StorytimeWednesday

  When you are done writing your book or screenplay you begin to start looking for an agent. So why do you need an agent? An Agent has the contacts within the publishing or movie industry to help make your work go public by advertising it worldwide, making it get in front of movie producers looking for a fresh new story to produce, so you have to have your ducks in a row so that you make a good first impression. First off you need to create what is called a query letter. However, before you produce that query letter you will need to compile and create your synopsis and decide on sample chapters of your book. That’s if you are looking to get a book published by a famous publishing house.   Your synopsis is a mini version of your book or screenplay, that lays out the storyline providing any twists and turns the agent would find in the book. In other words, you are creating a buzz in your synopsis that builds up the tension to your story so that the agent is intrigued enough to want to re

  Finding an agent is not rocket science, but it does take a lot of work, research, and the perfect package that will attract the right agent to handle your book and work for you. You want an agent that knows the market to which your book is aligned in your genre. They must have the right connections within the industry and know who to approach to help sell your book. Knows and understands contracts and the negotiations of those contracts. Understand the rights of writers when it comes to publishing, film rights, and knowing that they can be sold separately and not together to broker a deal. Unless you know how to read a contract your publisher will own the rights to your book if it's approached by a film production company and you'll be cut out of a real deal. The agent you choose should also know how to deal with media for interviews, and how to write press articles regarding your book and you. If an agent asks for more than a 10-15% fee on selling your book to a publisher or

  Identifying your genre Identifying your genre for your book is usually very easily done. It’s either mystery, science fiction, historical, crime, romance, or nonfiction. If you can’t identify your genre, trust me when I say this, your publisher, or agent will do it for you, and you might not like it. So be ready to identify it yourself. After all, the book is yours so own it and be in control of it from the beginning. Your genre is part of your sales tools because as you go after your audience your genre identity will help sell that book to your target audience. One thing you never want to do is second guess your target market. Don’t write a book based on what is popular if you aren’t interested in that market, because you won’t produce a viable product to sell to an agent or publisher and your work will be for nothing because no one will read it. 

  Today is the anniversary of the day 2 August 2009, when the Navy reported that Lt Commander Michael Scott Speicher's remains were found in Iraq by  United States Marines  from the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines. His jawbone was used to identify him after study at the  Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs  at  Dover Air Force Base . According to local civilians, Speicher was buried by  Bedouins  after his plane was shot down.  Senator Nelson attributed the delayed finding to the culture of the locality: "These Bedouins roam around in the desert, they don't stay in one place, and it just took this time to find the specific site." Speicher's family expressed gratitude that the Defense Department had stayed with the case and that closure was now available.  The Christian Science Monitor  termed the case "a veritable saga punctuated with hope, uncertainty, and despair for the past 18 years." May you rest in peace Lt. Commander Michael Scott Speicher k