Comments on: What I’m looking for

By: Willie

Willie — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 12:06:15 +0000

Full of salient points. Don’t stop belveiing or writing!

By: Rachel McMahon

Rachel McMahon — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 05:05:45 +0000

I appreciate this post. I don’t think there’s anything an unagented writer wants to see more than an agent’s request for something specific.

By: Ed Ryan

Ed Ryan — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:15:12 +0000

Michael, thanks for the post. I have something you may find interesting. I’ve sent you a query. Hope to hear back from you.

Sincerely…

By: Donna Hole

Donna Hole — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 22:16:40 +0000

This is a big help Michael. Thank you. The real problem with writing something “original” per se, isn’t in the concept itself, but in getting the query to sound original. Thats the toughest for me.

……dhole

By: Farlow “Figsman” Fartty, Lord Of The Porcelain Thunder Trumpet

Farlow “Figsman” Fartty, Lord Of The Porcelain Thunder Trumpet — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 20:01:21 +0000

Wow! Hit a nerve?
Just exploiting the irony. You ask for original, then ask for it to be like something else.
McCabe is original, fine. But anther story like it cant be. Can it?
If you really seek an original western it should be nothing like McCabe, or any other work.
Yes, a very nice thing, you opening the door for the guy’s query, but he is declaring his work as original, so why try and influence it not to be?

By: Michael

Michael — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 18:07:27 +0000

I’m not sure how much more positive I could be than asking for a query! Plus, if you want an original western, look no further than McCabe & Mrs. Miller. And that was the point I was trying to make.

By: Farlow “Figsman” Fartty, Lord Of The Porcelain Thunder Trumpet

Farlow “Figsman” Fartty, Lord Of The Porcelain Thunder Trumpet — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 17:06:49 +0000

Agent says: am looking for original, breaks the rules manuscript.

Authors of original works fizz with interest.

One bold author says: I am writing an original story, conjecturing that its genre might be about to enjoy a new day in the sun.

Agent says: great I would like to see it – so long as it’s like a story that is already out there.

Authors of original manuscripts sigh in despair.

Authors of trite breathe easy. The status quo is maintained.

By: Amy Armstrong

Amy Armstrong — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 02:40:20 +0000

I'm listening to Ship Breaker in my car now and I love it. I think it feels less like dystopia and more like The Cay or a Scott O'Dell book. Also, maybe it's the reader's accent, but it's giving me the urge to go into a Pirates of the Caribbean movie binge. This makes me weird, right?

By: Philip Hansen

Philip Hansen — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 22:27:53 +0000

That is a pretty high standard to shoot for. As soon as I finish up the novel I’ll shoot you over a query.

I’m in AZ and I’ve been to this town. They had one town Marshall who was sworn in at 3:00 in the afternoon and buried at 8:00 that night.

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 21:56:04 +0000

If it’s a McCabe & Mrs. Miller-style Western, it might be right for me. Try me with a query!