Currying Favor with Salmon (Is it Sal-mon or Sa-man?)

The 44th Annual OWFI conference is in two weeks. It's theme is Story Weavers, and we've got some great folk coming to speak and teach.

I have been blessed to be one of the shepherds, and I get to shepherd the remarkable Chuck Sambuchino--pick him up at the airport, make sure he has what he needs at the conference, introduce him at the sessions, and make sure he makes his flight at the end of the conference.I’ve read his blog for quite some time, and am excited about finally meeting him.Being a writer is more than just writing. It’s about service as well. I’ve always done something at the OWFI conferences I’ve attended--volunteering to be a shepherd at the first one before I even knew anyone or knew what OWFI was all about.

I had to miss last year’s OWFI for personal reasons, and I vowed then I wouldn’t miss another one no matter the reason short of life-or-death.

The speakers/presenters who come to OWFI conferences are highly impressed with the professionalism and personableness of OWFI folk, and it’s people like the shepherds and other volunteers that make it so.

Sometimes, OWFI is a speaker’s or presenter’s first visit to Oklahoma. It’s up to me (and the others) to make sure they leave knowing they are welcomed, appreciated, and a part of our OWFI family.



The last time I was a shepherd I got to usher the knowledgeable Josh Getzler around. I remember he had an impromptu session at the bar after Saturday’s duties were done. During our friendly talks between sessions and such, I had learned of Josh’s enjoyment of a particular drink, and while wide-eyed writers were picking Josh’s well-honed brain about the writing business and craft I was whispering to a few what his favorite drink is, and Josh was quite surprised when a refreshed beverage showed up in his hand every few questions.

Currying favor with those who are successful in our little profession is very important, not simply for the sake of self-serving desires, but because it’s the nice thing to do.
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Larry Mike's Curry Mustard Salmon Patties

• 1 can (16 ounces) salmon
• 1 medium onion, finely grated
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• ½ tsp curry
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• ¼ tps garlic
• 2 large eggs, well beaten
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups fine dry bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons shortening

Preparation:

1. Turn salmon and ¾ liquid into a medium mixing bowl.
2. Flake with a fork, removing OR mashing any bones (they are edible).
3. Mix in onion, parsley, mustard, garlic, curry, cayenne pepper, and pepper.
4. Mix beaten eggs with salmon.
5. Add enough bread crumbs, about 1/2 to 3/4 cup, to make thick enough to shape into 12 small patties.
6. Roll patties in 1/2 cup bread crumbs.
7. In a large heavy skillet over low heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter; add patties.
8. Fry patties slowly on one side; add remaining butter, turn patties, and fry until brown on the other side.

Serves 6.

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The Writing Profession is a Family Business. We are brothers and sisters in a craft as old as humankind. Some of us, though, have forgotten this. Some of us have forgotten that making and keeping friends--writers, agents, editors, publishers--is important.

The best selling book rarely makes it up the list without “family” help.

To some “currying favor” is brown nosing, sucking up, and selling out.

As I writer who has had some modicum of success, I still curry the favor of others, not just for the sake of doing something to please them to meet my own means but because I’m a friendly guy with some talent and drive and I realize that I need others to help me along in my craft.

Besides, it’s just the nice thing to do.

No man is island. No writer is wholly successful solely by his own efforts.

Eat well.
Write well.

Larry Mike

Lucky Agent Contest #4 w/Regina Brooks

Chuck Sambuchino is sponsoring the 4th Luck Agent Contest with Regina Brooks once again providing valuable advice for the luck winners.

Tick HERE to read the rules and guidelines.

Regina is the founder of Serendipity Literary in Brooklyn. She has edited, written and agented books. She is the author of Writing Great Books for Young Adults.
Although I haven't won, YET, this contest has helped me to tighten up my first 150-200 words of my novel.

Chuck has a great blog. Tick on the banner below to read and subscribe to it.

Remember: A writer writes in the same way a golfer golfs--you're going to have some divots some times, but, man, aren't those double eagles just great when they occur!

See you on the bookshelves.

Take care,
Larry Mike Garmon

The Agent-Writer: A Conflict of Interest? The Dick Cheney of Publishing?

Dick Cheney was hired to choose the best vice-presidential candidate to run along side George Bush, and who did he find was the most qualified? Himself! Was anyone really surprised?

When I read recently that an unknown author received a six-figure contract for a YA dystopia series, I was quite excited for the young lady.


"Way to go!" I said to her through the virtual landscape.


Then as I read the article a bit more deeply, I became somewhat concerned and even frowned.


This young lady is not only a YA author, she's been working as an agent as well.


I've noticed in the past couple of years the trendy "Agent-Writer" label being attached to many of the younger agents.


And I have to wonder:


1. Where does the priority of the "Agent-Writer" lie?


2. If the "Agent-Writer" gets wind of a house looking for something in particular, does the "Agent-Writer" immediately think of his/her clients, or does the "Writer" persona kick in, and he/she takes advantage of the inside information for him/herself?


3. How much time does an "Agent-Writer" spend representing his/her clients, and how much time does the "Agent-Writer" spend representing him/herself?


This is a highly competitive business, this writing business, and the last thing I want is an agent who is also a potential competitor.


Agents have an inside track that is not readily available to the writer.


Agents who use their publishing contacts to further their writing careers are like those Wall Street insiders who know about mergers and sell outs and can cash in big time before the regular investor has a clue as to what the heck is going on.


I don't begrudge anybody using any means to advance his/her career in this business.


I just don't want him/her to advance him/herself at the expense of my career.


This business is hard enough without now having to worry about just how much time the "Agent-Writer" is putting into my career and how much time into his/her career.


It's like when the second George Bush hired Dick Cheney to interview and vet several candidates to take the vice-presidential slot on the 2000 Republican ticket.


After several weeks of candidate interviews, who did Dick Cheney find as the most qualified person to run as George Bush's running mate?


Himself!


I've sold 14 novels without an agent, but I'm on the hunt for one now. I'm tire of doing all the heavy lifting by myself and want someone with the expertise and time to help me, to share some of the responsibility.

I don't need or want a Dick Cheney for my agent.


I want my agent to be an agent who is first concerned about advancing my career.


See you on the bookshelves.


Larry Mike Garmon

The Fickle Finger of Fate, Agents, Editors, & Lovers

What' I'm reading now: Dashiell Hammett's short story anthology The Continental Op.

My wish list for the week:

1. A coffee cup that refills itself.
2. Ten more hours in my day.
3. Two sets of hands and two computers so I can type my story with one set of hands and one computer while I write my blog, network, grade student papers, critique my buddies' stories, and troll the Internet with the other pair of hands and the second computer.

Fickle is a good word to describe the pleasures of agents, editors, and publishers. At times I think "arbitrary and capricious" are more fitting.

In the days of old, an agent and the publisher would actually help to build a writer's career. A writer wrote, an agent sold, and a publisher published two or three or five small, good but unimportant novels to help the writer become known and established (much like 1960's groups pressing local and regional 45 rpm records). This is how a writer learned his craft and earned his chops --the pre-digital world's version of platform building.

Because that process is expensively prohibited now days, writers spend much time in college creative writing classes, attending seminars, participating in workshops, gathering at conferences, and workshopping with critique buddies to hone their craft and earn their chops.

Nowadays, each agent and each editor seek that next blockbuster novel and series rather than take a writer under his/her wing and develop him/her into a blockbuster writer.

Plus, every writer is trying to write that next blockbuster novel and series instead of just writing good stories as he/she learns her craft.

Serious writers spend much time researching agents and editors to learn what they are buying to sell.

Serious writers spend much time in market research to see what the public is buying from the sellers.

Then I read a comment like this from one of my favorite agent bloggers: "It's really all subjective when you get right down to it. I might not like your submission today, but if I had gotten it two weeks later, I might ask to see the entire manuscript."

Sometimes I feel as though they just walk outside and hold their fingers to the wind. Or, just toss up several slush pile queries and the one that lands face up, they ask the harried writer to send the entire manuscript.

In reality, I know agents and editors are just like me and you--we love books and we love to tell stories. A writer who approaches the agent and editor side of writing as though the agent and the editor are sharks or worms or haters of books had best become good friends with Lulu or AuthorHouse.

As with you and many other writers, I read several agent and editor blogs, and several of the agents and editors post queries, making comments about what they like and what they don't like about the hundreds of submitted queries and such.

From their comments, I surmise they are indeed at times "arbitrary and capricious" -- some even admit to breaking their own submission rules to accept a query's idea because they like the story's premise.

One even admitted, "There really aren't any rules" despite her agency's "strict submission rules" on her website.

Learning this is like learning Santa doesn't really exist--confusion, mistrust, frustration, and even anger swirl through me like small dust devils on a hot Southwest Oklahoma afternoon. (How's that for a mixed metaphor, eh?)

Perhaps it's the hundreds of thousands of years of male evolution screaming out from within me, but I like rules, and I like when the rules are followed. Makes my life so much easier..

Sometimes I feel like I'm riding a commuter train in India and the editors and agents are the conductors, all of whom are grabbing at the controls because each believes he/she knows how to drive better than the other; yet, few actually have a conductor's license.

As with you, I enter any contest that puts me closer to an editor, agent, and publisher.

I haven't made any of the winning lists yet--win, place, or show.

However, the same novel I have submitted to these monthly contests from which I have yet to receive a win, place, or show I have also submitted to agents and editors over the past few weeks.

So far, three out of five agents to whom I submitted this same novel have asked to see the entire manuscript and are reading it now (I hope I haven't just jinxed myself).

One of the agents who is reading my novel for representation was a judge in one of those contests that I didn't win, place, or show. I didn't even make the top 20 list.

But, now she's reading the same novel I had submitted to her for the contest because she found it to be a "unique and interesting idea" as well as "witty with a strong voice and well written."

Interesting, huh?

Writers and Agents are Lovers groping for each other in the dark--trying to figure out how to please his/her partner while not abandoning his/her own desires in the process.

See you on the bookshelves.

Larry Mike Garmon

PS: This blog was inspired by writing friend Helen Robertson who recently placed third in a monthly submission contest with an entry I had read and helped critique last fall--it's a very good story and will see print one day. Helen had submitted her entry to another contest and was soundly rejected by that one. She wrote to our Yahoo Group to show how fickle this whole business really is, and, thus, inspired me to blog about it.