Yeah, so I'm networking

Okay, so I'm at that stage where I need to ask my friends and perfect strangers as well if they know anyone in the book publishing/agenting business who would be willing to look at my query letter. This is exciting. You can be a part of getting my book published, for real! And then I have a fence you can whitewash for me! Rad! The query letter looks a bit like this:

Dear whoever

I am seeking representation for my memoir, Work Ethic? Complete at 113,5000 words.

Work Ethic? is based on my own adventures seeking identity and employment in the American job market, being hired and fired (sometimes I quit) from over 30 jobs before my 30th birthday.

While on the clock, and in the pages of Work Ethic? I have;

• Had a SWAT Team aim guns at my head. (Theatre Manager)
• Been arrested for bringing a gun into an international airport. (Flyer Distribution)
• Done dishes with a rock star. (Café Dishwasher)
• Been punched in the face by my boss. (Former Bus Boy)
• Punched a subordinate in the face. (Film Festival Promoter)
• Called for the internment of all Arab American's on a nationally syndicated "angry white guy with a goatee" type radio show. (There was a context to this.)
  

Work Ethic will appeal to fans of Michelle Tea, Beth Lisick, Dave Eggers, Hillary Carlip and David Sedaris. The book is told with a sense of humor but often explores the dark and even the mundane moments that one comes across while seeking enlightenment and employment.

Work Ethic existed first as a blog, written almost entirely while on the clock. The blog has been immensely popular drawing up to 85,000 views per month with not a dime spent on promotion.

In addition to working too many jobs I’ve made a name for myself as a comedian, freelance writer and weird uncle.

My interview credits include Bob Newhart, Ryan Styles, Neil Hamburger, Gift of Gab, and my hero The Unknown Comic. In five years of professional writing I’ve covered mixed martial arts fighting, music, book, comic book and art reviews, comedy and technology.

Thank you for you consideration.
Sincerely,

Keith Lowell Jensen



An excerpt from The Washington Posts review of Morbid Curiosity

“The Morbid the Merrier? Alas, No More.
By Peter Carlson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 20, 2006; C02
The funniest of these medical horror stories is "I Hate My Guts," Keith Lowell Jensen's hilarious account of his colon disease. Like any good colon disease tale, it gets a little . . . um, gamey. But if you stick with it, you're rewarded with the story of Jensen's colonoscopy photos.
"The photos were shown around," he writes. "They were even published online, resulting in a fan site dedicated to my colon and an original piece of art being made from the photos and submitted to be displayed at the California State Fair. The State Fair rejected my colon."
Needless to say, Morbid Curiosity didn't reject Jensen's colon, and his colonoscopy photos illustrate this demented masterpiece.”