Monday, November 15, 2010

So Many To Choose From!

What shoe shopping, car buying, and agenting (yeah, I don't think it's a word either, but you get what I mean, right?) all have in common: We've been car hunting for my daughter for about six weeks now. We've come across several acceptable vehicles, but none of them screamed, "BUY ME! BUY ME! BUY ME!" Some looked nice on the outside without a dent or a scratch, but were seriously flawed on the inside with carpet stains or cigarette burns in the seats. They were kind of like a beautiful pair of shoes that are tortuously painful to wear. Or, like a manuscript that catches an agent's attention with a wonderfully written query letter, but disappoints with terrible writing. Some of the cars we looked at were nice on the outside and immaculate on the inside, but lacked mechanical stability. They were like an eye-catching, comfortable shoe that you would never wear because you have nowhere to wear them to. Or, like a manuscript with an attention grabbing query and a beautiful writing style, but a horrible premise. Finally, we came across a vehicle that was flawless on the inside and out, and was mechanically sound. It's like a stylish yet comfortable and functional shoe that people would stop to compliment you on. Or, a manuscript that grabs an agent's interest with an awesome query, brilliant writing, and a knock-out premise. Guess which car we chose? Which kind of manuscript do you think an agent is looking for? Don't even think that they will settle for less than the best. After all, we didn't.

23 comments:

Melanie's Randomness said...

Ooo glad your daughter got a car! True, you got to put your best forward!! =)

Melanie's Randomness

strugglingwriter said...

My first car was a 1973 VW Beetle. This was in 1995. It was a cool car, but lacked working locks, air conditioning, and heating.

Have you checked out the used car listings on cars.com? It searches local dealerships.

Paul

Tamika: said...

I know your daughter is estatic:) I'm working on the mechanics right now, and the clinking and clanking that I keep finding is torturous!

Lydia Kang said...

Good analogy. Why settle for less? Exactly!

Anonymous said...

I agree with Lydia. Great analogy. We should never settle no matter how great the package appears.

The Book Nut said...

The only problem with buying your kid a perfect car is it deprives them of all the wonderful stories to pass on to their children! Such as being stranded repeatedly on the side of the road and having to walk home, or having to carry a battery and long jumper cables in the trunk so as to be able to give yourself a jump every time you had to stop, or even having random parts fall off when you go over bumps! It's a rite of passage isn't it?

My first car was a 1978 Olds 98 and it looked and maneuvered like a sleek black tank! I was constantly trying to keep it running and spent many frustrating hours working on it. Finally my dad helped me rebuild the engine and it ran beautifully. Too bad it got confiscated by the police....but that's a different story! :)

Regardless of the car, at least you'll get to enjoy the constant dread and worry every time she goes off by herself. I know my parents really enjoyed that part! :)

lotusgirl said...

Nice analogy. I'm working to make mine better. It's a slow process.

Patti said...

Great comparison. Even though it's hard and may take a while, it's always a good idea to go for the best.

Heather Sunseri said...

Yeah, that's a fantastic analogy! I so want to deliver exactly that to an agent.

Shannon O'Donnell said...

Love the analogy! I so want my "car" to be perfect - or at least enough for an agent to say, "Yeah, I want that."

Stephanie Faris said...

It's tough because there's SO much competition out there...so many people want to write a novel and get it published. But all we can do is be the best author we can be and write the best BOOK we can...how do we do that? We fall down a few times and get scrapes, get back up again, dust ourselves off, and try again and again and again. If we love it enough, we keep trying until one day we reach our goal.

Laura Pauling said...

It's so true! All aspects from the premise, to the writing, to the query need to be excellent! We can never slack off because we're tired of it! And congrats on finding a car.

K. M. Walton said...

We all know publishing is a painfully subjective business, so every agent is technically looking for something different. What one agent loves and requests another will respond with, "Not for me" - which used to frustrate and confuse me to DEATH. My whole (loooong and sordid) query process was extremely taxing, but in the end it was about finding the one agent that loved my book, cover to cover.

L. T. Host said...

Ah, but then there's the nagging question: which of the three am I?

We always hope for the last, but how can we ever truly know?

I am struggling with this right now!

Sherrie Petersen said...

Nice analogy :)

Jennie Allen said...

You got a honda?! :) I love it!

Susan Fields said...

I'm glad you found just the right car!

Anonymous said...

What excellent analogies to a manuscript, the good, the bad, the best.

I also thought about the fact that there is SO MUCH to choose from in shoes, cars, and every kind of product imaginable. I think that's why I don't like to go shopping!

Very thought-provoking post. Thank you!
Ann

Leah Rubin said...

How do you do it? Another well-developed and insightful post! Thanks-- and good luck with the car. We've had good experiences with Hondas.

Diane said...

Glad you found the right one for her and we'll find the right agents for us too. :O)

Kristen Torres-Toro said...

What a great analogy! That's awesome! Thanks!

Suzanne Casamento said...

Always go for the best, right?!

Tana said...

So I need to be mechanically sound you're saying? ;) Oh how I want to shout BUY ME and have it done. I need this. I'm not sure why, but I do.