Closing the Loop on Agents

I want to reiterate that, in talking about how a book gets published, I'm not trying to discourage you. I just want you to have a realistic idea of the process. I also want to give you a sense of how you can successfully navigate it. Two things will make it infinitely easier:

Patience.

Patience is required because writing is a longitudinal pursuit. Remember that you'll still be a "young writer" for another 20+ years. In Malcolm Gladwell's new book, Outliers: The Story of Success, he argues that success is (among other factors) largely a result of something he calls the 10,000-hour Rule. To be really good at something, says Gladwell, you have to do it for 10,000 hours. Twenty hours a week for ten years. Depending on how you use your Silent Studio time (!), you're varying degrees of way ahead of the game.

Patience is also crucial because, even after you've put in your 10,000 hours, publishing -- whether it's a single poem or a massive Fantasy tetrology -- isn't so much a meritocracy. It's all subjective. As you learn your markets, you'll be better able to target your potential audience, but it still takes good timing and luck. And patience.

Friends.

First and foremost, it's easier to do anything when you have a vibrant life of connections -- whether they're writing connections or not. But as far as publishing goes, the hands-down best way to get your work noticed by the right people is to have a personal connection with them. Or at least to have friends who have direction connections with them. Here's what our good friend Nathan Bransford has to say about the subject, but keep in mind that this holds true when you're trying to get work in literary magazines, get grants, attend selective conferences and/or grad programs, etc:

Referrals are a great way to find an agent, and for many of your more experienced/legendary agents they're darn near essential. And it's easy to see why -- you're coming in with an endorsement from someone the agent respects, you've got their attention, and you're more likely to get a thorough look.

How do you get a referral? It's kind of tricky. If you don't have preexisting personal connections, the best way to do this, especially if you live in a big city, is to get involved with local writers communities, fraternize with writers, and put yourself in a position where your work will be seen by other established writers. Genuinely (and not selfishly) invest in those writers and you may find that they will invest in you -- trust me, they remember what it was like to be an aspiring writer. If you don't live in a city, get your stories published in journals, become involved with writers' blogs and online writer's communities, and really invest in authors until you are virtual friends.

Now, notice that I didn't suggest the "e-mail random writers and ask for referrals out of the blue" approach, which has about a zero chance of success. These things have to evolve organically.

Organically. As in, like real human beings do. So dust off Ye Olde Dale Carnegie and get out there and mingle, people!

I guess the last thing I'll say about publishing a book is that it's probably best to think of it as a by-product of the patience, hard work, and discipline to keep writing combined with a willingness to establish and maintain connections with other writers. By and large, those are all good things in and of themselves. The book's just gravy.

Okay, in the righthand column, under "Useful Publishing Links," I've added a link to Bransford's blog. I've also included another agent's blog, a woman named Janet Reid. They both have links to other blogging agents as well, so you should be able to get a range of voices, opinions, and insights about commercial publishing.