The Lampoonist's Lexicon

jpbarash

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Hello,

I've written a Biercean-type devil's dictionary but mine is quite different primarily in that I have people, both historical and imagined, for entries as vehicles to satirize politics, religion, sex, academia, etc. However, there are also footnotes and editor's notes (i.e., me commenting on my own work). A lot of parody and wordplay. Probable drawback is that it's on the "intellectual" side, not in comprehension but in references to ideas and people that are not "popular." (My background is US and European intellectual history but have been a copy editor and proofreader for twenty-five years and currently a proofreader for Penguin.) Possible upside might be in combining both high and low culture, e.g. entry for the letter w manages to combine Elmer Fudd and Vassily Denisov (character in War and Peace), since both have the same speech impediment (rhotacism). Not having any luck finding an agent and wondering if some other approach might be worth exploring or if you know an agent or even a publisher who might be interested in this kind of thing.

Thanks for your time.

Jeff Barash
 

jpbarash

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Hello Stacia,

Thanks for your reply. I think I used AgentQuery before but will try again.

The work probably falls under Humor/Satire.

Regards,

Jeff
 

quicklime

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Hello,

I've written a Biercean-type devil's dictionary but mine is quite different primarily in that I have people, both historical and imagined, for entries as vehicles to satirize politics, religion, sex, academia, etc. However, there are also footnotes and editor's notes (i.e., me commenting on my own work). A lot of parody and wordplay. Probable drawback is that it's on the "intellectual" side, not in comprehension but in references to ideas and people that are not "popular." (My background is US and European intellectual history but have been a copy editor and proofreader for twenty-five years and currently a proofreader for Penguin.) Possible upside might be in combining both high and low culture, e.g. entry for the letter w manages to combine Elmer Fudd and Vassily Denisov (character in War and Peace), since both have the same speech impediment (rhotacism). Not having any luck finding an agent and wondering if some other approach might be worth exploring or if you know an agent or even a publisher who might be interested in this kind of thing.

Thanks for your time.

Jeff Barash


jeff,

impressions count for a lot, especially since you don't get to issue a rebuttal to a form rejection. Little things throughout, but especially the stuff i bolded, just left a bad taste in my mouth. Could that be permeating your query and making an agent think you think rather highly of yourself?

Honest questions, because like I said, if they do come to such a decision, you won't get a letter saying "Dear Sir, we have read your query and are somewhat afraid your personality may be exceedingly unpleasant; please confirm or deny." You'll just get a rejection. And reading that, my first thought was if I was an agent, nooooo way. I could well be a million miles from right, I'm not saying I'm not, but it might be something to consider, deeply, as you query.