An update on the novel

Although I’ve done my best to maintain a consistent rhythm for these posts, some of you may have noticed a recent a drop off on updates regarding my novel.

That’s the funny thing about Substack as a platform—the work you see here is not the real work. The more I post here, the less work I’m putting into the novel.

So my silence in regard to the novel is actually a signal to the extra work I’ve been putting into that—the real work.

Nonetheless, I made mention of placing a whole collection of forks in the fire a few months ago, but I haven’t made much comment on where they ended up. Naturally you’re probably wondering. Where did those debut novel prizes end up? Any feedback on my agent pitches?

Let’s start with the agents.

Rather than speak in abstracts, I’ve included a list of the actual agents I’ve pitched the novel to so far. My thoughts going in to the pitch. The responses I’ve gotten from them. Along with my thoughts on those responses:  

For the uninformed: when pitching, you include the first three chapters of the novel, a cover letter and a synopsis.

I kept the synopsis and three chapters the same for all agents, but tailored my cover letters to their specifications. But anyway, here’s how those went….