the fictional

read joel fishbane's blog about the world of writing. Get tips on how to handle rejection, how to find an agent, or just random musings about the writers who joel really really likes.

When is Your Lover Like Your Literary Agent?

In 2009, I had the misfortune of being both single and unpublished. For a year, I had been trying to generate interest in both myself and my novel, Breakfast for Therapy. The response on both fronts had been the same: after some mild interest, they ultimately decided to pass.

One should never try to date and sell a novel at the same time; one bleeds into the other. Stood up on Friday night, I spent the weekend rewriting Chapter One. When an agent finally offered to represent me, I had to fight to urge to take her to meet my mother.....