Tag: literary agents

Now In The Second Half Of This Scifi Dramedy I’ve Been Working On

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The hope is, that once I finish this draft of this novel I’ve been working on for some time now that the NEXT time I go through it will be a breeze. I will just lightly edit it here and there to make absolutely sure that it’s in my own voice and people can’t accuse me “having AI write it.”

My fear, of course, is that I’ll read it the next time and see all these opportunities to make it better and that will slow me down significantly.

But as of right now, I’m feeling pretty good about this novel.

Though, it is of note that absolutely no on but me believes in any of this. I had an alarming conversation with a relative about the movie Ex Machina and….they pretty much said anyone who thought such things up must be some sort of twisted sicko.

I tried to tell her that, “Well….” but it did not register. Which makes me wonder what this person will say once this novel is finished and I MIGHT want her to read it. I find that doubtful now, though. No point.

I’m really going to struggle to find people to serve as Beta Readers I fear. And I’m growing really nervous about what kind of reception I should expect from the mostly liberal white women who make up literary agents. I’m kind of a kook and when they do due diligence on me…they might not like what they find.

And that doesn’t event begin to address the woke cancel culture mob generally not liking any sort of sex written by a smelly male, especially a smelly middle-aged male like me.

Anyway.

Right now, my biggest problem is I have too much information for the characters to process. Too many big events have happened in quick succession and I need to figure out a way to slow things down, to process information over the course of a few scenes, not just one.

But we’ll see, I guess.

My Biggest Worries About My Novel At The Moment

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

  1. Too Much AI
    I am very self-conscious about there being any AI used to actually write anything in this novel. My hope is, through the editing process, I can eliminate any “AI speak” that may have slipped through the development process. I have worked so hard on this novel, I would be devastated if it was unpublishable because I had used AI too much to actually write it. (Which I haven’t.)
  2. It’s Too Spicy
    There is a lot of sex in this novel. And I’m worried that the very nature, the very premise, of the novel will be seen as “too trashy” for the liberal white women I imagine make up most literary agents. But who knows. The novel is shaping up to be pretty good, all things considered.
  3. I’m Too Big A Kook
    I’m really worried that whenever I get into the querying process and literary agents are doing “due diligence” on me that they will read this blog, or my social media presence and be extremely spooked that I’m just too big of a weirdo to sell a novel. But we’ll see, I guess. Stranger things and all that.

Feeling Insecure About My Novel’s ‘Comp,’ Annie Bot

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The core difference between my novel and Annie Bot is mine is told from the POV of the “owner” of the android. Similar premises, in a sense, but told from the exact opposite POV.

Now, I decided to tell my novel this way because, well, lulz, the woke cancel culture mob demands that men only write from a male POV and as such, lulz, I have to write it the way I am.

Of course, given GenZ’s general “no sex please” sentiment that is ANOTHER issue that I have to worry about. My novel has a lot of spicy content in it for various and obvious reasons.

But I worry that 1) Annie Bot is better written than my novel and 2) the woke cancel culture mob will poo-poo my attempt to write a dramedy about a man’s relationship to an android he subscribes to.

And, yet, I really like what I’ve come up with. It is, all things considered, pretty good. It’s quite an entertaining yarn, if I do say so myself.

Turbulence Ahead

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’m beginning to believe that the long dreaded turbulence I’ve expected for my personal life is going to happen soon. It could totally throw the context of me working on this novel out of whack.

And, yet, I’ve been grateful for how long I’ve had the idyllic situation.

At this point, I just want to finish a novel that I’m proud of. Any thing else that might happen will be icing on the cake, as it were.

I still haven’t read Annie Bot. I still haven’t read any of the books I have on querying. I just can’t bring myself to do such things just yet.

I think once I actually finish the novel — no matter how trashy it might ultimately be — that is when I will really start to take querying more seriously. Right now, it’s still something of an abstract.

Beginning To Approach The Midpoint Of This Scifi Dramedy Novel (Again)

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’m in what I’m calling the “color correction” phase of this novel’s development. I’m trying to not rewrite anything — or as little as possible — but I keep failing. I’m supposed to just be editing when absolutely necessary to kind of get everything in shape, but I find myself just giving in to the temptation to rewrite entire scenes.

That proclivity, of course, is slowing me down.

The next stage of things will be a lot quicker — once I’m done with this version of the novel, I’m going to re-read it one last time before handing it over to Beta Readers. I just want to make sure I put things in my voice as much as possible, just in case any “AI speak” slips past me when I get AI to “gently edit” the text of what I’ve written.

As of right now, at least, I continue to be on track to query around Sept 1st. I still — still! — have three books about querying I need to read and yet to date refuse to do so. I’m skcart, as they say.

I’m scared that after all this work, I’ll stumble across a passage in the querying books that makes it clear that I can absolutely never successfully query this novel. Ugh. And, yet, I also know that I have to read the books.

I am probably going to start serious development work on a new novel once I wrap up this novel, so I have something to work on while I query.

I Fear Liberal White Women Will Think This Scifi Dramedy Novel Is A Little Too ‘Trashy’ For Their Tastes

This novel is not intended to be high art; rather, it is meant to be engaging, accessible, and enjoyable, even as it moves toward a somewhat melancholy conclusion. In that sense, I would compare its ending to that of the film Her, as the two share certain emotional and thematic resonances.

At its core, the story follows a sexbot sex worker and the unusual agreement she forms with her subscriber. I find the premise compelling and rich with narrative potential, though I am aware that its subject matter may give some pause—particularly within more traditional literary circles.

That said, quality ultimately matters more than categorization. If the novel succeeds on its own terms–if it is genuinely engaging and well-executed–then its more pulpy or unconventional elements may prove less of an obstacle than I sometimes imagine.

I have also found myself reflecting on the role of AI in my writing process. At times, I have used it for light editing—much in the way writers have historically relied on tools like spellcheck or grammar suggestions. Given the amount of effort I have invested in this work, I would find it frustrating if such use were misunderstood or dismissed outright. Still, I recognize that sensitivities around AI in creative work are real and evolving.

For what it is worth, I am careful to revise extensively in my own voice, ensuring that the final product reflects my intent and sensibility. While I am aware of broader conversations about AI-generated writing, I do not see those concerns applying in any substantial way to this project.

As for the novel’s more provocative elements, it is difficult to predict how they will be received. It could go either way. However, my instinct is that the story’s underlying strength—its emotional core and narrative drive—will ultimately carry more weight than any perceived “trashy” qualities, particularly with those whose opinions matter most in the publishing process.

Update On My Scifi Dramedy WIP Novel For March 18th, 2026

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Well, I’ve finished A Draft of this scifi dramedy novel I’ve been working on. And now, I don’t quite know what to do.

I guess what I will do is go through and read the entire draft to get some sense of what happens next. I worry there are some structural issues that would cause me to have to do plot “open heart surgery” on the novel, but I just don’t know.

Maybe that won’t happen.

What you’re SUPPOSED to do at this point is take a month-long break and then start work on the next draft. But this draft is unique because it’s really a mixture of vomit draft and second draft.

As such, I think, as I mentioned, I’m going to go through and read the entire novel updating the outline as I do.

Now, one issue is the time frame for when I am going to query the final production of this novel. I still think it’s going to be Sept 1st for various post-production reasons.

Anyway, I am, in general pleased with where things stand. I just can’t continue to drift towards my goal. I need to buckle down and get things done with this thing. As I keep saying, I continue to worry that my kooky nature will — and age — will prevent me from selling this novel, no matter how good it may be.

Update On My Scifi Dramedy WIP Novel For March 17th, 2026

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’m officially in the last chapter of this draft of the novel. I have just a few more scenes before I finish this draft and can piviot to editing it on a macro basis by going through and reading it all the way through.

You’re SUPPOSED to pause for a month when doing such things, but I just don’t have the time. My life is on the cusp of being pretty turbulent for a variety of reasons out of my control and as such, lulz, I need to hurry up.

And so, I am going to hopefully wrap this draft up then get down to work to reading the entire novel. I don’t quite know what I will do once I finish that. I guess I will do some structural work before I go through and edit each individual scene.

In the past, I’ve had some trouble reading scene of the novel without breezing through them. But I do need to actually sit down and read the scenes carefully to understand how to make them better.

I continue to worry about what is going to happen on the due diligence front when I actually start to query. I’m such a kook — and always have been — that I’m nervous that that, in itself, will doom any chances I have to ever get published.

But I can’t think like that. I need to have hope in myself.

Just About In The Next Stage Of My Scifi Dramedy WIP

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I have a few more scenes to write with this scifi dramedy I’m working on before I take things to the next level: reading it all the way through.

Once THAT is done, then I will get more into the nitty-gritty of “color correction” so there is some consistency of tone to it all.

I’m hoping to do something different than previous times I’ve gotten to this point when things seemed to fall apart for various reasons. I really need to keep this draft to myself as long as possible before giving it to anyone to read.

It definitely looks as though I’m on track to start querying no later than Sept 1st. I might actually wrap things up a few months before then — maybe — but as I understand it, there are two “seasons” for querying: spring and fall. So, once everyone is done with their summer vacations, I suppose I can start to query.

Now, obviously, I have to prepare myself for a catastrophic disaster, failure. In the sense that any number of things could go wrong, from be being simply too old, to me being to big of a kook, to the novel just sucking no matter what to…the list goes on.

But at least I will have tried. At least I will have experience something interesting and cool.

One thing I will need to do is start work on a new novel while I query. And, yet, I also know I’m getting up their in age and while it will be a distraction to write a new novel, I have to accept that if I don’t sell this first novel that the next novel is probably just for fun no matter what.

I just will be too fucking old to be a first-time traditionally published author.

Update On My Scifi Dramedy WIP For March 15th, 2026

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The movie that is the closest “comp” to my novel is the horror-thriller movie Companion. But I continue to be intrigued about how there hasn’t been a direct competitor to my novel that deals with the practical elements of actual romance with an android.

Everyone is so busy thinking of the absolute worst case scenario that no one — but me so far — has wondered about a more nuanced romantic scenario.

Anyway, I continue to edge closer and closer to wrapping this draft of the novel up. I’m, at the moment at least, breezing through the third act. Then, I’m going to take a deep, deep breath and do “open heart surgery” on some of the structure of the novel. And THEN, I’m going to going to “color correct” the novel’s content on a more nuance basis.

I still am weighing leaning into having AI being my editor and having it “gently” the novel to give it some consistency as well as query-level content. My only fear, of course, is because everyone is hateful that they will just roll their eyes and say “AI wrote the novel,” when that will not be the case at all.

Anyway. I’m growing more and more uneasy about what happens when I get to the querying process. I’m really nervous about due diligence on the part of mostly liberal white women who make up literary agents (in my imagination.) I’m a kook and always have been and I’m afraid they will “cancel” me even before given me any sort of chance with the novel.

I have three books about querying I should be reading, but just can’t bring myself to do it. But there will come a point when I absolutely have to.