The Great Equalizer
At this point, I'm assuming that no agent is about pick my novel out of the slushpile.
Ouch.
I admit that I had the hubris and self-confidence to expect some interest, if for no other reason than the respect I thought I'd earned with my publishing history and proven writing chops. But the slushpile is the great equalizer - where credentials only count if the pitch catches the attention of the recipient without hitting any red or yellow lights.
I thought my query pitch was quite compelling, even if my sprawling plot was not easily condensed.
Avenging Glory is a 145,000 word post-apocalyptic adventure novel. I admit that a 145,000 word first novel is pushing it - but shouldn't it depend on the work itself?
"The consciousness of a young man named Raine is trapped for centuries in a biological computer network, called the BioGrid – better known to humanity as The Carnivorous Forest. When the human tyrant, Adoris, manages to hold the forest hostage while stealing its secrets - the BioGrid, led by Raine, finds a way to fight back.
"Avenging Glory chronicles the lives of Raine and his human allies, including Psalma, the love of his life, despite the fact that he’s a tree; and Glory, Adoris’s autistic savant sister, leading up to the transformative battle that determines the future of the Earth."
One wrong word can be all it takes...
There are so many potential trigger points, so who knows when the red light came on?
Sexy/risque (words used in different pitches).
Post-apocalyptic.
Canadian spellings.
Or maybe it's something else altogether. Adventure? Not Science Fictional enough. Too complicated! "The protagonist's name is Raine? I hate Rain!"
Maybe they didn't like my first 5/10/50 pages, or more likely they didn't get that far.
So a disappointing start. But while there are points of my life where this would be utterly demoralizing, I can happily say that this ain't one of them. I'm here for the long game. Y'all keep your eyes peeled. You will be seeing more of Glory.
Ouch.
I admit that I had the hubris and self-confidence to expect some interest, if for no other reason than the respect I thought I'd earned with my publishing history and proven writing chops. But the slushpile is the great equalizer - where credentials only count if the pitch catches the attention of the recipient without hitting any red or yellow lights.
I thought my query pitch was quite compelling, even if my sprawling plot was not easily condensed.
Avenging Glory is a 145,000 word post-apocalyptic adventure novel. I admit that a 145,000 word first novel is pushing it - but shouldn't it depend on the work itself?
"The consciousness of a young man named Raine is trapped for centuries in a biological computer network, called the BioGrid – better known to humanity as The Carnivorous Forest. When the human tyrant, Adoris, manages to hold the forest hostage while stealing its secrets - the BioGrid, led by Raine, finds a way to fight back.
"Avenging Glory chronicles the lives of Raine and his human allies, including Psalma, the love of his life, despite the fact that he’s a tree; and Glory, Adoris’s autistic savant sister, leading up to the transformative battle that determines the future of the Earth."
One wrong word can be all it takes...
There are so many potential trigger points, so who knows when the red light came on?
Sexy/risque (words used in different pitches).
Post-apocalyptic.
Canadian spellings.
Or maybe it's something else altogether. Adventure? Not Science Fictional enough. Too complicated! "The protagonist's name is Raine? I hate Rain!"
Maybe they didn't like my first 5/10/50 pages, or more likely they didn't get that far.
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