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| The National Guard in Berkeley 1969 |
I finished novel number three on New Year’s Eve day. It was the third (and I swear) final time I’ve finished the book, which is called “The Blood of Love: A Love Story of Berkeley in the Sixties.” The first time I finished the book it was 195,997 words. I realized that no one was going to look at a book from a first-time author (my two self-published novels don’t count) that was that long. So I went about trimming it. I soon realized that trimming wasn’t enough. I was using a hedge clipper when an axe was required. I took out characters and chapters and sections that I dearly loved and had worked hard on. It hurt but was necessary. When done my second iteration was a still healthy 128,444 words. Agents and publishers don’t really want to look at anything over 100,000 words but I reasoned that there was nothing more to cut and I wasn’t going to compromise on my artistic vision (big talk). I started sending out query letters which of course included the word count. The silence was deafening — aside from a few “thanks but no thanks.”
I got wise. More cutting. Boy did that hurt. Version number three was a tidy 97, 545, slightly less than half the original length. Blood of Love is lean, mean and hopefully will start getting a second glance from prospective agents.
The truth was the book was too damn long the first time. I mean it was fine if I were preparing it as a mini-series but for a debut novel — or any other kind, for that matter — it was too much. Too many digressions and ancillary stories and superfluous characters and scenes that didn’t move the central story along.
I’m proud of what I’ve got now after three years of work (three years and one month to be precise). Wednesday I started contacting prospective agents again.
I hate trying to sell things, even if it is of my own creation. I hate the kind of work involved in trying to find just the right publisher or agent. I’m an artist not a salesman. But sometimes in life you have to grit your teeth and do the unpleasant but absolutely necessary. Otherwise how would toilets get cleaned?
In case your interested (and if you’ve read this far I reckon you are). Here’s the template for my query letter which is re-fashioned each time its sent out.
Dear, I am currently seeking representation for my novel, “The Blood of Love, a Love Story of Berkeley in the Sixties.” Given your interest in I thought it might be a good fit for you.
The Blood of Love is the story of David Trentwood, from ages thirteen to twenty-one, and his great love, Cordelia McKenzie It is set against the backdrop of massive social change and political unrest in Berkeley during the 1960s. It is both literary and historical fiction.
It is a kaleidoscopic look at the Sixties, the demonstrations, the counter culture, sex, drugs and rock and roll. The Blood of Love invokes the spirit and passion of the time as characters explore new found freedoms and take to the streets to protest the Vietnam War. David is at once a witness and a participant. The story is told in his voice which is fresh, irreverent yet sophisticated. David’s story is told as it happened, unfolding for the reader as it did for him. As David says in the book’s preface: “This will be my story but it will also be about those times. Most of the eight years described took place within the crucible of Berkeley, California, then an epicenter of the student movement, a place where the cultural sea changes were always evident.”
David and Cordelia meet as thirteen-year-olds and fall deeply in love. Tragically, they are separated the following summer. We jump ahead to the Summer of Love, though still apart the couple correspond regularly. David is no longer an innocent having lost his virginity and developed a fondness for getting high. The couple are finally re-united when Cordelia joins David as a student at the University of California in 1969 where he is already a veteran of the protest movement.
David and Cordelia seem the perfect couple but tensions arise as Cordelia fights a war with inner demons resulting from the deaths of her parents when she was young. Also the couple clash over tactics as David extolls non-violence while Cordelia embraces the more extreme Weather Underground. We also meet their great friend and mentor, Steven, who is flamboyant, brilliant, and tragic.
Having waited for decades to read such a book, I finally decided to write it myself. I realized that I was uniquely qualified having grown up in the Berkeley in the Sixties and having read copiously about the times. I relied on both personal memories and research to make Blood of Love as true to its time as possible.
I believe this story will appeal to a wide variety of readers, particularly those across different generations with an interest in the Sixties. Its love story is timeless and the political issues raised will resonate with readers of today.
I am a semi-retired teacher who has self-published two novels, Lesson Plan, A Novel and Threat of Night (Yon Uhka).
The Blood of Love is complete at 97, 546 words. The manuscript is available, in part or in full, upon request. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Richard Hourula
Not bad, eh? Wouldn’t you want to read the book?
All I can do now is research agents and fashion my letters to them based on their specific desires and publishing history. I will be persistent. I will find an agent. They will help me find a publisher. My novel will be published. It’s the only attitude I can have.
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