Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing or reading-related question and answer it on their own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.
Today’s Topic: If you were made supreme ruler of the publishing world, what would be your first ruling?
My first ruling would be easy (and crazy and self-serving and totally unreasonable, but hey, I’m in charge!) and has to do with the querying process. Currently, it’s hard. And frustrating. And sometimes depressing. So I say, let’s make it easier on writers! With a shake of my all-powerful publishing scepter, I declare a complete flip of the querying process.
Why not create some kind of huge and very well-organized database where aspiring authors can post their query, sample pages and synopsis under a specifically narrowed-down category and genre? Then, when agents have a spare minute (they have lots of those, right?) they can troll the database for prospective clients and request partials/fulls through each aspiring author’s clearly posted contact information. Authors can link their data base profile to their Twitter/Facebook/blog/whatever, and have an individualized profile ID that they can pass on to agents they meet at conferences. That way, their information can later be accessed at the agent’s leisure.
So, I’m a genius, right? I’ve completely revolutionized slush, and I haven’t even had breakfast yet. 🙂
What about you? What changes would you make to publishing if you ruled the world?
katyupperman.com 
LOVE it!
I vote for you!
I can’t argue with your all powerful publishing scepter. *bows*
Awesome idea, and one you wouldn’t need a scepter to accomplish either.
I’d certainly like to try it your way. It’d be fun!
Thanks, girls! This was a fun road trip to think about… hard to have so much power, though!
I bet authors would get a lot more offers that way! Though how to make sure the agents all checked at the same time??
They wouldn’t have to, necessarily. They could check on their own time, which might mean more time waiting for the author, but would free up TONS of agent time because they wouldn’t be reading 50 to 500 queries every month. Plus, maybe agents could sign up to be notified when something they’re interested in posts, like: a paranormal romance with vampires and a male narrator or whatever.
Do you love how I’m musing about this like it’s a real possibility? 🙂
not a bad idea at all!
Well now THAT is a seriously, seriously interesting idea.
Fascinating idea! I’d love to see how that would work out!
OMG. I think this is the best thing since Amanda’s cupcake declaration.
Better than cupcakes? I’m so flattered!
GENIUS!!!! You are GENIUS!!!!
But where is all the smiting? Where is the abuse of power?
This is disturbingly practical. Not in the spirit of ruling the world at all!
Well, I fancy myself a reasonable leader. What can I say? 🙂