Seeking a literary agent
The time has come, the walrus said. My main beta reader met with me tonight and gave me my manuscript back, duly notated and with suggestions for tightening up certain parts of the story, expanding other parts, including a glossary and a “cast of characters”.
This is the thickness – A4 pages, 1.5 spaced, duplexed.
Overall the feedback was positive. This is a reader who is a qualified librarian with a master’s degree in information management. In other words, eminently qualified to be a beta reader! My sister also keeps telling me she has feedback, but apart from her verbal advice that I have not mentioned all four children by name in the book, I have yet to see her hard copy notes! 
Notations
I have warned the family that from this weekend we are back to my Sunday morning working!
I am SO SO grateful to my beta reader for her feedback. I trusted her to be honest and I believe she has been. She believes my book should be published. “Most Australians have no idea of the reality”, was one comment she made tonight.
As I expected, she gave me warnings about copyright where I have quoted websites and warned of the possibility of libel.
All the members of our support team have given their permission to be mentioned by name, provided they have the opportunity to review the manuscript. I will, I believe, have to give the “opposition” a right of review too. Am I likely to end up in a legal battle for years before I can publish? This we are yet to know, but this is where the challenge may come for a literary agent.
English: Angelina Jolie at the Cannes film festival. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I gather from reading various writings by writers and agents that unique is seen as a challenge in the traditional publishing industry so I may be considered a little too “out there” for the New York publishing houses! 
I have titled this article “seeking a literary agent”. I decided today I have this web site about our journey, about writing the memoir – what better place to say, “Hey, publishing industry, do you dare take on this manuscript?”
Still think our love story would make a damn good movie! I just need Angelina Jolie to agree to play me!
We have the same coloured eyes and I can wield a weapon as well as she can!
Note to literary agents who may stop by: the excerpts published here (category/menu “The Book”) are raw, first run excerpts. Now the polishing begins.
Trackbacks & Pingbacks
- Big Publishing House, Small Publishing House… Red Fish, Blue Fish. What the Heck do you do????? | Jennifer M Eaton
- List of Five-Star Agent Blogs and Other Valuable Agent/Query/Writing Resources « Never Give Up by Joan Y. Edwards
- Five-Star Agent Blogs and Other Valuable Agent/Query/Writing Resources « Never Give Up by Joan Y. Edwards
as long as a jolie gets a lead role .. howareya team, those boys bodysurfing yet?
We are fine, Pete, just seem to be SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO busy all the time at the moment. Hopefully “life” will settle down soon. A little anyway.
No, bit cold down our way for body surfing, but I thought of you when I was in Costco last weekend – they had those little boards on speacial – what to you call them? Thought I might grab a couple for summer!
Look for an agent in the Uk.. they LOVE this sort of thing !
Thanks for the tip! I will certainly try that!
Best of luck with your Sunday morning writing and editing and deleting and polishing and firming up and toning and . . .
Oh, wait, save the last two verbs for morning in the gym.
Good luck with the next stage!
Thank you Gilly. This will be a tough stage, I think. Deciding what to cut and what to add…..
Best of luck in finding an agent Robyn, you´ve been brave and gutsy, you deserve some recognition for your efforts!
Sami, I don’t see it as recognition for me: more trying to help people see a lot of the coverage we read in the media is far from the truth. Asylum seekers, refugees and partner/spouse visa applicants all get demonized by some and we illustrate on a very personal level the reality of the stress and pain.
Thanks for the good wishes!
Yeah! Good luck with the re-editing and finding a publisher, someone will bite!
They need guts to bite. Does anyone actually have guts these days? THAT is the question!
Thanks for the support Jen!! Appreciate it very much.
Wahoooooooooo!!!!!! Congrats team O! Wish You Massive Success!
Thank you Mel! I wish you every success in the world too. I consider you much more of an author than I am, so you should make it more than me!
Let’s see if there is a literary agent up to take on the challenge of a book about fighting the government!
There has to be a gutsy literary agent out there just waiting for this challenge!
I don’t know. People like “safe” these days. Let’s face it, this is not a “safe” proposition. Or is it? What is safer than murder, romance, politics, love, sex, travel all in one tome?
OK, I’ve been a little lite on the sex! I’ll expand for the screenplay, I promise!