As much as I appreciate the theoretical stuff we’ve read for class — or any class I’ve ever taken — I must admit I find it less helpful than the more practical stuff. (I’m not saying that the theoretical readings aren’t helpful either, because they are, but I, personally, prefer what will aid me in the future when trying to navigate the difficult world of publication. Ya dig?)
So while I appreciated and enjoyed the other readings for last week, I preferred reading those sections of The Writer’s Market. Before that, the only interaction I had ever had with The Writer’s Market was when I was writing my proposal and it frustrated me more than helped me. This might have been because my topic for the research project straddles a few subjects so I found it difficult to find publications that I could potentially submit to. But the first part of The Writer’s Market was awesome. Not only did they explain what should and shouldn’t go into various types of query letters or how best to pitch your book/article/what-have-you, but they gave examples as reference. Personally, I’m a visual learner so just reading the tips of what to include isn’t enough to put me at ease or feel confident in writing query letters. The examples, though, were perfect: they showed how to phrase your pitches, how to incorporate word-count, and even basic things like where to put their address and your own address. I also never knew that you had to send a query letter to an agent; I guess I never really knew how one went about acquiring an agent. In my mind, you just knocked on the agent’s office door and say “Hey. Represent me.” and they replied, “Okay.” Apparently that is not how it works. Good to know.
I just — I literally can’t say enough about how helpful the Writer’s Market turned out to be for me. I love it and I will keep it with me at all times from now on.
I had the same felling of practicality that you did when reading The Writer’s Market. I’d rather learn the practical nuts and bolts of how to, than read the theoretical approaches, not that they aren’t useful too. But when you are a writer who dreams of being published, The Writer’s Market is a great tool to use to reach those dreams.