A small little while ago, an agent (who shall remain nameless) decided to have a first paragraph contest. Hundreds of authors posted paragraphs, and there were a lot of good ones in the bunch. I’d have read on, anyway, and I’m choosy when it comes to which novels I’ll read farther than the first paragraph when perusing a novel at my local bookstore.  

I, along with, I’m sure, all the other visitors to this agent’s blog, waited with keen anticipation to see whose first paragraphs would be selected. Lo and behold, when the picks came out, I sat back in my chair and just stared. Others were a bit more public when it came to their reactions, posting their disgust with the world as witness. (Good for them, I guess.)

Moral of this post and that contest: If an agent doesn’t pick your manuscript up as interesting, don’t be disheartened. It really could be that it’s not the right “fit.” Remember, there’s no accounting for taste. Some prefer vodka; some prefer wine; some find that vinegar works just fine. Move on, move on, because, as that contest’s results prove, sometimes it’s the agent who is just not the right fit for you and yours.

Recently:

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• Treading the Dangers of Fiction
• Infighting About Grammar & Punctuation
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• New Novel, Chapter Two
• To the Book Store
• New Novel Amid Chaos
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• Self-Publishing IS Better