I’m looking for the right agent for my new novel “Hash 207,” and more broadly, to help me develop my career as an author.
I’ve spent the last nineteen years chasing bylines in newspapers and magazines, selling articles to websites and emailing my essays for free to a long list of readers. Freelance writing is a hard hustle, especially as people are still trying to figure out how to monetize the “everything’s free on the internet” culture that’s ransacked traditional publishing.
But there are still plenty of opportunities for professionals to line up paying work, sell manuscripts, and place the right stories and articles with the right outlets. There are opportunities to promote those books through deftly placed articles online and in print, and through appearances at the right events. It’s a lot to manage, but all part of developing, and improving, a platform—exactly the kind of thing I need help with to reach the next stage of my career.
My skills are in identifying stories, and telling them—through narrative nonfiction as well as fiction. I’m adept at scanning newsstands and the internet for places to sell articles, and finding decision makers to contact.
Getting their attention is another matter, and finding the best match for a particular manuscript or finding the right opportunities to advance my career are things I need professional help with.
I supported “Following Josh” with book talks in Maine and Illinois. I launched “White River Junctions” to an over-capacity crowd at the Hotel Coolidge’s ballroom in White River Junction, and supported it through many subsequent talks around Vermont. I placed articles about “501 Paintball Tips” in every paintball magazine then in existence, and promoted it with appearances at events across America, in the UK, and in Malaysia.
I have no lack of enthusiasm.
What I lack, is a dedicated professional to help me strategize what to do with my writing, and how to line up the most meaningful new opportunities.