Thanks for the advice -- there certainly are some gems in there.

My question is regarding agents, and what you said abour pitching anyway. I'm not sure if I want to have an agent or not. If I pitch/query Tor unagented and I get turned down, does that mean that if I do get an agent he/she cannot try to submit my work there? If I would have any advantage with an agent, I wouldn't want to screw it up by bombing my own attept :S

Thanks again!