Portland's pension system for police and firefighters is a one of a kind in the United States. The system is pay as you go, so the tax payers price tag rises in direct proportion to current cost outlays. Someday the costs will overwhelm the city budget and massive infusions of taxes will be needed to keep the system afloat. A panel on independent citizens estimated that the unfunded liability of the system will be 8.4 billion dollars in 40 years. That's billion with a 'B'. When voters approved the property tax limitation Measure 5, the Portland Police and Fire Pension Fund was exempted from the 1.5% property tax limitation. That means that liability keeps on building outside the property tax limitation and the taxpayer is on the hook for it.
The Portland Police Pension System is also unique in that the Disability Board has a high proportion of system members sitting on the board and voting on whether to approve disability requests for their brethren. This is a recipe for misuse. Members accused of misconduct routinely file for disability payments and will be assured of receiving them at a much higher rate than other public employees covered by PERS. Then too, a previous Chief of Police and Mayor would be conveniently absent when controversial disability requests would come up for a vote. I can't say the fix was in, but it certainly seems that way. It is encouraging to see that the current Chief and Mayor haven't stooped to this skullduggery.
The commission's independent panel has recommended overhauling the pension system and having all new police and fire employees covered by the state PERS system. The Portland Police Association has totally rejected the panel's recommendations and has offered no alternative. It's too bad the Association isn't willing to help fix a system that is bound to fail sooner if not later.
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Times a wasting
Feel like procrastinating? I have two suggestions:
First, if you're using Firefox, stumble on over to StumbleUpon.com. Stumble Upon adds a toolbar that with a click of a button can take you to some of the coolest, funniest, and most informative sites on the web. It's simple to set up and I've already blown hours discovering new websites. Wait. You are using Firefox aren't you? If not, dump that buggy old MS Internet Explorer and try Firefox. I find it to be stable, less prone to viruses, and it had many useful extentions available for free. The only downside I've found is that some IE plugins aren't available for Firefox.
The other big time-waster is Bookcrossing.com. At Bookcrossing, you can trade books, give books away or try to find that obscure Hardy Boys mystery you've been searching for. No money changes hands and the site promotes people releasing books "into the wild" and tracking them with a numbered label to see where they end up. I released a couple of books at a local coffeeshop, leaving them in a likely place for someone to find. With a basement full of old books, this is an excellent way to part with some of them. There's a whole community of book nuts out there, just like me. Who knew?
First, if you're using Firefox, stumble on over to StumbleUpon.com. Stumble Upon adds a toolbar that with a click of a button can take you to some of the coolest, funniest, and most informative sites on the web. It's simple to set up and I've already blown hours discovering new websites. Wait. You are using Firefox aren't you? If not, dump that buggy old MS Internet Explorer and try Firefox. I find it to be stable, less prone to viruses, and it had many useful extentions available for free. The only downside I've found is that some IE plugins aren't available for Firefox.
The other big time-waster is Bookcrossing.com. At Bookcrossing, you can trade books, give books away or try to find that obscure Hardy Boys mystery you've been searching for. No money changes hands and the site promotes people releasing books "into the wild" and tracking them with a numbered label to see where they end up. I released a couple of books at a local coffeeshop, leaving them in a likely place for someone to find. With a basement full of old books, this is an excellent way to part with some of them. There's a whole community of book nuts out there, just like me. Who knew?
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Crawford, Texas
It's exciting to follow what's happening in Crawford. The anti-war movement is regaining momentum and George Bush is too stupid and too isolated by his handlers to realize that the only way to stem the building wave of protest against the war in Iraq is to meet with Cindy Sheehan. The longer he sits in his compound, the more people will arrive at Camp Casey. The numbers are growing geometrically. George's excuse is stupidity. His handlers, Karl Rove and Dick Cheney, are too arrogant to learn from the lessons history. The Viet Nam protest changed the nature of American politics and drove LBJ out of office. George's legacy is pretty much shot. All that remains now is to see if he'll take the Republican party down with him. If I didn't have a 4 year old daughter to look after, I'd probably hit the road and head for Texas. It's not often in one's life that you get participate in making history. The Lone Star Iconoclast Online is a good place to keep up on the developments.
Oh yes, I had my blog spammed by some joker touting penny stocks. How lame is that?
Oh yes, I had my blog spammed by some joker touting penny stocks. How lame is that?
Thursday, July 07, 2005
It Can Happen Here
Bombings in London, 33 killed to date, 700 hundred injured.
Can it happen here?
Not can it happen here, but when will it happen here? I've spent a good chunk of my life working in the anti-terrorism field and I'm certain that we'll get hit--again and again. Security has always been a function of a society's willingness to pay a price both in terms of money and in terms of sacrificing basic human rights. After D.B. Cooper hijacked a Northwest Airlines flight in 1971, airline pilots called for stronger cockpit doors. The airlines, backed by the FAA, resisted the changes until after 9/11. The rationale: The modifications cost too much. $300 to modify a cockpit door versus 5,000 dead on 9/11. You do the math. Essentially the same thing occured after the destruction of a Pan Am flight over Lockerby, Scotland in 1988. Afterwards,experts called for the X-ray of all checked luggage. The FAA and the airlines resisted. Too expensive, they said.
Israel has one of the best anti-terrorism programs in existence, but they know too well that a terrorist who is willing to sacrifice his or her life armed with a few pounds of C-4 becomes a terrible and almost unstoppable weapon. We're learning that lesson the hard way in Iraq.
Terrorists are opportunists. I was in Paris during a series of bombings on the Metro in the 90s. Every trashcan hade been removed or bolted shut. Armed troops stood on every corner. If you were black or looked Arab, you were stopped and questioned repeatedly. The bombings continued for a while, then the bombers moved onto easier targets. They look for soft targets. Lots of them here in the USA, they just haven't cashed in on them yet.
The paradox is that clamping down on human rights to stop terrorism only creates more terrorists. Like our war against drugs, the war against terror cannot be won unless we are willing to address the root causes; the disaffection of the masses, poverty, oppression, religious and ethnic bias. Unfortunately, attacking the symptoms rather than the causes carries more political weight these days. The terror will continue.
Can it happen here?
Not can it happen here, but when will it happen here? I've spent a good chunk of my life working in the anti-terrorism field and I'm certain that we'll get hit--again and again. Security has always been a function of a society's willingness to pay a price both in terms of money and in terms of sacrificing basic human rights. After D.B. Cooper hijacked a Northwest Airlines flight in 1971, airline pilots called for stronger cockpit doors. The airlines, backed by the FAA, resisted the changes until after 9/11. The rationale: The modifications cost too much. $300 to modify a cockpit door versus 5,000 dead on 9/11. You do the math. Essentially the same thing occured after the destruction of a Pan Am flight over Lockerby, Scotland in 1988. Afterwards,experts called for the X-ray of all checked luggage. The FAA and the airlines resisted. Too expensive, they said.
Israel has one of the best anti-terrorism programs in existence, but they know too well that a terrorist who is willing to sacrifice his or her life armed with a few pounds of C-4 becomes a terrible and almost unstoppable weapon. We're learning that lesson the hard way in Iraq.
Terrorists are opportunists. I was in Paris during a series of bombings on the Metro in the 90s. Every trashcan hade been removed or bolted shut. Armed troops stood on every corner. If you were black or looked Arab, you were stopped and questioned repeatedly. The bombings continued for a while, then the bombers moved onto easier targets. They look for soft targets. Lots of them here in the USA, they just haven't cashed in on them yet.
The paradox is that clamping down on human rights to stop terrorism only creates more terrorists. Like our war against drugs, the war against terror cannot be won unless we are willing to address the root causes; the disaffection of the masses, poverty, oppression, religious and ethnic bias. Unfortunately, attacking the symptoms rather than the causes carries more political weight these days. The terror will continue.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Securing a copyright
Here's a quick and dirty lesson on securing a copyright that I worked up for my brother-in-law who is working on a book:
Copyright is automatically assigned to you by law from the moment you set pen to paper or otherwise record your creative work. But, there are some things you can do to protect yourself further if you feel the need:
First on all copies that you send out, provide notice of copyright:
The notice for visually perceptible copies should contain all the following three elements:
1. The symbol © (the letter C in a circle), or the word "Copyright," or the abbreviation "Copr."; and
2. The year of first publication of the work. In the case of compilations or derivative works incorporating previously published material, the year date of first publication of the compilation or derivative work is sufficient. The year date may be omitted where a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work, with accompanying textual matter, if any, is reproduced in or on greeting cards, postcards, stationery, jewelry, dolls, toys, or any useful article; and
3. The name of the owner of copyright in the work, or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner.
Example: © 2002 John Doe (www.copyright.gov)
Note: Some people try to just use (C) as a copyright symbol which is not sufficient.
Next, seal a copy of your work in an envelope and send it to yourself via registered mail/return receipt requested. When the envelope comes, do not open it, but store it unopened along with the return receipt in a safe place. This will provide proof that you created the work prior to a certain date.
Finally, you can register the copyright through the copyright office. The forms are available online and it costs $30.00 to register your work. However, if you provide notice of copyright and retain proof that the work is yours, registering isn't all that necessary. You can always go back and retroactively register your work if a problem comes up. Don't bother with the copyright registration companies that you see on the web. They're ripoffs and do exactly the same thing you can do yourself. Most times, when you find someone to publish your articles or book, they will handle the copyright registration, though in the case of articles or short stories, you might want to have the rights reassigned back to you after publication. Here is a good FAQ site for copyrights.
Copyright is automatically assigned to you by law from the moment you set pen to paper or otherwise record your creative work. But, there are some things you can do to protect yourself further if you feel the need:
First on all copies that you send out, provide notice of copyright:
The notice for visually perceptible copies should contain all the following three elements:
1. The symbol © (the letter C in a circle), or the word "Copyright," or the abbreviation "Copr."; and
2. The year of first publication of the work. In the case of compilations or derivative works incorporating previously published material, the year date of first publication of the compilation or derivative work is sufficient. The year date may be omitted where a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work, with accompanying textual matter, if any, is reproduced in or on greeting cards, postcards, stationery, jewelry, dolls, toys, or any useful article; and
3. The name of the owner of copyright in the work, or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner.
Example: © 2002 John Doe (www.copyright.gov)
Note: Some people try to just use (C) as a copyright symbol which is not sufficient.
Next, seal a copy of your work in an envelope and send it to yourself via registered mail/return receipt requested. When the envelope comes, do not open it, but store it unopened along with the return receipt in a safe place. This will provide proof that you created the work prior to a certain date.
Finally, you can register the copyright through the copyright office. The forms are available online and it costs $30.00 to register your work. However, if you provide notice of copyright and retain proof that the work is yours, registering isn't all that necessary. You can always go back and retroactively register your work if a problem comes up. Don't bother with the copyright registration companies that you see on the web. They're ripoffs and do exactly the same thing you can do yourself. Most times, when you find someone to publish your articles or book, they will handle the copyright registration, though in the case of articles or short stories, you might want to have the rights reassigned back to you after publication. Here is a good FAQ site for copyrights.
Friday, July 01, 2005
The Death of James Jahar Perez
March 28, 2004
24 seconds after Portland Police officers notified their dispatch center that they had stopped a vehicle, Jahar Perez was shot and killed. 24 seconds. Of all the shooting incidents that I've examined, this is the one that confuses me the most. Perez was hinky, reaching around, being suspicious. Cops run into hinky dudes all the time. Guys that reach under the seat as the officer approaches the vehicle or those who poke around in the glove box with the cop at their window. Not the wisest thing to do, but not unusual. There are three generally accepted methods of reacting to this knucklehead behavior: First, verbal command: "Hands on the steering wheel, motherfucker." Second, verbal command while screwing the barrel of your handgun in the driver's ear (not recommended but effective) or third, beat a tactical retreat and access the situation from adequate cover. For some reason, Jason Sery and his partner, Macomber went to option four, grapple with the guy and then shoot him.
What I want to know is what happened in that police car between the time the officers spotted Perez and the time they initiated the stop? Something happened in that car between; a conversation between Sery and Macomber that caused them to approach Perez ready to rock and roll. I've looked through the old news reports, but haven't found anything. Sery has resigned and I'm sure his partner is keeping mum. Maybe it'll come out at the civil trial, but I'm not hopeful.
24 seconds after Portland Police officers notified their dispatch center that they had stopped a vehicle, Jahar Perez was shot and killed. 24 seconds. Of all the shooting incidents that I've examined, this is the one that confuses me the most. Perez was hinky, reaching around, being suspicious. Cops run into hinky dudes all the time. Guys that reach under the seat as the officer approaches the vehicle or those who poke around in the glove box with the cop at their window. Not the wisest thing to do, but not unusual. There are three generally accepted methods of reacting to this knucklehead behavior: First, verbal command: "Hands on the steering wheel, motherfucker." Second, verbal command while screwing the barrel of your handgun in the driver's ear (not recommended but effective) or third, beat a tactical retreat and access the situation from adequate cover. For some reason, Jason Sery and his partner, Macomber went to option four, grapple with the guy and then shoot him.
What I want to know is what happened in that police car between the time the officers spotted Perez and the time they initiated the stop? Something happened in that car between; a conversation between Sery and Macomber that caused them to approach Perez ready to rock and roll. I've looked through the old news reports, but haven't found anything. Sery has resigned and I'm sure his partner is keeping mum. Maybe it'll come out at the civil trial, but I'm not hopeful.
Monday, June 27, 2005
The Death of Nathan Thomas
January 16, 1992
An armed intruder breaks into the Thomas house. 12 year old Nathan Thomas is home alone. Portland Police respond and discover the intruder holding a knife to the boys throat. When the intruder starts to cut Nathan's throat, the officers shoot and both the intruder and the boy are killed.
In this case, the city failed the responding officers. The Police Bureau had cancelled formal training for the previous two years, supervision failed and policies and procedures were not current. There was no special weapons team at the house. The officers were on their own and in that split second that defines lives and careers, they made a judgment that turned out to be disasterously wrong. The Thomas family could have owned the city and the police bureau, but instead they forced the city into making long-needed reforms, upgrading policies and providing adequate training in the hopes of preventing another tragedy.
The Thomas case is a prime example of what happens when training, supervision and policy for police fail. This case is so compelling that I've written a couple of short stories about the aftermath and how the lives of the involved officers spiral downward in the years after the shooting. In the stories at least, some good cops can never recover from that defining moment in their lives.
An armed intruder breaks into the Thomas house. 12 year old Nathan Thomas is home alone. Portland Police respond and discover the intruder holding a knife to the boys throat. When the intruder starts to cut Nathan's throat, the officers shoot and both the intruder and the boy are killed.
In this case, the city failed the responding officers. The Police Bureau had cancelled formal training for the previous two years, supervision failed and policies and procedures were not current. There was no special weapons team at the house. The officers were on their own and in that split second that defines lives and careers, they made a judgment that turned out to be disasterously wrong. The Thomas family could have owned the city and the police bureau, but instead they forced the city into making long-needed reforms, upgrading policies and providing adequate training in the hopes of preventing another tragedy.
The Thomas case is a prime example of what happens when training, supervision and policy for police fail. This case is so compelling that I've written a couple of short stories about the aftermath and how the lives of the involved officers spiral downward in the years after the shooting. In the stories at least, some good cops can never recover from that defining moment in their lives.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Movie Recommendation: The Housekeeper
Okay, I'm a sucker for French films. Even more, I'm a sucker for quiet little films that move like a Raymond Carver shortstory and have a resonant ending. No huge climax here, just the bittersweet failure of a May-December romance that never had a chance. Catch The Housekeeper on the Independent Film Channel or rent a copy at your local video store.
I give this 4 1/2 stars.
I give this 4 1/2 stars.
Friday, June 24, 2005
The Death of Kendra James
If you ever hear that the District Attorney is holding an inquest into a police shooting, you can figure the fix is in. The hearing is a dog and pony show to satisfy the public. In Multnomah County at least, the only verdicts available to a coroner's jury is death by suicide, accident, natural causes or homicide. Death by homicide means death by the hands of another and makes no judgement as to whether the homicide was justified or not. Ditto for the grand jury's freedom to adequately determine fault. 90% of the time, the jury will do exact what the District Attorney wants, there is no right to cross-examine witnesses. The real information comes out in the civil trial as is happening now in the shooting of Kendra James by Officer Scott McCollister. I'm not in the courtroom, but it seems that McCollister is taking a beating by the plaintiff's attorneys.
What exactly should we look at in a police shooting case? There are four elements to examine. The first is policies and procedures. At the time of the James shooting, (in my opinion), Portland Police Bureau policies and procedures did not meet current standards. They allowed shooting at a moving vehicle and were less restrictive than most other police departments in the state of Oregon. To PPB's credit, those policies have been revised and improved. The second area to examine is training. Recently, I attended a day long training session conducted by PPB's Training Division and found the Use of Deadly Force section excellent. The instructors were professional and the video game-like shooting simulator was way-cool. I do have some quibbles about how PPB trains their officers, but their firearms instruction is first rate. The next area is supervision. Most of the supervisors I've met who work at PPB are first rate, but there have been breakdowns in supervision. Look at Centralgate or the coverup of the assault on a citizen by two off-duty officers. The final area is personnel, the officer him or herself. That's what the civil trial in the James case is trying to determine: was there a failure in policy, training, and supervision, or was the individual officer at fault? I have my hunch how this one will fall, but the jury has the final say.
What exactly should we look at in a police shooting case? There are four elements to examine. The first is policies and procedures. At the time of the James shooting, (in my opinion), Portland Police Bureau policies and procedures did not meet current standards. They allowed shooting at a moving vehicle and were less restrictive than most other police departments in the state of Oregon. To PPB's credit, those policies have been revised and improved. The second area to examine is training. Recently, I attended a day long training session conducted by PPB's Training Division and found the Use of Deadly Force section excellent. The instructors were professional and the video game-like shooting simulator was way-cool. I do have some quibbles about how PPB trains their officers, but their firearms instruction is first rate. The next area is supervision. Most of the supervisors I've met who work at PPB are first rate, but there have been breakdowns in supervision. Look at Centralgate or the coverup of the assault on a citizen by two off-duty officers. The final area is personnel, the officer him or herself. That's what the civil trial in the James case is trying to determine: was there a failure in policy, training, and supervision, or was the individual officer at fault? I have my hunch how this one will fall, but the jury has the final say.
Monday, June 20, 2005
Reflections on being a dad
6:07 am.
A little voice drifts down the hall: "Mommy, Daddy, I want to get up." Maria props herself on one elbow. "Not yet, Roxanne, we need to sleep some more." Five minutes later: "Mommy, Daddy, I want to get up." "Roxanne," I say, "you can play quietly in your room." Of course, that isn't what she wants, and every five minutes we hear: "I want to get up." Finally, we relent and say, "Okay, come on in." A breathless bundle is instantly in our bed, snuggling, poking, patting and giggling. Another day as a parent begins.
I came to fatherhood late in life. I joke that I've been running my life in reverse: retiring from police work, going back to school for another degree, becoming a dad and getting married. Being a father is the most satisfying, exhausting and nerve-racking thing I've other done -- well, there was that guy with a gun, but that's another story altogether. I love being a Dad. I love teaching about butterflies, watching cartoons on Saturday morning (except for the Doodlebops which drive me nuts) and walking over to the park so Roxanne can play on the swings.
I worry about the job I'm doing. Will she learn the values that she'll need to carry her through life, to be satisfied with what she does and to avoid some of the pitfalls I've stumbled into. I hope so, only time will tell.
A little voice drifts down the hall: "Mommy, Daddy, I want to get up." Maria props herself on one elbow. "Not yet, Roxanne, we need to sleep some more." Five minutes later: "Mommy, Daddy, I want to get up." "Roxanne," I say, "you can play quietly in your room." Of course, that isn't what she wants, and every five minutes we hear: "I want to get up." Finally, we relent and say, "Okay, come on in." A breathless bundle is instantly in our bed, snuggling, poking, patting and giggling. Another day as a parent begins.
I came to fatherhood late in life. I joke that I've been running my life in reverse: retiring from police work, going back to school for another degree, becoming a dad and getting married. Being a father is the most satisfying, exhausting and nerve-racking thing I've other done -- well, there was that guy with a gun, but that's another story altogether. I love being a Dad. I love teaching about butterflies, watching cartoons on Saturday morning (except for the Doodlebops which drive me nuts) and walking over to the park so Roxanne can play on the swings.
I worry about the job I'm doing. Will she learn the values that she'll need to carry her through life, to be satisfied with what she does and to avoid some of the pitfalls I've stumbled into. I hope so, only time will tell.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
How tough is too tough?
I've been reviewing a case for Tuesday nights meeting of the police oversight committee and although I'm not comfortable discussing the details until after the meeting, the case does raise an interesting question: How far can society go when dealing with a bad person. This applies not only to police in our communities, but also in dealing with terrorists on a global scale. I'm not going to go into a political rant here, there are many much better suited to that, but I do believe that as a country based on the rule of law, there is a limit to what we can do to protect ourselves. Torture of prisoners is unacceptable. Our treatment of prisoners in Iran and Guantanamo is not justified, especially when you consider that many have been taken into custody without appropriate probable cause, nor have they been afforded due process to contest their confinement. There was a ruling a long time back in Texas (why always Florida and Texas?), that condoned the torture of a kidnapping suspect by police to determine the location of a kidnapping victim who would die if not found within a few hours. I'm not sure if the case has stood the test of time, but it is an interesting dilemma. I'm not where I stand on this one. Well, actually, if it were my child in peril, I'd be stoking the fire for the hot pokers.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Literary Agents - Part Deux
Now that you've assembled your list of literary agents, your next step is to eliminate the scam artists. Sadly to say, there's a bunch of them. The best resources are Preditors and Editors maintained by Another Realm magazine, Writer Beware maintained by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and the Absolute Writers Watercooler. I would say that anyone that has earned the "Not Recommended" tag by Preditors and Editors or asks you for upfront reading fees shouldn't be given a shot at your material.
There are two theories about who to query first: Heavy hitter agents or hungry junior agents who work for established firms. My vote is for the hungry junior agents who are putting together their client list. You'll get more consideration and better service from them than from someone who's handling the current number one bestseller on the New York Times Bestseller list. To find these agents, check out which agents are attending the big writers' conferences and take a look at individual agency websites to see which junior agent represents your genre. Look at the literary agent forum at Writer's Net and the Absolute Writers Watercooler.
Once your list is assembled and prioritized, you can start sending out your query letter and if allowed by the agent's guidelines, sample chapters and a synopsis. You have done your query letter, haven't you? Writer's Net is great for trying out your hook and pitch on fellow writer's.
Not all agents are that easy to find. I kept seeing references to a shadow agent who I'll call Fiona Applegate (I'm protecting her identity just in case she bites on my query). She wasn't listed in Herman's book, the Guide to Literary Agents or any of the on-line directories. Google didn't have her, but I did discover that she had 20 or so clients and dealt almost exclusively by the phone. She would initiate contact with prospective clients by telephone rather than having them query her. I was intrigued and set out to discover hot to contact her. Working with several different esoteric search engines, I did find her agency and sent her a query letter. I'm patiently awaiting her call. Hope springs eternal.
There are two theories about who to query first: Heavy hitter agents or hungry junior agents who work for established firms. My vote is for the hungry junior agents who are putting together their client list. You'll get more consideration and better service from them than from someone who's handling the current number one bestseller on the New York Times Bestseller list. To find these agents, check out which agents are attending the big writers' conferences and take a look at individual agency websites to see which junior agent represents your genre. Look at the literary agent forum at Writer's Net and the Absolute Writers Watercooler.
Once your list is assembled and prioritized, you can start sending out your query letter and if allowed by the agent's guidelines, sample chapters and a synopsis. You have done your query letter, haven't you? Writer's Net is great for trying out your hook and pitch on fellow writer's.
Not all agents are that easy to find. I kept seeing references to a shadow agent who I'll call Fiona Applegate (I'm protecting her identity just in case she bites on my query). She wasn't listed in Herman's book, the Guide to Literary Agents or any of the on-line directories. Google didn't have her, but I did discover that she had 20 or so clients and dealt almost exclusively by the phone. She would initiate contact with prospective clients by telephone rather than having them query her. I was intrigued and set out to discover hot to contact her. Working with several different esoteric search engines, I did find her agency and sent her a query letter. I'm patiently awaiting her call. Hope springs eternal.
Friday, June 10, 2005
How to find an agent
This is a do as I say, not as I do primer for fiction writers. I'm still looking hard for an agent to represent my mystery.
Method one: Have someone refer you to an agent.
This is the most effective way to find an agent. You're coming to them recommended by someone in the business that they trust. Most agents will give your work a hard and fair look.
Method two: Attend a conference.
Many writers' conferences give attendees an opportunity to meet agents face-to-face and pitch their work. If the agent is interested, they will often request a 'partial' (two or three chapters and a synopsis). If they're really interested, they might request to see the entire manuscript. If so, you've done a great job of selling yourself and your novel.
I've attended the Willamette Writer's Conference in Portland and ended up with three requests for partials. The Maui Writer's Conference is perhaps the best known of these events and if you make a sale, you get to deduct your travel expenses on your income tax. Other West Coast conferences that have agent conferences are:
Surrey International Writer's Conference in British Columbia,
The Southern California Writer's Confernce which holds conferences in LA, San Diego and Palm Springs.
The San Diego State University Writer's Conference
Method three: Query an agent
This is the least effective, but often necessary method of hunting for an agent. I started by establishing a list of 50 agents to query using a variety of sources.
Books: 2005 Guide to Literary Agents published by Wrtier's Market.
Jeff Herman's Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents 2005; Herman is an agent and this book is standard reference for most. The problem as with most print book is that the material will be out of date as soon at the book hits the shelves, but still it's well worth looking at.
Websites: Publisher's Marketplace - Great for searching for agents by genre.
Guide to Literary Agents - Lists agents hunting for clients, but has not been updated in several months.
Agent Query - Another great resource for searching for agents.
Association of Author Representatives - Search by keyword for an agent that has agreed to the AAR Canon of Ethics
Individual agency websites: Use a web search engine; i.e., Google or Yahoo to find the web addresses for literary agencies.
Newsletters: Publisher's Marketplace issues a weekly free e-mail newsletter that lists a few of the publishing deals consumated within the last week. Though the newsletter is free, the information is limited. You can subscribe for full access to their publishing deal database for $20 a month. It all depends how desperate you are.
Your local library: Your local library is a source of free information about literary agents. Look at books similar to yours. Often, the author will thank their agent in the acknowledgement or dedication.
Next time, I'll talk about how to sort through your list to determine which agents you want to query first.
Method one: Have someone refer you to an agent.
This is the most effective way to find an agent. You're coming to them recommended by someone in the business that they trust. Most agents will give your work a hard and fair look.
Method two: Attend a conference.
Many writers' conferences give attendees an opportunity to meet agents face-to-face and pitch their work. If the agent is interested, they will often request a 'partial' (two or three chapters and a synopsis). If they're really interested, they might request to see the entire manuscript. If so, you've done a great job of selling yourself and your novel.
I've attended the Willamette Writer's Conference in Portland and ended up with three requests for partials. The Maui Writer's Conference is perhaps the best known of these events and if you make a sale, you get to deduct your travel expenses on your income tax. Other West Coast conferences that have agent conferences are:
Surrey International Writer's Conference in British Columbia,
The Southern California Writer's Confernce which holds conferences in LA, San Diego and Palm Springs.
The San Diego State University Writer's Conference
Method three: Query an agent
This is the least effective, but often necessary method of hunting for an agent. I started by establishing a list of 50 agents to query using a variety of sources.
Books: 2005 Guide to Literary Agents published by Wrtier's Market.
Jeff Herman's Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents 2005; Herman is an agent and this book is standard reference for most. The problem as with most print book is that the material will be out of date as soon at the book hits the shelves, but still it's well worth looking at.
Websites: Publisher's Marketplace - Great for searching for agents by genre.
Guide to Literary Agents - Lists agents hunting for clients, but has not been updated in several months.
Agent Query - Another great resource for searching for agents.
Association of Author Representatives - Search by keyword for an agent that has agreed to the AAR Canon of Ethics
Individual agency websites: Use a web search engine; i.e., Google or Yahoo to find the web addresses for literary agencies.
Newsletters: Publisher's Marketplace issues a weekly free e-mail newsletter that lists a few of the publishing deals consumated within the last week. Though the newsletter is free, the information is limited. You can subscribe for full access to their publishing deal database for $20 a month. It all depends how desperate you are.
Your local library: Your local library is a source of free information about literary agents. Look at books similar to yours. Often, the author will thank their agent in the acknowledgement or dedication.
Next time, I'll talk about how to sort through your list to determine which agents you want to query first.
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Movie Review
Saw Star Wars III recently. Amazing graphics and special effects, but unfortunately the story lacked punch. Everytime Anakin Skywalker was onstage, my attention wandered. He was all grimace without substance or depth. The good news is that Lucas finally explained how we got to Star Wars IV with Luke, Leia and Hans. Too bad they weren't in number three, too.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Hunting for Ms. Agent
I've been sending my novel out to literary agents. Score so far, 7 rejects, 3 requests for partial submissions (one of those rejected) and 4 queries still outstanding. This nex week, I'll assemble 10 more queries to send out. Getting rejected can be disappointing, but getting a call from a New York agency makes it all worth it.
A resource for finding agents:
http://www.agentquery.com/agentquery/default.aspx
A resource for finding agents:
http://www.agentquery.com/agentquery/default.aspx
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