Janet Evanovich makes a quick stop. See what she has to say!

Janet, I am so thrilled and honored that you took the time to visit my blog today.  I know you are extremely busy so let me get started.

1) Having the huge successes you have had with all your books, especially the Stephanie Plum series, did you ever consider giving up, due to rejection letters?

       

        One dark moment, after I'd written three novels over 10 years and couldn't get arrested, I took my box of rejection letters to the front curb and burned them, box and all.  The next day, I went out and got a temp job.  Four months later, my agent called to say that he'd made a sale and I've been writing ever since.

 

2) Your fabulous books just keep coming.  Where do you find the time to write, blog, make appearances, and everything else you do in a single day?

       

        It takes good time management.  I start work every day around 6 a.m. and work for at least eight hours, seven days a week.  And I don't blog or tweet!

 

3) How did you ever come up with the Stephanie Plum idea and did you ever imagine this series would be as huge as it is?

        Well, first of all, I never imagined it would be as huge as it is today.  In 1992, I was primarily a romance writer.  I went to the movies and saw a film I really loved -- Midnight Run -- a funny bounty hunter story with Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin.  I thought that if I made a protagonist a reluctant female bounty hunter, I might get a good book out of it.  That was 21 Plum books ago.

Thank you again Janet for stopping by.  You are a true inspiration to me and many other authors out there.  I can hardly wait for November when # 18 will be out!

Sara Curran-Ross visits today! Hear her take on agents!

Do I need  Really Need An Agent?

Yesterday was a bad day for me.  My vertigo and imbalance problems seemed to get worse.  I fell onto my knees in the morning and then slipped in the shower and landed on my backside in the late afternoon.  All I could think about was how I felt like a beached whale and how I must look, not, I could have nearly killed myself!  And I spent the rest of the day feeling that curious odd mixture of anger and emotional upset.  Always an intriguing combination of emotions, especially when writing characters in a novel.  So, anyway, why am I boring you with my tales of woe???

Well, I was merely trying to set the scene and background to receiving yet another rejection letter from a literary agency.  Ah, yes my favourite topic of torment, literary agents.  There doesn’t seem to be any way to please these people in my experience.  Replies from literary agents in the past have ranged from apologetic to pompous and arrogant.  But yesterday I got a new variation.  I had gone back to a couple of agents after getting three publishing contracts hoping this time I might have more luck.  Hmmm, scratch that!  In a very short, one sentence abrupt bordering on rude reply this agent informed me that she doesn’t take on anyone who hasn’t obtained an advance of a certain amount from their publisher.  Talk about a slap in the face on a bad day and being looked down upon.

Rightly or wrongly I felt like a loser.  I may have my wonderful publishing contracts but I still wasn’t good enough to even be considered.  I’m now just waiting to see what other interesting replies I am going to get from the other agents I have written to.  Well, that’s if they reply in the eight to twelve weeks or more they have your query letter or at all.  But they are so busy I hear you cry.  The world is busy, everyone is struggling and juggling life and some of us don’t get paid for it.

I am fed up of agents especially those on twitter who rant and rave about writers who don’t follow their submission rules to perfection and act like tyrants who can ruin your hopes and dreams without a care.  Ok, so I sound like I’m really sore with them.  Suppose I am.  I’ll get over it.

But when I see how many writers are now actually ditching their agents it prompts a question, do I really need an agent?  Should I really subject myself to enduring more time wasting and negativity in trying to find one when I have my publishing contracts?  I’ve managed so far without one.  Perhaps it’s time to realise that in these changing times for writers that writing is not just about generating stories to share but a private business.  As they say, if you want something done, do it yourself!

What do you think?