The more available agents are, the harder it is to get them to answer questions!

I'm seeing a rash of people asking me questions on Twitter.  I understand their motivation: they're trying to figure out how all this crazy publishing stuff works.

But I'm not on Twitter to answer questions. And I generally don't. I'm pretty sure that's frustrating as hell to writers.  All those agents, and they only talk about scotch, cupcakes, and books.

It's the same thing with phone calls to the office.  I've gotten a couple of those last week, and people are furious I won't help them on the phone.

So, what to do?

One way to get questions answered: go to a conference or a writing workshop.  There are lots of good conferences. Most agents post lists of where they'll be.  Since you can't pry me out of NYC with a crowbar, I'll be at Backspace here in NYC on 11/3.


And my pal Jenny Milchman is teaching a class called POLISHED AND PUBLISHED: Readying a Novel for a Changing Industry.  Jenny is a whiz at explaining how publishing works and helping writers navigate the arcane ways of this crazy industry.

Conferences and classes cost you money.  It's a good investment in your career.  Do some research; figure out which class or conference will help you, then invest in yourself.