They're Terribly Comfortable.

I think everyone will be wearing them in the future.




Desks, that is. Yes, held up by really strong suspenders. Why, you may ask? Because they project an image of power and authority to everyday shmoes like me. Apparently I'll believe anything if it's said from behind a desk.

For example. Back at the NJRW conference an agent, who I had an appointment with, couldn't make it. So we were told by the organizers to submit to her as if it were requested material. Which I was thrilled about. (What's not to like. All the partial request without the flop sweat and embarrassing tangents I normally blurt out when nervous. Win-win!)

So I asked one of the ladies there, who SAT BEHIND A DESK, if there was a specific email to send to. She gave me one. I used it. Three months ago.

I've checked this agent's submission guidelines since, and the email provided to me is not the general email for submissions for this agency. Now, that may be fine since this was treated as requested material, or I may have sent my partial to the wrong email address and she's never gotten it. Or, she's gotten it and hasn't reviewed it yet.

You see the dilemma I got myself into listening to a person behind a desk.

So for a month and a half I've been going back and forth about what to do. Should I resend it to the general submission email address? Should I wait another month because she's only had it for three and maybe that isn't long enough to get to it? Should I send a follow up email to the address I was given asking if they received it? Should I send another query containing this crazy new theory I have about wearing desks as an image enhancing accessory? What's a neurotic writer to do?

So the moral of the story is (Wait, there's a moral? Yes, surprise, I actually have a moral.) RESEARCH.

I thought I'd done enough research on this agent. I knew what she liked, I read everything I could find on her. I thought we could be B.A.A.F. (Best Agent/Author Forever). But I believed a person behind a desk instead of following up with my own research.

So what do you think I should do? Has anything like this ever happened to any of you? (Probably not, since these things only happen to me, so the statistical probability that it would happen to others is like a meteor making a slam dunk in the middle of a Knicks game. So there's another service I provide. Making sure your writing life runs smoothly. You're welcome!)