"Tell Me, Am I Qualified?" - Looking for Agents and Publishers

A few weeks ago, I started searching for agents and publishers. I used two terrific resources: the 2015 Writer's Market, and Jeff Herman's Guide to Book Publishers, Editors and Literary Agents.

I looked for independent and university publishers that specialize in music biographies, as well as religion and popular culture. Many of those publishers don't require agents. I made a list of approximately 10 prospects. I plan to contact them directly with a proposal in the near future.

Similarly, I made a list of 10 potential agents to contact. I targeted agents who had experience publishing books similar to mine. Having an agent will allow me to pursue larger publishers that do not accept unsolicited materials from writers.

I'm excited to see if I gain interest from a publisher, an agent or both! I will keep you posted!

"What My Drummer Wanna Say" - Sheila E.'s Memoir

I read Sheila E.'s memoir, The Beat of My Own Drum, several months ago. Well, I skimmed a lot of it and focused on the Prince-related portions. Still, I think I was able to get a general impression of the book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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Here are three things that stood out to me:

1. Sheila E. is extremely accomplished. I was very impressed with her resume, which includes touring with Marvin Gaye and Lionel Richie. 


2. She shared some Prince stories that I hadn't heard. When the book was released, the media quickly picked up on her story about getting engaged to Prince. However, there are a few more events that I was able to include my book. I was disappointed by the lack of Prince pictures, but it wouldn't surprise me if she had a difficult time getting clearance from the Purple One.


3. She has her own spiritual journey. I knew about her faith from her Usung feature, but it was nice to learn more by reading her book. She is yet another one of Prince's colleagues who went on to embrace religion. 

What was your favorite part about Sheila E.'s memoir?