I’m working through the holidays
December 29, 2010
–though tomorrow I’m taking the morning off to get my Texas drivers’ license and Texas plates for my car.
I’ve signed two new clients over the holidays. I’m getting ready to notify 5 more, but I’ve got to run them by Ethan, who is semi-taking the holidays off.
I’ve started submitting my new clients. I hope to have all the ones ready to go on editors’ desks by January 10. I’m also doing edits on the writers I acquired who aren’t ready to go out without some punching up.
I’m almost through all the requested manuscripts, so next week I’ll be getting through the next batch of queries that have been queuing up while I read.
It’s been a ton of reading, but I’m very impressed by all the new writers out there.
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Denise Little 
Hi Denise,
Thank you for the update. It helps keep the creeping worry at bay. It sounds like you’ve been taking good care of your clients and I admit to being envious (in a good way). Wishing you speedy lines and courteous assistance at the DMV tomorrow.
Thanks for the update Denise. Hopefully the query pile isn’t too crazy.
I’ll raise an illusionary glass of rum to you in tribute for the incredible amount of work you’ve been putting in. And then, when I can drink again, I shall drink it for real. 🙂 WTG!
And just in case you missed it on the previous 3 replies. THANKS FOR THE UPDATE! Happy holidays!
Cindy Sprigg
Thanks for the update, Denise. It helps, especially when the subject line does not include the words “no thanks.”
So are you sending out rejections also?
Thanks so much for the update! The speculations have been running rampant up until now. Some of us have recently taken to manic inbox refreshing, and magic rejection-repellent spells. (Names withheld to protect the innocent.)
Bet you’re happy you missed out on the blizzard over here in NY. If you want, I can forward a bunch of snow, for old times sake.
Have a happy and healthy New Year!
There’s a rejection repellent spell? I didn’t know that! (Looking frantically through grimoires.)
I’m not sure whether to be excited or anxious since I haven’t gotten a rejection yet. Your update gives me hope for the full I sent a few months ago, but I know how possible it is for an MS to get lost in the deluge.
If you’ll pardon the question, what’s your policy on nudges at this time? Since you sound so busy, would you prefer people to hold off another week or two?
These updates make the “teeth-grindingly” slow feel a little less painful. Thanks for taking the time to post them!
don’t read anything tomorrow after going to the dmv. we want you in the best mood possible ::::insert wink face::::
http://www.novelnovice.com
Hope you had a great holiday. The DMV will hopefully be quick and simple for you. Just don’t ever try and call them. It’s a nightmare to do so 🙂
I”m with the others. Take your time. I know I check my email hourly but, well, I’m OCD in that manner. Doesn’t help that the voices are yelling at me to write a couple more books, but of course, they are in totally different genres.
Have a great New Year Denise, and everyone else as well!!
Sounds like you are doing tons of work. Be prepared at the DMV for your license to be mailed to you. You don’t get it immediately- you get some slip of paper that says your license is processed. The driver’s license is also paper!
I believe you can do all that DMV stuff online, right?
I did after I moved.
I can’t stand the DMV so good luck to you on that.
Thanks for the update Denise. It’s much appreciated, not to mention above and beyond considering the amount of work you have.
Wishing you a very Happy New Year with much continued success in your new career!
Thanks so much for the update. The revision is in your inbox. Very excited to get you feedback, but absolutely not in a rush. Take your time and have a wonderful New Years!!!
Happy new year’s, Denise! May your 2011 be rich with happiness and success!
Happy New Year folks. May this year be the one when all of us see our names in print and start the careers we’ve worked so hard for.
Denise, here’s a glass to you. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Peace
It’s New Year’s Eve and I hope you spend a little time enjoying it. Here’s to great news in 2011!
(I have every finger and toe crossed!) 🙂
Here’s to you Denise (and everyone else here). Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe New Years.
Your posts exhaust me just by reading them! I can only imagine what your facing, but it sounds like you are going to have one hell of a year in 2011. Congratulations!
Hope you have a safe and happy New Year!
See? So exhausted I forget proper grammar!
Happy New Year to you, Denise. Thanks for your hard work and your updates that keep us sane (mostly). Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
If you haven’t already. I think you should check out all the posts on Query Tracker about you.
Please Don’t shoot the messenger.
Just letting you know.
Cindy
She might a little busy to sit over there and read all the comments lol especially since these recent posts. Oooo! You should turn the comments on querytracker into a book and pitch it to Denise and then she won’t have to go over there at all, she can just read your book. Win-win! oh my gosh, I’m cracking myself up over here. haha
Hi Denise. Thanks for the update! I hope you had a great holiday in your new home. FYI, I just emailed you regarding a revision and wanted to give you a heads up outside your ever growing inbox pile 🙂
Hello Denise,
I am in high spirits because I succeeded in putting tabs on my blog…opps this is the wrong place to announce this. Oh well, I hope that your New Year celebrations went off without a hitch. Me, I spent part of the night out in a blizzard rescuing a neighbor whose vehicle ran off the road and into a farmer’s field (Sounds like a good plot for a science-fiction fantasy book titled, IT WAS A DARK AND SNOWY NIGHT). I am looking forward to another productive year of writing.
I sent my query back in October, still haven’t heard anything. Any updates?
Should I resubmit if I haven’t heard anything back after you requested a full back in September?
Thanks,
Robert
Hello Denise,
When you get time, could you post if the rejection letters for the full manuscripts went out yet? Thanks.
Will do!
Denise
Do you have any guesstimates about when you’ll send out rejections for the fulls you requested in September? I hoped I wouldn’t be among them, but at this point no news isn’t good news.
I’m getting that feeling too Harriet. I’m on pins and needles here.
Patience, they say, is a virtue. I know it’s tough waiting this long. My full was requested in September as well. But in reality, her agenting days didn’t really begin until after her move to Houston and as with any new employment, getting a cashflow going is a good thing. So it stands to reason that Denise is getting out publishable manuscripts first, then working on everything else in its time. I started looking for an agent after writing my first book in 1983. Three books later, Denise is the first real agent to request a full (I’ve been led astray and lost money more than once), so I’m willing to sit here quietly working on number four. Here’s hoping all ends well for all of us!
R.J.,
Patience indeed. I’ve been in this game a few years myself (as both an editor and a writer) and patience is the best approach for those involved in this industry. The worst thing a writer can do is remain static; sitting on their hands as they wait to hear from someone. Continue to write. Produce short fiction (or poetry, non-fict, etc.), work on that iconic platform everyone is talking about. This will take the edge off of waiting and help your career by being proactive and productive.
I submitted a novel to an agent last year (had requested a full within 5 minutes of my query) and after 10 months under exclusive submission, had yet to look at the manuscript. Agents are busy, I get that, however my mistake was placing all my eggs (and hope) in one basket. Keep yourself busy and shop around. Agents simultaneously submit to increase the chance of a sale (and hopefully spark a bid war), so there’s no reason writers shouldn’t practice this as well (unless you’ve offered an exclusive). Writing is an a mixture of business and art. Work hard, adapt, learn, and grow thick skin. Trust me, if you bust your butt and act wisely, you’ll reap the rewards.
I agree with Andrew and R.J.
This is a crazy business. As I see it, the only thing I can control is my own writing. So as soon as I finished my last novel, researched the market and queried the appropriate agents, I started a new project. That is the part of writing that I love, the creative part. Whether an agent love my work or not is beyond me.
That said, waiting is hard and rejection harder, no matter what.
Good luck!
This agent is fake. I have reported to the proper outlets. I know you will not accept this comment, but yes, we are on to you.
How is everything, Denise? Still hanging tough?
I’ve been freezing. Literally. But we thawed out on Friday evening, and things are almost back to normal–still witing on a plumber.
Denise
good thought Carmen — i have spent so much time and energy on the anxiety of waiting that I haven’t written as much as I should — used the holidays as an excuse for awhile — no more–regardless if I hear or not—back to my novel(s) in preperation
I did the same thing Rod. This is just a random thought that hit me; We’re all worried & concerned and some might be bitchin & moaning about not hearing from Denise, but among the manuscripts she’s going through, dealing with Ethan EllenbrugAgency (and she might have to wait to hear from them to re: some of us), she was dealing with real life. During the fall she had moved to a new home, dealt with the holidays just like the rest of us. And this the stuff we know about. My point is on top of her job, Denise has real life to deal with, JUST LIKE THE REST OF US! She has friends, family, gets tired, hungery& sick. Tarzan maybe right whether or not Denises was right or wrong, but one other thing to remember Denise also became an agent back in Sept, so this is all new to her too. She may very well be feeling all the same stuff we all feel when we start a new job.
And we all know how much fun moving is~ YUK –as you said Chris, moving, a new job and a backlog of work- – – – – – how much fun can one person have????
^^^^^^^^^^^^
WOW ~ obviously fake! I heard that this agent was a scam BUT WOW!
I don’t think I’m fake. Just overwhelmed.
But Time will tell.
Denise
Maybe a stack of manuscripts fell on top of her when she was bent over tying her shoes and she is waiting to be rescued. You never know . . .
Funny Jill – I wanted my work to knock her out, but not like that!
I love reading her blog and that she is undertaking a new journey and taking us along with her through her updates. The silence does make me worry about her though. I am sure it’s due to signing her new clients and making their work a priority. Which she should. That’s why we are all here, waiting patiently and wondering if she’s going to come up for air. We all want Denise to rep us, too.
Chris – you made some really good points. She can’t be an agent 24/7.
Thanks Michelle. After reading some nasty comments on the Query tracker site, I sat down and thought about what Denise must be going through. I learned a long time ago in certain situation to try and look at things from another person P.O.V. You might see things differently. According to my Mom where alot of folks see outside the box, I’ve lived my life outside the box and always had a different way of looking at things. So maybe I’ve seen things a little more from Denise’s perspective and maybe some of the rest of the writers will to.
Chris – I fully understand the whole POV. I look at it all as well. That being said, I have been on QT and my opinion, for what it’s worth, is this is a site for authors to get together and share, whether good or bad. QT is an online site of unknowns who are seeking the ultimate goal of finding that special agent, like Denise. Qt’ers share good news and not such good news. Sometimes venting. Just as I am sure you do with your family, friends and co-workers. I’m sure Denise has had plenty of times where she has picked up the phone/email etc…and vented about her frustrations with her new career. It’s what humans do to keep sane. I don’t personally feel that the posts on QT are nasty but perception is left up to the individual. Since you are sensitive to another persons POV, I’m sure this makes you a magnet for your friends to unload on. It take a strong person to allow another the time and courtsey to express their feelings. I am sure you are truly a blessing to those around you. Good Luck Chris!
WOW Thank you Michelle, you flattered me. You’re right about my family/friends to open up to me. But as my Mom pointed out, I also keep up a wall, to keep folks an arms length away. I dont trust much, it has to be earned with me and its cause I’ve been stabbed in the back more than once by folks/women I thought I could trust/care about or more.
I think Denise may have bitten off more than she could chew, (not to sound cliche) and is feeling the pressure with the new job. Although I believe we have to be patient with her, I also think we have to keep looking/querrying agents. Good luck to you too little lady.
Fraudulent agent….
I’m one of the lucky few that Denise had accepted back in December, so I thought I’d let you know she’d not spoken to me since then, although I have e-mailed her a couple of times.
This week, I actually called Ethan Ellenberg to make sure she had not been abducted by aliens or run off to Cancun with some hot guy with five sexy-sounding names. The person I talked to said she’d been hit by the weather, which caused power outages at least, but that she’d just called them to say she was catching up.
So, more patience by all of us.
Denise — are you still around and active or have you pulled out of the picture?
Rod, I called the Ellenburg Agency the other day to make sure Denise was still with the company and everything was OK. The secretary I spoke to told me she is still with the there, and after she moved to Houston, shes been having some communcation problems. That is what I was told, SO DON’T SHOOT THE MESSENGER GUYS! LOL The thing that has me concerned a bit is he took my name & title. Now this maybe because they want to make sure I submitted due to Denise requesting my book or I just jumped in crapper head first because I called. I have to admit after reading an article in USA Today about E-Books I’m seriously looking at going this route if I dont hear from Denise or if rejected.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2011-02-09-ebooks09_ST_N.htm
This is the link folks.
Chris,
Thank you so much for the information on Denise and for the link. Tempting, isn’t it?
I’ve emailed a nudge to Denise. I’ve received a partial req from another agent but they want to review it exclusively and I cannot do that till I hear from Denise. Guess we will see if she responds. Hope she’s not too bogged down.
please let us knowif you get any word. Like you, I am holding from searching elsewhere for now based on a recommendation of Denise by another local writer.
I sent a nudge a few days ago after submitting a full by request in September. No response to date. Has anyone seen her profile on Linkedin? It shows her PAST employment as senior agent for Ethan Ellenberg. ???
Rod, don’t wait for Denise’s reply to continue your search. If an agent requests an exclusive, tell them you’re unable to do that because someone else is already reading and see if you can come to an agreement. Many times agents will make exceptions if they request exclusivity.
Always keep looking until you get an offer.
Best of luck to you.
In my case, I don’t need an exclusive submission. For heaven’s sake. You’re writers. If you get an offer while I’m struggling through the workload of a new agent, take advantage of it!
I”m new and under seige as a consequence. I’m loving it, but it makes me slow.
Feel free to keep submitting.
Denise
Dear Ms little,
I am sorry for the repeat Query on “Composed in Blood”.
During your time of absents from this site, I received two blank emails from you and no answer to the replies as to why they were blank. Not knowing what this meant, I re-queried.