Unpublished Ink

So I get an email from a, uh, literary agency, telling me to check out unpublishedink.com, and how I should go through the book proposals there. I went to the site because I thought it might be fun to blog about.

Unpublished Ink is for unpublished authors to "present" their work. Who are they presenting to? Supposedly agents and publishers. Huh.

Directly from the homepage: "Message to the Publishers and Literary Agents. Among the avalanche of manuscripts you are buried under, you might overlook the one you need. The majority of first-time authors approach you with a type of book you are not planning to publish or represent. Unpublished Ink is the right place for you. Just browse by TOPIC and click on the literary category in which you want to find an author."

Okay...seriously, who the fuck has time for this shit?

Might I overlook a really good manuscript in my slush pile? Sure. 'Cause the pile is pretty damn big. We run into more good things than we have room for in the catalogue, so I'm really not suffering for good books. So...do you REALLY think I have time to not only read slush by people who want to place work with us, but browse this other big slush pile too?

I might be painting authors who "present" their work there a little broadly here, but doesn't it smack of laziness? "Hmm, well, rather than research publishers and agents, follow their guidelines, and do things their way...I'll just put my stuff here and someone will find me."

*headdesk*

Isn't that kinda like, "Well, I need a job, but rather than put out my resume and answer work ads, I'm just going to sit on my couch. Someone will come knocking."

No, they won't. And no, I'm not going to go look for something in someone else's slush pile. I'd hazard a guess that no other acquiring editor would either. We're really, really, REALLY busy.

Also, I'm not naming the lit agency, but I'd like to point out that they've been in business for a year, have no clients or sales listed, and NO NAMES of the "agents" listed anywhere. Le sigh.

Do your homework, boys and girls. If you think anyone's going to be banging down your door wanting to publish that speshul bk you've been writing for ZOMG 10 yrs!!!11!!!...just keep waiting and lemme know how that works out for you, okay?