Q is for The Quantum Eavesdropper
For instance, it has a little time-travel, but I have made the narrative more linear and less jumpy. It was a 170,000 word novel, since split in two, the most recent change to the ending of the first part, to give it more resolution.
I've considered a sequel. There's space. I can see the title character moving aside for this next book.
I've one specific scene in mind for that sequel already. Although a far cry from the late lamented Douglas Adams, Eavesdropper's somewhat parodic when it comes to sci-fi and pop culture. So I also have a gag about ret-conning for the sequel too. Beyond that, I have not plotted it out.
I have submitted the manuscript to fewer than twenty agents so far. I've occasionally mentioned the novel on this blog since mid-2014.
Feedback from rejection letters in recent months has included lines like:
"It's
"I'm
"This specific project is
In a clever manoeuvre, as above, I like to remove the word "not" from all of those sentences. That's what us deluded writers have to do. And remind ourselves of the success stories:
"Think about whatsisname. Or herself. Or the other chap. And you know yer one? Found on the fanfiction site. The Mormon pornographer, with the whips and chains?
"What about the guy who self-published first and got the billion dollar contract? And that other guy, who published on the PodgeWodge. What is it? WattPad?
"The woman who got all those votes on the X Factor thing, except it was for the books? And that young lady who followed that publisher fella into the toilet, and got the deal chatting to him while he did his whizz? His cocaine I mean.
"And the one who said the book was finished, but then it wasn't finished yet and she had to write it in five minutes?
"And the Ben Affleck screenplay diddly. Matt Damon. Remember? Who won that again? And the Francis Ford Coppola competition?
"And whatserface? The wizard boy? On the Twitter?
"They all got 400,000,0000 rejections each before they became successful."
More than a year ago, I approached one critique partner via a social media post where she was requesting beta readers, after doing the same with other people's novels, and we worked on each other's stuff over a few months. After completing the novel, she said:
I'm not blowing smoke when I say that your manuscript was far and away the best. Like light years away. I also have to say that even though I was hesitant to read sci-fi, I think I came away liking The Quantum Eavesdropper the best. It was just so good. I can't wait to see it in print!
(Anyway, I wish she was an agent.)
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