I see it all the time... on blogs, on Twitter, on forums... agents say they get more queries than ever before. And I see a few folks reply that its probably the economy that has kick started so many people to finally write a book.
WRONG! (In My Opinion, of course)
Agents get more queries for one reason and one reason alone (In My Opinion, of course)...
Because its Easier to Write a Book. (Notice I didn't say 'good' book or 'okay' book... that part is as difficult as EVER. Believe me/you!)
Don't believe me. Talk to someone who's been writing for more than ten years (like myself).
Now hear out my reasoning.... I could, of course, be wrong.
1. Research.
I remember when I started to write back in 1994, a fantasy book. I wanted to research castles and such. I had to go to the library. Many libraries. Go through the card catalog. Dig through shelves. Or go to the bookstore and PURCHASE a book on castles.
Today it's a click away. You can research ANYTHING if you have the Interent. Easy, peezy, Mac and Chezzy. It's actually fun to research. And go in depth. It's fast. And convenient.
2. Setting.
The first book I ever finished (BALLOON SMUGGLERS... I still think it's good), takes place in Los Angeles, CA. Hardly any libraries had anything other than tour books about the City. I didn't know anyone who lived out there. It wasn't easy trying to make my setting a part of the book. Turned out, for me, that my brother-in-law was going to a week long conference out there and had an extra bed in his hotel room. My wife gave me the green light and I spent a week drving around the city.
Physcially going to the setting of your book is still the BEST way to learn about it, but its not necessary anymore. With the Internet, Digital Photos, Blogging... most of us can dig up all kinds of information about our setting without leaving the house. Amazing.
3. Software.
When I started to write BALLOON SMUGGLERS, I bought a few pens and a few spiral bound notebooks... and proceeded to write by hand. Then I would type it into a Brother P-touch typewriter and it would print out the manuscript. Took! For! Ever!
Now we have Word and Wordperfect and Notepad... so much easier. Spell and Grammar Check and, jeez, it's amazing how much easier it is to create a manuscript. And printing is so FAST!!! Some authors still write by hand... God Bless them... Everyone.
4. Agent Research
The only way I could research agents way back when was to go to the bookstore and purchase a copy of
Writers Digest Guide to Literary Agents. About 20 bucks. And then to send out material... I had to label everything by hand, purchase postage... it was a real pain in the patoot.
The Internet has made finding information about agents very, very easy. But you have to go to the right sources... I'm sure there is also a LOT of bogus information out there.
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I know I'm missing a bunch of stuff... If you can think of anything else, please feel free to comment and I'll add it to my list.
I think the inundation of queries is due more to these reasons than to the economy. At least a lot of it.