Do You Need A Literary Agent?

How about you? Do you need a literary agent? Years ago I was convinced I needed an agent for my writing projects, but I’m not so sure now. Why? Well, two reasons: the more of their blogs and websites I’ve read, the more they've convinced me they loathe writers – especially those of the unpublished kind. It's clear from what most of them say - with their own horses’ mouths - that their own importance, (sprouting mainly from the title of their job) is of utmost importance to them. Secondly, without a literary agent I managed to find a great publisher for my first book (it took me years - mind); and I've just signed another contract to publish a second book of a different genre. 


Now, not all literary agents fall into this category. There are some brilliant, loyal, hard-working ones out there. I've just been unlucky with literary agents, that's all.
If I could sum up in two sentences, the essence of their (agents I've been unlucky to come across) between-the-lines message to new writers, it would be this: 

Our hands are too holy to touch you, our ears – to distant to hear.

Let someone else saddle your struggles, my own worth to me is too dear.

The agents’ blogs I’ve read speak to me from a detached distance, far above my measly-writer-head. If you don’t get that feeling, please let me know. I’ve read the blog of only one agent, who doesn’t feel that the title of his job has magically required him to sit at the zenith of my lowly existence.

I have agents for my TV and modelling work. They seek me out. They’re the ones who pick up the phone, pay for the call, and offer me projects. For them, I’m a valued part of their business, an living asset whose work makes them fifteen to twenty percent profit each time I get paid.
They don't start from the premise that I have no talent. After all, at the point of joining their agency, they had to take a chance on me.

(If you change your mind, I’m the first in line. Baby I’m still free, take a chance on me. If you need me let me know . . . Sorry, I couldn’t resist injecting a little Abba there.)

Why then, do literary agents operate from this distance? Why is the writer guilty of non-talent before he/she is given a platform on which to prove this supposition right? Why do literary agents in general, act as though the new writer is the enemy – the blight to avoid at all cost? This puzzles me. And as yet, I cannot answer any these questions.

(Gonna be around. Got no place to go . . .)

Have you got a literary agent who doesn't sound remotely like the ones I've just described? Please let me know in the comment section.

This post comes to you with the compliments of speedyloan.com

Sunday's Child Blurb

In a crisis torn, South American country, only little Ann's faith, her determination, and one young woman could help keep her dreams of escape alive.

A true story. 

Set in Guyana, a former British Colony, told through the eyes of a child sometimes called, Ann. She tells of the harrowing life she’s forced to live with her abusive grandmother, while giving a glimpse into the political and cultural climate of the economically stricken country at the time.

Ann didn’t care that she lived in poverty - after all, the best hours of her young life were those spent in the food lines - because anything, anything was better than the horrendous abuse she suffered at home.

Daily blackouts, political brainwash, murders raging through her unstable country, and her hunger pains were no match for the darkness that lived within her soul - a soul sketched as a dot-to-dot picture of constant fear. Each day, each dot got her closer to the completion of an existence steadily spiralling downward to certain annihilation of everything she hoped her life could be.

Sunday’s Child is not only about pain, but about laughter, mental breakdowns, evictions, loyalty, and above all, love; for it is love that ultimately triumphs in the wretched arena of torture, corruption and abandonment.

Darkness can become light. I know, because I used to be Ann.

You can buy Sunday's Child here

Why I Wrote Sunday's Child

All of the events that I’ve recorded in this book have happened to me in real life, each and every one of them and more.  I have changed most of the names of the people in this memoir – but not Theresa’s – because I did not wish to cause them any embarrassment.  Apart from these names, nothing else has been changed; although, a few of the events may not have appeared chronologically.

I have recorded these episodes of my life to show that regardless of your past, with God’s help, and a few good people, you are potentially able to rise above it and can consciously decide not to allow it to affect who you are at present.

It’s an agonizing affair, but I believe that if people who’ve been abused in their childhood allow their entire lives to be ruined by it, they have in effect, surrendered to their abuser, their right of self. Abusers are aware of the devastating powers of their actions, so if the victim continues to live his/her life in the shadow of that abuse even after it has ceased, he/she is enabling the abuser to succeed in destroying their life, thus achieving their goal.  

I wrote this book in the progressive developmental language of a growing child to provide an opportunity for the reader to visualise the intimate thoughts of an imprisoned child of that age.  This I hope, would offer a tool, which could help to identify a child who is being abused.

In addition, I wanted to express my experiences in the way I saw them as a child, because I was not willing to add my adult opinions to this story. Firstly, because it allowed the person I am now, to take a step back and write the story objectively. Also, it meant that I did not have to painstakingly analyse a lot of the behaviours demonstrated in Sunday’s Child; patterns which, although I could not understand them then, are clear to me now because of my training, Child Psychology qualifications, and work experiences. For legal purposes, I want to mention also, that some of my then juvenile political assessments of the government were not necessarily factual. They are merely what I believed to be the truth, based mainly on the opinions of the adults I overheard, and also on the effects their policies had on my young life.

I know how formidable a task it is to muster the strength to change the direction in which your early nurturing points you, but if you know any child who is going through a difficult life, tell them about my story, and tell them to believe and pray, and then try with all their might to be the best they can be for themselves and their future children. And if they can’t do it for that reason, do it just to lay bare the depravity of their abuser, and to show him or her by shining brightly, that they’ve lost their sadistic, evil hold. 

What better way to avenge yourself than to laugh in your abuser’s face by living an exemplary life! What better way is there to expose their cowardice of taking advantage of a weaker person, than to exhibit bravery in your life!  Overcome your abuser, because your suffering doesn’t hurt them, it’s your happiness that does!

Sunday's Child is available to buy

Sunday's Child Exerpts

Sunday's Child excerpts 

Below is a bundle of Sunday’s Child excerpts. Please note all these were posted before the book was published. Therefore, with pre-publishing editing, many of these excerpts in the released version of Sunday’s Child may be slightly different - not in content, obviously, but in style. You’ll find a synopsis and some other particulars about my book at my confidence blog here: Sunday’s Child. The book is now available to buy from the link on the right. 

Surviving the break-in

The eviction

The day mammy broke my face

The child and the food line

The curious incident of the body in the latrine pit

How to cook human flesh

A waterfall of angry, dashing colours

Rum burns your tongue

How to earn seven years of bad luck

The arthritis merchant

A cup of pee

Rock-a-bye auntie, your bough did break

A rare glimpse of victory

Here come the dogs

Do crabs like human meat

You can get 25 kids in one car

Santa’s brawl

The rhythm of them drums

The letter about the new house

The new uniform that never was

Other links to Sunday's Child

Writing the book

Epilogue

Why I wrote Sunday's Child

Sunday's Child blurb

You can buy Sunday's Child from Amazon

Tumblr: The Best Blogging Platform To Promote Your Brand

Everyone's saying that Facebook and Twitter are the ultimate platforms to be on when trying to promote your services or brand. However, most seem to forget that there's a social microblogging platform ranking amongst the most visited sites on the planet - that is Tumblr.com

This site is specially good when your focus is on Fashion products, since most users here just seem to love it. If your daily updates resonate with others on this blogging platform they'll start following you. This simply means that your updates will be reflected on their dashboards to be viewed in turn - by their followers.

The best thing that could happen to any brand or person promoting services on Tumblr is for their post to go "Viral", this occurs when users start reblogging the content thousands of time.

According to comscore, Tumblr has around 18 million unique visitors per month, and the fact the site is constantly adding tools to let their user interact with each other, just makes this an awesome combination. People who use this platform are not only there to hit a page and leave, but to stay, mingle and interact with others.

If you need proof that Tumblr is going mainstream - newspapers and magazines like The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, and Newsweek already have their official tumblr accounts sorted. One point to note: Tumblr users are mainly interested in high quality pictures as opposed to text, so make sure you're always uploading visually aesthetic images with a high resolution.

Now, if you new to the platform and lack "geek" knowledge, we suggest you visit the site tumblring.net, which basically focuses on Tumblr Tips, Tutorials and Guides to provide you with a quick solution when trying to customize your site within Tumblr.
PRO TIP: Since most tumblr layouts have an endless scrolling, you should always remember to include a back to top button for tumblr, this way you let your visitors navigate your site much easier.


This is a guest post by The Phoenix.