Comments on Comments from Prior Blogs

I actually had another post for today but thought I would bring this up instead.

I have had several writers wondering about a comment I made earlier about 'the stories just not being out there." For many writers, this comment really was perplexing. They had a ton of stories. They had friends with a ton of stories, and certainly they were aware of other writers on the loops. How could it be that there aren't stories out there.

What I meant by that is that as agents, we are really struggling to find stories that are of the caliber that we are looking for. In the end, the stories are simply lacking that special something that we want. One writer did make a reference to this by stating that all editors and agents are only looking for that next great book like Twilight and Harry Potter. This is far from the truth.

Sure we would love to have a story like that and finding a great story would be a dream of all of us. As an agent, I am really looking for authors that will be around for the long haul.

What I am finding, and I am sure other agents will also agree with this, are stories that are really lacking in some areas. Some have great premises but the voice isn't right. Some have great characters but the plot goes no where. We really need it all.

There are also many times that stories are simply not marketable. In other words, the stories may have a great voice, or an interesting premise, but if we can't sell it (due to the topic, size or so forth) then we pass on it.

Another writer commented that they believed it was due to the "restrictive rules" publishers put out there. This also isn't true. We do have guidelines, but all of the editors I talk to really do tend to be pretty open about story ideas. Again, the premise might be great, but if the writing isn't strong enough, we are going to pass on these. Don't confuse guidelines with rules. These are completely different.

Hopefully that cleared a few things up.

Scott