To end the mystery, the agent passed. For now.

Late Sunday night they emailed a two page note about their decision. This feedback followed a five day consideration period–though I emailed the entire manuscript in late July, they vacationed until the 14th of this month, so they actually responded in less than five days; that turnaround time in itself is amazing. Here’s a small extract of the good stuff:

“Certainly, there is a lot to like about it…I thought it was evident that there was a solid craftsmanship about the story structure. You seemed to plot the overall story and arrange specific scenes in a way that maximized the excitement factor.”

“You have a great imagination – I love the premise – and you’re a good writer…”

Then they covered their concerns. These were fairly pointed, so it took a little time for processing. After twenty-four hours of reflection, I called up Oriana, found out she was on board, and worked out my next move: Operation Reconsider.

Now keep in mind, taking a chance, especially a big one, rests on a piece of industry knowledge. Agents rarely provide feedback to non clients. According to my sources, one with twenty-five years in the business, the other with six, if a top notch agent–and this one is–does that once a year, it’s a lot. Between managing existing clients, promotions, and finding new projects, there’s not enough hours in the day. Generally, they would like to, but if they went down that road, they would soon fall behind. So I understand their hesitation. In fact, the agent mentioned that they “never, ever do this”.

Yet they did.

Not only did they provide meaningful feedback, they framed their reservations in terms of how the issues compromised the story. There’s no arguing with direct cause and effect logic. And I did not even try. Instead I listened. I also asked for a second chance. I’m not even going to speculate about the odds on that possibility.

And I don’t need to.

They agreed! After addressing their concerns–anticipate this taking around three months–I can send the manuscript again.

This is the kind of development that makes the months of isolation worth it.

Oh wait, it was years.

Heard from the agent, but I can’t do a proper entry just yet, because there’s some follow-up correspondence passing back and forth between us still. Certainly, it’s an extremely positive development, particularly from a relationship building standpoint, the sort I’m dead lucky to have forged.
Here’s a small excerpt from their last note:

“Obviously, I’d love for you to continue to work with me on finding a great project to get out there.”

More to come…

On Wednesday afternoon, I handed off thirty pages of the collaborative screenplay project to my writing partner; now they will run with the story for awhile. Very curious to see how they receive my interpretation of the pre-writing discussions and bull sessions, and even more curious to see where they take the story next. Batting ideas around for a project in a safe cocoon is one thing, once the idea starts taking shape and intention crosses over into reality, there’s some disconnects and–very hopefully, or it’s going to be a craptastic story–surprises.

Oliver Stone once said it didn’t matter what was on the page once the cameras started rolling. He put it a bit more crudely, actually. But in a way, his maxim rings true for a manuscript. Writers can plan and outline all they want, but at least some of the pre-production flies out the window once the cylinders start firing. The preparations are not for naught.

Plans can pay off big during gut checks, the days when one takes a real hard look at a project and asks, “Is what on this page what is playing in my head? Can a reasonable person glean what I intended for them to see based only upon what I have written?”

And proving that theorem takes another set of eyeballs and some understanding–maybe only primitive, maybe at the highest of levels–of what one was trying to do in the first place.

I’m in Austin for a few days; my second trip to Texas in 2 weeks. The architecture of San Antonio and Austin are quite interesting. Both have a rich night life and unique cultures. Big pluse: each city is teaming with gorgeous women—a nice fringe benefit.

Besides meeting new people, I’m researching for the collaborative screenplay, so it’s all good.