Read Part 1 here      Read Part 2 here

And who were the publishers and agents on those panels always telling us little wannabes in the audience who they were looking for? Why, the next Michael Connelly or Lee Child, or some other hot writer du jour obscure to flyover country and known only within the Manhattan.

“You see,” the cognoscenti would tell us, “what attracted us to these authors was they had a long-term vision. They planned on capitalizing on the momentum of Book One by already having Book Two almost done and Book Three outlined.”

Dichotomy Alert!

At the same time as the publishers and agents are saying this, they are also running scared when they are approached with someone who does have that big vision.

So, after years of me jumping through their ever-changing hoops and bumping up against their fears, I finally stopped.

Now I’ve got the hoop. You see, I know that publishers and agents bring value to the table but only if they are willing to do their part of the job. Remember Jobs One and Two from the first paragraph? I don’t have time to do all that AND be the writer and visionary. I need a team.

In order for them to do those critical jobs, farseeing publishers and agents make contacts with various segments of the business or form relationships with others who have those contacts. They understand the concept of TEAM.

Read Part Four of The Dichotomous Position of Book Publishers and Agents

These are books written, designed, produced, and published by the author. The children’s books feature artwork by former Scholastic in-house illustrator, Tracy Hohn.