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So Close, Yet How Far?

In the next day or so, we'll see how close we actually came to landing a big time agent.

Yesterday I emailed out a feeler to a long established conservative author & former literary agent to see if she could help us in any way. I woke up this morning, thinking that I probably wouldn't receive a response, and when I got out of bed to check my email... nothing. Okay, time to take a hike of Cowles Mountain to clear my head.



By time I got home, I noticed a reply with the same subject as my initial email from the day before, but didn't recognize the name of the respondent.

Dear Tim and Steve,

Many thanks for your nice note to ______, who passed it along to me. (I represent her to book publishers, and work closely with her on some other clients, since she is no longer agenting.)

Although I like your idea, I'm leery of taking it on. Have you tried publishing it in a periodical or on line? It strikes me as a great subject for an article, but it could be a bit of an uphill struggle as a book. Book publishers are looking for author credentials and a platform to help sell a public policy book like this one. If you launch it in a magazine or ezine or a blog, it might help to give it some traction for a book editor.

I'm not trying to discourage you; I do hope you find the right house for your book, if that's the way you choose to proceed.

Thanks again for the shot at this.

I grabbed my stomach, as I felt that sinking feeling of futility creep into our project. This guy is a legitimate agent, who not only most likely shares some of our views, but actually likes the concept. Yet he once again listed the biggest reason of concern for us; that only established authors or personalities got political nonfiction books published.

Dejected, I hopped into the shower, and immediately realized that we had not been fully rejected. When I recalled his words, he left the door open, or at least it seemed to me. "I'm leery of taking it on." When I'm leery of something, it means I have my doubts, but am still open all possibilities.

By the time I got out of the shower, I thought that his email wasn't a rejection, but a subtle plea for us to prove it to him that our book was a winner.

Dear ____,

First off, many thanks for taking a look at our project. As I'm sure you know, it means a lot to prospective authors to receive a personal response.

The reason we feel strongly about getting our ideas published in a book is because the group we're targeting, young people, are by and large completely unrepresented outside of the internet.

If we only limited ourselves to a blog, we'd be joining the many others which share a similar message, popular to many young people, but yet stuck in the underground. Though we already have created a blog, promoting our book, getting published is crucial for the dissemination of our message on a broad scale.

I understand when you mention that publishers are seeking notoriety in our genre of nonfiction, but I think it is that very fact which leaves so many young people out in the cold when it comes to generating a true passion for freedom and personal liberties. There are few published authors, politicians, and celebrities who can relate these issues to my generation in an effective manner, because few are actually young people; like us. We feel that our position as concerned young writers will resonate well with our peers and have wide appeal.

We also feel that with a published manuscript, our experience in marketing, and passion for the issues will make us great promoters. I'm sure that various TV magazine shows would jump at the chance to have young knowledgeable authors like us on their programs as opposed to the same talking heads. Also, ours is a message that aligns well with media moguls such as Andrew Breitbart, who I'm sure is interested in developing a young readership.


I know that seeking a publisher will provide us with a great deal of challenges, but I intend to fight every inch of the way in order to succeed. I do not exaggerate when I say that I feel our message could be the last hope for our generation and must be told.

Once again, many thanks, and if you talk to ______, please give her our gratitude for passing along our email. It was a wonderful thing she did.

-Tim Sorweid

My guess is, by tomorrow we'll know how close we came

Do You Need a Conservative Literary Agent For Conservative Books?

In a word, yes; with one caveat. If you fall into one of these categories- published author, journalist with contacts, politician, or celebrity- you can get anything published, regardless of bias.

This industry is heavily dominated by left leaning statists who were taught at their liberal arts colleges that there are certain groups of disadvantaged people who deserve special rights over others. They believe that the government is the only force righteous enough to manage the balance of the scales of fairness. Marcusean logic.

Our book is antithesis of this school of thought. We explain that government's only job should be to defend our individual liberties, not to actively fight for fairness. Almost 100 years of 'social justice' and we still have 10% unemployment, a huge population on welfare, and poverty, despite all of the wealth redistribution mandated by the almighty federal government.

So back to the question: Do You Need a Conservative Literary Agent For Conservative Books? Check out one of our rejections last week.

Thank you for thinking of me with your query. While this sounds like a strong project, I'm afraid it doesn't strike me as a likely fit with me and my particular editorial contacts. I wish you well in finding the right agent for your work.

I doubt our book will be a fit for 99.9% of the editorial contacts in the literary industry, because of our disapproval with statism.

At least she could appreciate the strength of our project, though even the potential for profit won't motivate a liberal to entertain conservative thought from an 'average' person.

Still, we'll keep on fighting

The Power of Words: Encouragement from a Published Author

In our last post, I mentioned that a few simple words can have a significant impact on the life of another. Well, if two sentences from a respected national journalist could make our day, this next exchange was sure to warm the cockles of our hearts.

I recalled a journalist, author, and lawyer who I contacted a few years ago; motivated by a stunningly thought-provoking article in my hometown's local paper about the 2008 sub-prime mortgage crisis. I had never previously contacted a journalist, but was so moved by his piece which chastised the federal government for its role in the housing market crash, that I had to thank him.

I quickly received a reply in which the journalist thanked me for my email as well as complimented me for giving him hope for young Americans. We exchanged a few more emails and, ultimately, my first correspondence was published in the next issue of the paper. Pretty cool.

Flash forward to today: I remembered how pleasant our first discussion was and felt that he'd be a great person to run our project by.

Hi there ____,

Not sure if you remember me, but I wrote you a year back or so in response to your poignant piece on the subprime mortgage crisis. I am originally from Mequon, now living in San Diego and in need of your advice.

My brother and I recently completed a book called, America's Youth vs. Big Government: the battle for the fate of a nation, which is targeting the young generation to stand up and take action against an imposing federal government and entitlement liabilities handed down to us from our parents. Sadly, we are having a hard time landing an agent. As you probably know, the book industry is heavily dominated by the liberal elite and despite responses that our project is a "strong" one, it does not match up with their political ideologies. Hey, at least they're honest.

I am contacting you to see if you could provide us with any words of encouragement, advice, or potential contacts as we continue to seek to publish our book. We believe our message is a strong one and that our unique story should be told. Any help would be highly appreciated.

Laying in bed the next morning, I was delighted to see such a wonderful response!

Steve, Tim:

What an absolutely refreshing email to receive in the middle of a busy day! While I do not remember our earlier exchange, I am certain it was enjoyable. I think you have an absolute winner here with your book. Not only is it the right topic and the right time, but it is written from a fresh perspective. The fact that you are as young as you are and have taken the initiative to write a book of this nature actually gives me hope for the future of our country.

I agree with just about everything you wrote in your email. I might take you to task on the notion of "giving up support for all parties". The real failure of the Bush administration - beyond simple fiscal irresponsibility - was the fact that it left young American freedom fighters such as yourself (I'm just an American freedom fighter) with no place to turn to for answers. I've taken the liberty of copying my reply to a good friend and former Congressional candidate, ____, with whom I am writing a book. I know he would be very eager to see your email below. ____, however, might disagree with me on this, but I do NOT feel that political abdication or even seeking out a third party (we have enough of those) is the answer. The answer must be found in bringing the roots of the Tea Party movement (for lack of a better term, back to the Republican Party, and continually pounding home the virtues of individual responsibility, smaller government, lower taxes, free enterprise, competition, and traditional values. I would eagerly order my advance copy of your book and I'm sure I would recommend it to dozens of my colleagues.

So much for the encouragement. As for advice, I have written three well-selling legal treatises published with a large Law publisher in New York and one commercial fiction thriller which tantalized me on Amazon.com for a month but is little more than a footnote on my resume now. My experience in the non-legal, non-fiction market is nil, but as I said, both ___ and I are about to cross that bridge. ___ has just been published with a non-secular non-fiction book and may have some thoughts, but all I can say is it will take a dogged determination, thick skin, and the total and unwavering inability to accept "no" as an answer. Get a copy of a list of publishing houses and select 50 with whom you think this book might be in their market niche. Determine what each publishing house wants to see - chapter summaries, outline, three sample chapters, or an entire manuscript - in order to review it. The truth is, many houses won't even read it. Rinse and repeat.

Continue sending out feelers like the email you sent me, but reacher a littler higher. Contact Newt Gingrinch, Glenn Beck, and other highly visible conservatives and appeal to them the same way you appealed to me. Door after door will be shut in your face and then, one day, it will happen. But timing is key with your book. It's contents may be stale after 2012, so getting your idea in front of people as quickly as possible is key.

I hate to sound condescencing, but I'm very proud of you guys. You've made my day with your email and your project. In the words of Winston Churchill (or was it Tim Allen in Galaxy Quest),"Never, never, Never give up."

If there is anything I can do to be of help, please let me know. I'll send a copy of this email and yours to the editor.

Now if that doesn't make you feel good, then your heart must be made of stone. Not only did he think we had a pertinent project, but he continued with words of encouragement, advice, and even passed our query onto various contacts. He didn't have to do any of that, but is obviously a class above everyone else.

It was difficult for me to post his response, because it was obviously personal and intended for us. Of course, though, when you receive something of this magnitude, you want the world to know. His words of encouragement, alone, are worth sharing to prospective authors. I removed his name as well as any other personal information and hope he forgives me if he comes across this blog.

I also hope he understands that when times get rough throughout this process, it will be this email that I refer to for motivation to keep on truckin'. The word 'thanks' doesn't do this situation justice, but it will have to do.

A Thoughtful Journalist from a National Newspaper

Our efforts to contact like-minded authors have not all been for vain, and unlike the famous libertarian author who snubbed us, some have actually shown interest in our project.

Here was our email:

My brother and I have spent the past 4 months writing a book about the significant challenges for the young generation. As you can imagine, we have had significant trouble finding an agent to represent us in the liberally-dominated literary world. I figured that it might be worth asking you if you had any advice since we seem to share many of the same beliefs, conservative with libertarian leanings. I have read many of your columns on Reason, in the Post, and recently enjoyed your appearance on the Fox Business Network.

I have copied our query letter that we have sent to many agents below. It would be greatly appreciated if you could read it and give us any comments as to how me might improve our search for representation.

Next morning, a response!

Thanks for the kind words. I'll take a look and get back to you in a few days.

Unlike our last contact, this shows at least the willingness to entertain us, which is all you can ask for these days. Even if he now comes back with "sorry, there's nothing I can do, but you're onto something," we will feel as though he has put some thought into our project.

Its odd how the small things make a big difference when you're looking for a literary agent. You get so used to simple rejections, like "Sorry, not for me," that any personal response really makes you feel like someone cares about your hard work.

Maybe this is more a lesson in life than in publishing a book. Just a few simple words can make a positive impact on someone's life. He may certainly not be able to help us at all, but those two short sentences will be remembered by me for a long time.

Anyways, we got some other responses from published authors and journalists last week that I'll be posting later. You'll be blown away.