Agency rep

So, I got agency representation.
Yay.
More info soon.
How uneventful.

WM Clark Associates Rejection Letter

The first one is in within 48 hours. WM Clark has the fastest turn-around on rejections. In the words of Philly D, "WM Clark is your douchebag of the day."
And for the rest of the authors out there, this is their form rejection letter, so if you get this, don't worry.
In fact, I know a little something about this agency (am I getting bitter? Sure, why not lol! Rejects gotta have some fun): I met an intern who used to do an unpaid internship here (as its craigslist ad advertises "you should do it just for the experience"). Let's say she's a red-head who moved onto bigger and better at a real agency that pays. I got the heads up from her about a month ago that this agency in particular has interns look at queries, and make decisions-- college interns.
That's why this agency will probably always stay boutique-y .
And their letter reads:

Thanks for your query. Unfortunately, I do not feel that I could be the best advocate for your work. Please keep in mind that mine is a subjective business, and an idea or story to which one agent does not respond may well be met with great enthusiasm by another, and I encourage you to continue writing to agents. Hopefully you will find someone who will get behind you and your work with the conviction necessary in the current market.

Best wishes.
Sincerely,
William Clark
WM CLARK ASSOCIATES

Agency Rejection Letters, Part 1

Welcome to the newest installation of the ParkBenchWriter.com blog "Agency Rejection Letters"

At the beginning of the this month I finished my fifth novel, The Forgotten.

Now, for those not in the lterary world, the first thing to do when you finish your manscript, rewrite it, edit it, and rewrite it again (unlike this blog), you send out query letters to literary agents.

A query letter sums up your book and invites agents to read the full manuscript. If they like your idea, then they will request your complete manuscript. Then, if they like the manuscript, they will represent your work to large publishing houses.

Many factors go into an agent's decision to represent a book (like the current market climate, the agency's niche, etc) but most often (from what I hear from some industry folk) they decline most new authors based on this premise: they're unpublished, so they probably aren't that good.

Time is money, right? (F*ck commerce... to an extent... you know, the extent to which it gets in the way of producing great prose and when stands in the way of art)

So, what we're going to do is.... we're going to track my fifth attempt to get published.

Below is my query letter; and as agencies respond, I wll post their rejection letters or (I don't know what to even call a "good news" letter, because I've never recieved one") acceptance letter*(??)...

Okay, so here's my latest query:

Dear "Agent's Name"

I would like to invite you to read my fourth completed manuscript, The Forgotten. Originally titled Operation Arizona Black, I present you with the plausible yet fictitious tale of an American spy and the ghostwriter of his memoir. It's a spy novel and a love story about two individuals, Thomas Carr and Rahel Manbru, who set out on a covert mission to expose one of the most clandestine, compartmented, and corrupt divisions of the CIA. A division responsible for 9/11, the successful covert removal of yellowcake from Iraq in 2003, and the upcoming assassination of Renegade, the CIA code-alias for Barack Obama.

My narrative is actually two books. The chapters alternate between the interview sessions and the actual memoir. The story begins with a forward from Rahel in which she introduces Thomas and tells the story of how they met. The story then kicks off with their first interview, and then goes into the story behind Thomas Carr (as composed jointly by Thomas and Rahel). The book then moves you through Thomas' experience with the CIA: from his Farm training at Camp Peary, to covert missions for nonproliferation with Valerie Plame, to missions recruiting spies, to his conversion to the eyes-only compartmented division of Special Operations where Thomas helps negotiate and coordinate the events of 9/11 with real-life MI6 operative Omar Sheikh.The interviews and Thomas' memoir give a historical twist to the events behind Osama bin Laden's murder, the CIA negotiations with nuclear secrets tradesman A.Q. Khan, the recent death (Dec. 19th, 2008) of Karl Rove's vote-tampering guru Michael Connell, and many more events. Additionally, this is a love story about two people who share one thing: at the end of the day, for all the things they do, they will be forgotten.

The memoir and the interviews lead all the way up to Thomas' final stand where he will or will not complete his mission to assassinate Pres. Barack Obama at a press conference in Iraq. One thing is for certain, however. One of them must die.Complete at 85,000 words, this manuscript has been several years in the making. With years of research and honing my writing ability through writing workshops, college, and general literary critiques, I have finally produced a novel which I would like to present to you for publication. The first few chapters or the entire manuscript can be sent upon your request.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best,

Michael De'Shazer

www.parkbenchwriter.com

New Years Resolution

New year res: make more blog posts.
Recently, I've been M.I.A. due to being a starving artist and dedicating most of my time to searching for food so I can finish up work on my latest novel: The Forgotten (spy thriller, love story, international suspense) coming... one day.
Also, to my readers,
I love you. That is all.

I want to change your life w/ heat

Just follow the link:
http://www.last.fm/music/edIT
Stream this Glitch by edIT on your computer. It's hot, so don't burn your hand and drop it all over the floor please. Thank you.
"Dex" is my personal favorite.

This is not a twitter, but we're going to pretend:
Michael De'Shazer is....
getting ready for school, bumping edIT, trying to wake up the beauty next to him, wondering how cold it will be when he meets the street after a steaming shower...

Interview w/ D.O.E. at video shoot

Yesterday night, I was on the set w/ my partner Nastassia while Timbaland's protege D.O.E. shot one of the three music videos for his upcoming album at 3rd Ward Studios in Brooklyn.
Links to the published article coming soon...

On the Red Carpet in Williamsburg

Freelance journalists get red carpet moments, too.
They are just very personal and really no one cares. Except you. Thank you.