Artist Initiative

My artistic goal was to learn about the process of revision. I have certainly learned a lot about that process. The manuscript has moved from a series of discrete images or impressions to ten chapters, arranged chronologically, and communicated in a consistent narrative voice. My evaluation of the achievement in connected to Part B in that over the course of the year I had both agents and editors ask for the full draft of the manuscript and offer encouraging remarks about the quality of the writing, voice, concept and story. Three agents and two editors who ultimately passed on the memoir (after reading the full draft, but declining for reasons of marketability) encouraged me to resubmit to them in the future, especially if I had a novel. This suggests to me that the revision was successful. 2: Over the course of the year I submitted to 31 agents and 4 editors at small presses. 6 agents asked for the full manuscript. The memoir is still under consideration with two of those agents. Editors who asked for the full included Jeff Shotts at Graywolf, Alexis Rizzuto at Beacon, and Daniel Slager at Milkweed. In addition to these submissions I also conducted informational interviews with writers Todd Boss and Tom Fate and with Penguin editor Carolyn Carlson. I also spent a lot of time on the internet researching appropriate agents, presses, and contests. I've learned a tremendous amount about the process of submitting a manuscript. I wrote (and re-wrote) a query letter, synopsis, and chapter summary and I made strong connections with writers, agents, and editors. A chapter of the manuscript, entitled Tailings," was accepted for publication and appeared in "Witness Magazine" this spring."