Links and questions and all sorts of things

[megwrites]

agentturnaround.

Useful because it has listed most of the agents I've been reasearching and it also lead me to cross one off of my list, because she apparently has a wretched track record of even getting back to writers, much less getting back to them in a timely fashion.

Also, matociquala has asked about font preferences among agents, editors, etc.

So far Courier and Times New Roman seem to be heavy favorites. No surprise there. My question is this though: some have said that they love Courier and some said they loved Times New Roman.

How important is it that a writer have the font the agent/editor prefers? I mean, if you've got a manscript in Times New Roman when an agent likes Courier better, is that a fatal flaw? Especially if said agent has not at all expressed a preference that you can tell?

There's part of me that says: "Well, if the words on the page are awesome enough, unless your manuscript is in Wingdings or something outrageous, it won't matter THAT much."

Another part of me says, "You know, font might be the difference between an agent skimming your work and throwing it away because they're tired and grumpy and their eyes hurt anyway and an agent taking a closer look and thus getting to the salty goodness that is your novel."

Sometimes I really hate this, you know. Not that I wasn't already freaked enough about the 10000000 little details that I need to have exactly right when I ship this baby off (after I rewrite it again for the third #&!@-ing time). Now I'm going to have anxiety attacks about *font*.

Because the more I read, the more I find out, the more I feel like getting published is like shooting an arrow in New York and hitting a bullseye in China. Blindfolded. Behind your back. With somebody constantly moving the bullseye. On a windy day.

But *then* I go look at people who are published. I read absolute crap on the shelves of bookstores and I think, "Oh, for crimney's sake. How the in the good godfearing motherloving hell did this get published? Who is running this show? Are we being culturally driven by monkeys with keyboards? Is that it? Are there monkeys? Should I be offering sacrifices to the great and powerful monkey *god*? Why didn't anyone tell me about the monkey god?!?!?!?!"

Okaaaaaaay. So, I'm gonna go back to writing. Toodles.

Comments

[anghara.livejournal.com]

Because the more I read, the more I find out, the more I feel like getting published is like shooting an arrow in New York and hitting a bullseye in China. Blindfolded. Behind your back. With somebody constantly moving the bullseye. On a windy day.

Oh, that one's GOOD. I'm stealing it [grin]


But *then* I go look at people who are published. I read absolute crap on the shelves of bookstores and I think, "Oh, for crimney's sake. How the in the good godfearing motherloving hell did this get published? Who is running this show?

THAT, in a nutshell, is why a lot of writers persevere and get there. That "I can do better than THAT. I HAVE done better than that. There's GOT to be a way to make someone see this" attitude.

Heck, that's why I'm here...