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Saturday, August 4, 2012

Really, Really Close for SPILL, but no Cigar


As you can imagine, I have really mixed emotions about this reject notice for SPILL my agent sent me from an imprint with one of the Big Six traditional publishing houses:

"Thanks so much for thinking of me and of **** for Randy Attwood’s political satire, SPILL, which I enjoyed digging my teeth into. Fred and Zoe share a kind of chemistry on the page that goads the imagination and leads the reader to be genuinely interested in the outcome of their electoral shenanigans, and Attwood very capably lampoons contemporary aspects of America’s current political situation, like the oil industry, gun regulation, and unemployment. Unfortunately, as compelling as I found this read, in the end it just didn’t capture my heart and attention to the degree where I would feel confident taking it on. Attwood has a sure command over language—my overarching issue, though, is that that language seems to be employed towards the end of being current; my instinct tells me SPILL exists less in and of itself and more for the audience it is fashioned to attract, and so I am sadly going to have to pass on this one. Attwood clearly has an accomplishment on his hands, and I wish you and him the best of luck finding a home for this debut elsewhere."




1 comment:

  1. Oh, pooh, what do they know? I think your stuff is brilliant, and it is much too good for them anyway. :-)

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