Knocking on Publishing and Agent Doors

There has been an interesting conversation exchange on my loop at yahoo.com. I contributed the following to ongoing comments about small and big press, but I wanted to share it with ya'll. (Love that Tennessee word). :)

My complaints are the usual about big pubs. Each house only releases limited quantities each month and the number of authors querying for acceptance is over-whelming. That's one of the reasons some of the major houses require agent representation...to weed out the worst of the lot, but then that presents yet another hurdle for authors. There are just as many of us standing in line to try to find one who 'feels us worthy' as there are querying directly to those houses accepting non-agented material. I haven't queried many, but enough to become familiar with the standard form letter. "Your story sounds intriguing, BUT..."

I keep telling myself I should be happy with my achievements, but I've always been a goal-oriented idiot, and I made a mistake when I started by setting main-stream publishing as my final goal. Until I started grasping for that golden ring, I felt pretty good about myself, and I even had myself convinced that Tiger publications would meet my needs. They indicated an interest in my most recent WIP, then sent out notices they are filing BK. I've been in a pity-potty ever since because I know the chances of me finding the right agent are slim and none. It's like being in a long hallway and trying to decide which door to knock on.

I don't write typical sexual romance...no lunging, plunging, licking, slurping, and I limit the moans and groans. Personally I don't care to hear about sheathed organs and pulsating rods, but that's just me. I'm in the minority, I would say. I admire those of you who write with that flare, but I guess I'm too prudish to change my ways, reading and writing.

I tend to write more from the woman's perspective, so Women's fiction is what I would class First Degree Innocence, but the hero doesn't enter within the first three chapters so I'm not even eligible for romance contests. The one thing I so admire about small press is being allowed to write from my heart and not to meet requirements. BUT...if I plan to jump this final hurdle, I need to make some adjustments. Be on the lookout for a little f/f humping, bumping and grinding. It's a woman's prison, so I'm limited on my choices, if it's voluntary sex. *rofl* Actually, I'm only kidding. Like the song says...I gotta be me.