After writing the first draft of a new novel (THIEF of the colonies) I’ve turned back to the task of selling the previous novel, WITCH of the colonies. I’ve opted to avoid snail mail this time around for my query letters, and focus upon agencies who accept ‘electronic submissions.’

I uncovered an initial list of agencies (and other free resources) at the Poets & Writers site. Nice site. I also forked over a subscription free to a site that featured the names of 44 agencies representing speculative fiction. I didn’t realize until after sign up only 6 or so of those 44 entries had been updated in the past two years. Just goes to show that online, even an old digital kung fu champion like myself can get duped.

My next stop for names is PublishersMarketplace.com. I won’t let rejection slow me down. I received my very first formal rejection letter for WITCH… the other day. I won’t kid you, the dismissal stung. But the email oddly also gave me heart. Somewhere, someone had been sufficiently moved by my words to take the time to write a brief, courteous note. Maybe next time I get a response they’ll want to see a sample of the WITCH manuscript. And maybe after I share the manuscript a few times, I’ll get an offer.

For now, all I can do is set my lines, as many as I can, and wait.