So recently I've been flabbergasted by the sheer number of connections my family has with the literary world. These are things I knew but didn't process in conjunction with, "I'm getting a book published," until today.
Today, I'm asking myself questions like: say, can't Well Known Speculative Fiction Author and Old Friend of Mother surreptitiously give copy of ms to Really Huge Fantasy Author she has worked with in the past? Is it appropriate to call Megahuge Literary Fiction Editor and Best Friend of Father and ask him for advice?
Let's not forget Immediately Recognizable and Beloved Historical Fiction Author, who exchanged letters with Grandmother for twenty-some years, nor Genius Historian Non-Fiction Writer (a relative), nor Reference Book Independent Publisher (another relative)!
Husband believes that I have selective vision; alas, he may be right. How did I fail to see this before now? How did I fail to cultivate these connections? I endear myself to myself for being so naive!
The problem is that I have no idea how to be conniving. To be fair to the opportunistic organ of my brain, when in my teens I did wonder aloud whether MLFEaBFoF would consider reading one of my short stories. Sadly, I could not grasp how M he was at the time, and was thoroughly confused when he rejected me out of hand. "Get an agent first," he said. Huh? I thought.
I have since formed the theory that he thought I was querying him. Me! Alas, all I wanted was some good-natured advice, along the lines of You suck versus Keep working.
I require some instruction. Do people really use their connections to get ahead? What about in the publishing world? Would I suck as a human being if I did it? If not, how do I go about it without being a tool?
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