The Next Circle of Hell

JoyMC · Jan 21, 2015

Congrats, GC!!

Fuchsia Groan said:
Joy, when is your opening night? That is so exciting!

Thanks, Fuchsia! It opens 2/20. I'm having the time of my life!

Calla Lily · Jan 21, 2015

Lots of pictures, please!

JoyMC · Jan 21, 2015

Calla Lily said:
Lots of pictures, please!

Of the play? Press and production photos still to come, but there's a whole album of rehearsal photos here.

Calla Lily · Jan 21, 2015

I was thinking "opening night cast party," but thanks for that link! It brings back so many memories of my theater days.

Bryan Methods · Jan 22, 2015

Looks like a fun production! I used to act a lot in university, but never had the pleasure of seeing something I wrote performed. An experience I hope I can have in the future

MandyHarbin · Jan 22, 2015

Hi, y'all! I've been playing catch up the last few weeks after my vacation (and I've gotten sick twice!). I do have some news but not of the deals kind... I signed with a different agent yesterday. It's a decision I've been battling for a few months but I think this new one will be more aligned with my career goals (she's one of the agents who offered me representation before and was the only one I really had to struggle with on the decision).

The split with my old agent was amicable (she works more on non-fic stuff anyway) and I already got the list of who we shopped to. Sent stuff to new agent and we are already formulating a game plan. What had been a decision I'd struggled with ended up being the best thing for me, I really think so. Feeling good about 2015.

Good Crazy · Jan 22, 2015

Thanks so much, JoyMC!

MandyHarbin said:
Hi, y'all! I've been playing catch up the last few weeks after my vacation (and I've gotten sick twice!). I do have some news but not of the deals kind... I signed with a different agent yesterday. It's a decision I've been battling for a few months but I think this new one will be more aligned with my career goals (she's one of the agents who offered me representation before and was the only one I really had to struggle with on the decision).

The split with my old agent was amicable (she works more on non-fic stuff anyway) and I already got the list of who we shopped to. Sent stuff to new agent and we are already formulating a game plan. What had been a decision I'd struggled with ended up being the best thing for me, I really think so. Feeling good about 2015.

Mandy, it sounds like on the one hand, it was a really difficult decision, but on the other, it couldn't have gone any better. Congratulations on making the move that is right for you, and on having the whole thing go so smoothly! Go, 2015!

Bryan Methods · Jan 22, 2015

Yowch! Got my first R from a major publishing house today. But it was nice and fast, and full of encouraging things, so I'm not disheartened. Far nicer than a form rejection from an agency, I have to say.

MandyHarbin said:
The split with my old agent was amicable (she works more on non-fic stuff anyway) and I already got the list of who we shopped to. Sent stuff to new agent and we are already formulating a game plan. What had been a decision I'd struggled with ended up being the best thing for me, I really think so. Feeling good about 2015.

Sounds like you made the right decision - you'd know by now if you made a mistake, and it obviously doesn't feel like you did. May 2015 be special!

Fuchsia Groan · Jan 22, 2015

Those are great pics, Joy! Looks intense.

Mandy, glad you made a switch that feels right to you! Sounds like good things could come from it.

Calla Lily · Jan 22, 2015

Mandy, sounds like the right move. Much good luck!

*hands Bryan a spezna*

Peggy Blair · Jan 25, 2015

Hey, Mandy -- it's not an easy decision to make (I know), but it definitely sounds like the right one. You'll look back on this someday and wish you'd done it sooner, is my thinking ... good luck! Or as we are starting to say in the writing biz, break a nib!

JoyMC · Jan 26, 2015

Okay guys, show of hands - tell me I'm not the only person whose thought about this NYC blizzard was, "Well, crap. How's that going to affect editors reading my MS???" :e2paperba

(You know, after I thought, Gosh, I hope everyone stays safe, of course!!)

Calla Lily · Jan 26, 2015

*raises hand*

100% guilty.

whiporee · Jan 26, 2015

So today my agent tells me she's switching agencies, going from her major agency to a smaller, more boutique one.

Not going with her never crossed my mind, but it is a little daunting that she's not going to be at the big place anymore.

But it's no big deal, right?

Right?

Right?

Bryan Methods · Jan 27, 2015

JoyMC said:
Okay guys, show of hands - tell me I'm not the only person whose thought about this NYC blizzard was, "Well, crap. How's that going to affect editors reading my MS???" (You know, after I thought, Gosh, I hope everyone stays safe, of course!!)

Hahaha, I hadn't thought of it, but now that you've mentioned it I totally am.

whiporee said:
So today my agent tells me she's switching agencies, going from her major agency to a smaller, more boutique one.

Not going with her never crossed my mind, but it is a little daunting that she's not going to be at the big place anymore.

But it's no big deal, right?

Right?

Right?

I can see that rattling you, but my view is that it's your agent you've been happy to work with, so as long as you still trust them to do the same job, it's no different! But the exact situation, of course, is something only you know.

Fuchsia Groan · Jan 27, 2015

whiporee said:
So today my agent tells me she's switching agencies, going from her major agency to a smaller, more boutique one.

Not going with her never crossed my mind, but it is a little daunting that she's not going to be at the big place anymore.

But it's no big deal, right?

Right?

Right?

I've only ever been with small agencies, so I don't know the extent of the differences. But maybe your agent can reassure you. Did she explain why she's making the switch and what will change for you, if anything?

On the positive side, she's still the same person with all the same contacts and relationships with editors. That's huge.

I gather that big agencies often have specialized people dealing with, say, film rights, so that's something to check on. Is she maintaining a connection to someone who can rep you in that capacity, should the need arise?

Good luck — I wouldn't worry too much!

JoyMC · Jan 27, 2015

Phew - glad I wasn't the only one!!

Whiporee, I wouldn't worry. Like the others said, she's still the same person with the same connections. I write MG/YA, but most of the big sellers I know are at smaller/boutique agencies (including mine). So unless she was a really junior agent at the big agency, w/o many of her own contacts, I don't think it really matters.

LadyLex · Jan 29, 2015

Hi! Hope everyone here is doing well.

I have a question? I'm wondering if anyone has sold a book on proposal? I have 2 books I want to work on under a different penname. I have a pub in mind and I'm wondering if it's even possible to sell a book on a proposal, before the book is finished.

Calla Lily · Jan 29, 2015

When my agent and I sold my mystery series to my new publisher, we sold 3 books on proposal.

Fuchsia Groan · Jan 29, 2015

I haven't actually done it, but I've heard of option clauses that allow for the possibility of selling your publisher a new book based on proposal plus chapters.

I don't know how it works if you're switching both series/subject matter and publisher, though. Have you talked with your agent about it?

LadyLex · Jan 29, 2015

Thanks or the input!!

Calla, that's good to know. When you submitted on proposal for the series, did you have chapters done for each of the books?

Fuchsia, I haven't talked to my agent yet. That's my next stop. I was just wondering about other experiences. And since this is a new book, in a different genre, I want to have it done before I submit but I was just wondering if it was even something that happened often. I do have another book to the series I've already sold, for the option. But I can't submit until I finish the first three books in the series. The strange part is the 4th book is over halfway done while I'm still trudging through the 3rd book.

Calla Lily · Jan 29, 2015

LadyLex, I had nothing. It was an hour-long phone call with the editor in which we discussed whether I could reboot the series to work with their style. In the end, I came up with a premise that they liked and that was that.

It helped that they knew my writing style and that I made it plain I was more than willing to write to spec.

LadyLex · Jan 29, 2015

That's awesome, Calla!

RRK · Jan 29, 2015

*sidles in*

So...I haven't signed my agent contract yet, but I'm going to do so shortly and I'm working on a round of revisions for my shiny new agent.

Can I join the fun here??

Calla Lily · Jan 29, 2015

Thanks.

It was also so stressful I thought my head would explode. :e2dance:

I H-A-T-E selling. This is one of the reasons I worked so hard to get an agent. But I also really really really wanted this series not to die.

So after the phone call, I went out and weeded my ginormous vegetable garden for more than an hour.

The Next Circle of Hell

JoyMC

Calla Lily

On hiatus

JoyMC

Calla Lily

On hiatus

Bryan Methods

MandyHarbin

Good Crazy

Frolicking on the edge of sanity

Bryan Methods

Fuchsia Groan

Becoming a laptop-human hybrid

Calla Lily

On hiatus

Peggy Blair

I like my snow hot.

JoyMC

Calla Lily

On hiatus

whiporee

Bryan Methods

Fuchsia Groan

Becoming a laptop-human hybrid

JoyMC

LadyLex

Calla Lily

On hiatus

Fuchsia Groan

Becoming a laptop-human hybrid

LadyLex

Calla Lily

On hiatus

LadyLex

RRK

I named the dog Indiana

Calla Lily

On hiatus