The next task in getting Rescuers From Illur into the hands of the masses is to find a Literary Agent. These talented individuals are intermediaries between authors and publishers. If an agent really likes your book, they will fight for a good book deal with the right publisher. To me it seems like a very interesting job for folks who love the written word (or perhaps graphic novels), and thrive on negotiation.

The key is to send a message (query) to the perfect agent at the most opportune time. Everyone (agents and common folk alike) is interested in different subjects, writing styles, and genres. To find the perfect person for your book, one must spend time researching lots of agents to find a few who are very interested in the type of book you have written. Thankfully, the abundance of writers has given way to companies who created databases of agents.

I began searching through a narrowed list of individuals who were interested in YA books. While YA genres span the gamut of topics, most agents who were interested in Young Adult books listed YA of any genre. I wasn’t satisfied with this, so I swapped to a search for agents interested in Science Fiction, and then searched through the list for those who also represent YA books. I spent 4 days going through about 200 names/profiles of agents to make a list of 68 potential people who might be willing to represent my book.

Next, I will do research on writing a stellar query letter. Since I love research, I should enjoy this part of my quest.

I know this is a very long post, but I wanted to take an extra minute to show you the most recent picture of the tree in front of my house. I previously shared pictures of the beautiful apple blossoms on a sunny day and the snowy day after. Since then, we had a heavier day of snow, and the blossoms did not fair well at all.

Pardon me as I make a comparison to life. It is very hard for many people right now. It seems like we are all trying to get a grip on this new reality that dictates how we are supposed to live. Live our everyday life, as well as live/behave in an effort to not get sick. When we think we have a handle on it, a deluge of new information (true/false/terrifying/stunning) is piled on. We lose the foothold that was tenuous at best, and have to re-access everything all over again.

Think about that initial, beautiful picture of the apple blossom tree that we all admired. It was pristine (if you didn’t look too close), seemingly hardy, and meant to be admired. This is true of every person on this planet trying to live their best life. Life is not always glamorous, easy, or even good, but each individual should be recognized for the amazing person that they are.

When the snow came down, the flower was fine on the outside and even a little more shimmery with the water glistening on the outside. With more and more freezing precipitation, the flowers couldn’t maintain their glow. They eventually withered and died. What you have to remember is the tree itself is still standing strong, maybe not as beautiful, but still there, growing and thriving the best way it can.

There are only so many thoughts of impending sickness and death that we can take before we too start to wilt. I cannot believe that we, as a people, will not change when all of this is over, but we will eventually grow and thrive again too, in the best way we can.