Secret Agent Man

If you have a book-length manuscript sitting around, waiting for someone to marvel at its genius, then you're probably on the look out for a way to sell that bad boy and watch it take form as a perfect-bound, illustrated cover (with your name on it), bio and all, bundle of joy.

There are certain "publishers" that will offer to print your book (for a nominal fee) and claim they will work to see it off into the world. Sometimes they will be "agents," sometimes they will just provide you with an "editor." Either way, you want to avoid companies that ask you to pay them to sell your book. That's not how it's supposed to work! Sure, getting a legitimate agent is no easy feat, but it sure as hell beats going broke when your "publisher" forces you to buy thousands of copies of your own books because, oh wait, they don't even have a bookstore presence.

WordHustler (see earlier post) recently conducted an interview with Dunow, Carlson, and Lerner literary agent Erin Hosier, and in it she comments on what she looks for in an unsolicited submission. While her preferences may not be universal, I think she has some good suggestions: keep your query letter short, smart, and informative, and never send your full manuscript until they respond to your query.

To learn more, check out A Delicate Balance: An Interview with Literary Agent Erin Hosier.

Contest of the Week: One for the Ladies

Listen up lady poets! Here's your chance to get that manuscript out there: the 2009 KORE PRESS FIRST BOOK AWARD 

Although there is a $20 entry fee, the grand prize includes $1,000 plus book publication by Kore Press--not bad! The contest calls for a book-length poetry manuscript (between 48 and 70 pages) and is open to any female writer who has not yet published a full-length collection of poetry. Original poetry only--no translations. The prize is tantalizing and the competition will be fierce; writers who have had chapbooks of less than 42 pages printed in editions of no more than 400 copies are still eligible. So, use the next two weeks to dust off those pages and give them a pretty face--the deadline is July 31, 2009.