson. (That’s “file under Hollis”: Dickson was my mother’s maiden name. I have adopted the Catalan custom of honouring both parents. [“i” is Catalan for “and”.] Though – to tell the truth – I don’t care which name I’m filed under… as long as my books make it onto the shelves.)
CV: I am a confused and confusing person. The only agnostic child (out of 9) of missionaries, I feel that I’m closer to Jesus’ teachings than most of my siblings. (Of course, they’d disagree.) My nationality is U.S. American, but I was born in Macau, then a Portuguese colony (later a Portuguese territory, now – along with Hong Kong – enclosed in a “special economic zone” within China), and I’ve spent less than 4 years (spread over 6 visits) out of my 61 in America. From the age of 18, I’ve been “European”.
I’ve lost almost all of my mother tongue (Cantonese) – for which I could kick myself – and speak 4 languages fluently enough for [some] natives to ask (after half an hour of conversation) “You’re not from here, are you?” In addition to French, the one I spent 6 years studying in formal education, and smatterings of Portuguese and Italian.
From the age of 13, I wanted to be a teacher (Maths at secondary school, later all-round for 3-to-6-year-olds), but after 1 year of [an excellent] teacher training college [where I was doing really well] I dropped out because I DIDN’T want to be a policeman to little children.
When asked my profession, I answer “writer and publisher of books for children” though I have never made a living out of either and have lost over 400€ as the latter.
I have earned my living as kitchen drudge, factory and warehouse worker, childminder, general labourer, carpenter, EFL teacher (both private classes and for a language school), and translator/proof-reader of translations, among other things.
It would be hyperbole to say that I would do most jobs in order to finance my writing and publishing ventures. But “make me an offer and I’ll consider it”.
Ssoooooooooooooooooo…
Just why am I writing to you? Again: confusing.
Children are the most important aspect of my life, books are a life-long passion, and providing GOOD books for children is my life’s ambition. (That’s 3x “life” in one sentence, but I hope that you’ll forgive that.)
a) I have read your profile on your web-site and that gives me a degree of hope. I am aware that many agents would have binned this e-mail by now… but then I’m looking for a “different” agent. One who – like me – is willing to take a chance on unknowns for the sheer love of literature.
b) I am looking for representation as a writer, translator (preferably of children’s books, but I’ll tackle pretty much anything – aside from religious tracts and high finance), and/or proof-reader/copy editorº. You can see a précis of the book (for 3-8s: “Not Now, Daddy!”) that I’m currently most interested in “pushing” at http://la-granota.com/list.htm and the full book (minus “How This Book Was Born”, a page of 16 thumb-nail “the making of” photos, and the author’s photo) at http://jimmsfairytales.com/olivia.htm * (http://jimmsfairytales.com offers an offering of my writing for older children.) I could send you a full pdf if you’re interested.
As a writer for children, my aim is to be… confusing. I want to challenge stereotypes and encourage children to think. I often turn roles and/or situations on their heads. A thread that seems to run through ALL of it is “There is ALWAYS another POV… and The Other has a right to their own opinions and values.” (For adults, I’ve written a “song cycle” around the death of Rachel Corrie, a young American volunteer in Gaza. Each of the 13 poems comes with the “voice” of a different person. See http://jimmsfairytales.com/shelives.htm )
c) I am also hoping that you might steer new writers and/or illustrators in the direction of our “publishing hut”. As I have intimated, “We’re not in this for the money”. (A minimum of 25% of the profits of each book go to worthy causes – to be decided in consultation with writer and/or illustrator.)
Having lived the experience of an unknown writer trying to get a foot in the door, I hope to provide a springboard for first-timers to reach greater heights. I know that many publishers turn down mss that are good… but not commercial. That is not an issue with La Gr@not@. But quality and ethics are – very much so. See http://la-granota.com/crazy.htm for an idea of what we’re looking for. A very important aspect of La Gr@not@ is that contracts are not binding on creators. Once a writer/illustrator finds a better, more lucrative offer, they are free to walk away… with our blessings and best wishes.
º Having lived in several different cultures, I am aware of nuances in languages that many stay-at-home translators would miss. As a pedant, poor translations bother me. Again as a pedant, I have noticed “bloopers” in many published books, including best-sellers (e.g. mistakes in dates in The Time Traveler’s Wife). That “Traveler” is underlined in red on my computer, which reminds me to mention that I also have experience with spelling/cultural/vocabulary differences between U.S. and U.K. English.
Hoping for good things,
Jimmy
La Gr@not@
p.s. Final pedantic point: I would LIKE to begin letters with “Dear _____,”. But – until we become dear to each other – it’s “Hello!” (In German, the standard is “Very honoured _____”: “Honoured ______” is just not good enough!)
As you asked so nicely, Jimmy, here's my five penn'orth.
I'm not an agent. I can't speak for all agents. All I can say is that, from what I understand of that august body of consummate professionals, they would give up at the first paragraph. Or the second. Or certainly the third.
An agent needs to know from the start what exactly it is you're asking or offering. Their time is more expensive than anyone could possibly imagine (especially a non-agent, and even more especially a mere writer), and they really won't go through this introductory section.
They don't need to know what you did at 13. They don't need to know about the missionaries. They can come to that later. What they do need to know is wast you want from them. Never mention Jesus in a letter like this, unless the word comes in the title or the content of your book.
'Just why am I writing to you? Again: confusing.' - this is not the right answer! The poor dears don't want to be confused if they've actually got this far - they want facts.
I have read recently, though don't ask me where because I can't remember, that no agent is going to click on a link in order to find out more. If you want them to have the information, you need to show it clearly. For one thing, in these dodgy times, what's to say that's not a link to somewhere they really don't want to go?
A précis of the book should be included with the letter. Here, it looks like an afterthought: you want representation as 'a writer, translator (preferably of children’s books, but I’ll tackle pretty much anything – aside from religious tracts and high finance), and/or proof-reader/copy editor' - oh, and by the way, if you want to look at my actual work, here's the link. Not good.
'I could send you a full pdf if you’re interested.' - could? You should be prepared to courier the whole thing round at midnight by a man in a dark helmet on a fast motorbike if the agent expresses interest!
You then ask them to send writers in your direction. Frankly, an agent would tear this up. There's too much going on in one letter, and no agent is going to send authors to an unknown publisher. You have to become a known publisher first.
' I am also hoping that you might steer new writers and/or illustrators in the direction of our “publishing hut”. As I have intimated, “We’re not in this for the money”. (A minimum of 25% of the profits of each book go to worthy causes – to be decided in consultation with writer and/or illustrator.)' - none of this tells the agent anything about your backlist, or your publishing brand, or your ability to produce good quality books. Agents aren't interested in your good causes - they are in it for the books, and their own profit margin (and not necessarily in that order).
You put a lot of your personality into this, Jimmy; but an agent is looking for the work first. If they like that, and you get a dialogue going (to use a horrid phrase), then your personality will shine through. It's not you they'd be selling - it's your work. Where is that work? It's not here - it's discoverable through a link that they may or may not bother to open.
So, to recap: you're asking for too many things in one approach. You want representation as a writer but also as a publisher and translator, proof reader and copy editor. No agent is going to bother with all that. (You may like to cut out the ellipses, if you really want to convince someone about your editing skills.)
You put too much chat first, before saying, in a roundabout way, what you actually want to happen as a result of this letter. While it's a good thing to write a letter that's out of the ordinary, it's no good if it doesn't grab the intended reader from the word go.
And finally, they may well ask, if they get that far, why you want an agent at all if you run a publishing venture of your own. Is this really just an advertisement for that? 'Having lived the experience of an unknown writer trying to get a foot in the door, I hope to provide a springboard for first-timers to reach greater heights.' Yet here you are asking someone else to help you with your own work.
It's all too long, too vague, and too diverse to do what you want it to do. Think snowball, not avalanche.
Lorraine