I love it when people read my books and respond so graciously. That has happened so many times recently as I've had a wave of new readers. Makes me know my efforts are not in vain and encourages me in my search of an agent for Isaac's House.
I was on a month's leave from writing and agent searching, knowing I must return and get busy. I already have book signings lined up! People are working on my behalf all over. Question to myself is—will it ever happen? Getting an agent, that is. I love querying. I think I have down pat all those expectations—except one, of course. I just can't walk on water. They all want the same thing, in a different format, so they can declare they have the corner on query and they own their own version of the process. So what do you do? You give them exactly what they ask for. Not one page, not one line, not one jot nor tittle more than they require. Notice I say require. Not request. This is the game, and if you get an agent—you play by the rules.
The greatest encouragement lately was when my husband read the manuscript of Isaac's House, 80,000 plus words, and told me to "... get an agent. This book is great. It should be published." Wow! I needed that, especially coming from him. He's a Civil War history buff and I had done so much research with The Mississippi Boys. I knew he would catch anything that was the least bit questionable, although researching for accuracy concerning the Civil War is not easy. There is so much slant toward those guys who won the War. But I had my own private store of information that could not be wrong. Those letters that T.G. and the boys wrote home from the time they left Sarepta, Mississippi, until they lay dead on that hot Pennsylvania battlefield. They could not be wrong. They wrote it exactly as they saw it. And their explanation of a country at war with itself was even past their own understanding. How could any writer argue with fact.
I think I have a grip now, and I will once again pick up the query package, promising myself to send another one this week. Then another, and another, and another, knowing it sometimes takes 250 queries before someone, somewhere out there says "YES!"
I think I have a grip now, and I will once again pick up the query package, promising myself to send another one this week. Then another, and another, and another, knowing it sometimes takes 250 queries before someone, somewhere out there says "YES!"
And now I look forward to the coffee shops, the bookstores, the women's clubs, the history museums, and all those wonderful places where my kind of people are excited that someone from their neck of the woods wrote a book and here they are at the signing! Hasten the day!
By the way, have you purchased my books for yourself? They come in hard cover and paperback, and can be purchased from Barnes&Noble.com to the virtual bookshop at the far corner of the earth. In fact, in 25,000 online bookstores all over the world. So pick one. Just google my name... Jane Bennett Gaddy—if need be. Bookstores will start popping up. Click on the URLs below for connecting directly to Amazon.com. My thanks to you. I think you will love my stories.
Jane BG
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