A New Title

In the process of editing my novel, my editor and my agent suggested changing the title. I have to admit that I was a little disheartened to hear that. I thought the title was perfect. My critique partners thought the title was perfect.

The original title was Unnatural Selection. Why was that perfect? The main character, Katrien, adores Charles Darwin. Her primary goal in life is to prove his theory of natural selection. But then Krakatoa erupts with disastrous results. Hence the title Unnatural Selection. Perfect, right?

Not so much.

I first learned of the need for a new title not long before I went to the Texas Library Association Annual Conference in April. Of course, Holiday House had a booth at the conference, and I stopped by and spoke with their marketing representative. I told her I had just signed a contract with Holiday House, and she asked me what the title was.

Me: "Well, apparently it needs to be changed, but it was called Unnatural Selection."

Her: "Oh, is it nonfiction?"

Me: "Umm ... no."

Her: "That's why it needs to be changed."

Point taken, ma'am. Knowing now why I needed to change the title, I set about throwing out suggestions. After a couple of emails, a phone call with my editor and some suggestions from the Holiday House marketing team, we came up with the perfect title.

AFTER THE ASHES

Look for it next fall!

My Book Is Sold!

At the end of January (January 28, to be precise) my agent called to tell me I had an offer for my book from Holiday House.

I said, "Really?!" and had to sit down.

I took a few notes about what she said, including reminding me that a couple other editors still had the manuscript. The rest of the day I could not stop grinning. I had a meeting at work that afternoon, and I honestly have no memory of what we discussed. After that phone call from Carrie, the rest of the day was a blur. I did buy myself a big bag of M&M's and a York peppermint patty to celebrate (I am the last of the big spenders!).

Of course I told Mom that night, but I didn't tell anyone else. Carrie got back with me a few days later to say that the other editors had passed, and I was officially with Holiday House.

I was thrilled! Holiday House only publishes children's books. We have lots of their books in the library system.

One week after the phone call, I told all my friends on Twitter and Facebook (mainly because I saw the post from my agency). I emailed other friends and my critique group buddies. The beautiful thing about writing books for children is how supportive everyone is of other writers.

Then I got a lovely letter from Kelly Loughman, the editor I'll be working with at Holiday House.

While I was at PLA, I got the contract to sign. When I got home, I signed it and mailed it off.

Now I'm waiting for the next step.

Here's the official notice from Publisher's Marketplace (thanks to Sam for sending this to me).

Sara Joiner's UNNATURAL SELECTION, about a Charles Darwin-loving girl of the Dutch East Indies, and what happens after volcano Krakatoa erupts and the only person who agrees to her plan of following the animals to safety in the island's jungle is her prim-and-proper nemesis, to Kelly Loughman at Holiday House, by Carrie Pestritto of Prospect Agency.

Woohoo!

How I Got My Agent

I read a lot of blog posts like this. Aspiring authors who finally get an agent after years of trying.

Usually it seems like those stories have some almost fantastical element to them.

Mine doesn’t. I hope someone finds that inspiring.

The first novel I wrote -- which is literally in a drawer in my house -- is terrible. Dreadful. Awful. Hang-my-head-in-shame bad. But everyone’s first book is this way. (By the way, I still think the idea for this novel is great; I just have to figure out how to make it work.)

I wrote another book. This one was based on incidents from my grandmother’s childhood. Because it’s written in a vignette style, it was harder to pitch as a first book. I set it aside.

Then I wrote another novel, this one for young adults. I wrote and revised and wrote and revised and worked hard to make it perfect. Then I queried agents. I got rejections. I revised some more. I queried again. I got rejections. I revised again. Sometimes agents would ask for the partial or the full manuscript, and then I would get a rejection. This process took about two years, and I eventually got more than 100 rejections for that novel. Somewhere about the time I had seventy-five rejections, I told myself I would buy an iPad if got 100. And I did.

Then I set that novel aside.

I wrote another young adult novel. I never queried it, but I did send it to an editor I met at a conference. It was rejected, but the rejection was quite positive.

I wrote another young adult novel. I remembered reading once that writers didn’t really learn what they were doing until they wrote their fourth book. This was my fifth. I felt positive about this book. I felt like this was “the one” -- this book would take me to the next step.

With more patience than I ever thought I had, I wrote. I worked on this book for about two years. I slashed scenes. I added characters. I dropped ideas. I changed details. I took my time to get it right.

Then I queried.

I sent out four queries and got rejections. I sent out four more and got a request for the full manuscript.

Then I got the email that stopped my heart. She liked the book but wanted to see some changes. Would I care to talk to her about it?

Of course I said yes. After listening to her, I knew her ideas would make the book stronger. She would be willing to read the manuscript again if I addressed her concerns.

I took my time and re-submitted to her.

And she offered representation! I actually cried when I read that email.

But it was a great day, and in October 2012, I signed with Carrie Pestritto of Prospect Agency. Now we’re on to the next stage.

Meanwhile, I’m working on another novel.

Not for Teens After All

It’s been a while since I updated this blog, and I need to get better about doing this. My new goal is at least one update a week (but let’s not kid ourselves, I’ll be happy with twice a month).

Anyway, an update is required.

Last summer, I got more passes from editors and more comments. This time there seemed to be a trend -- “it sounds like a middle-grade novel.”

So guess what I did?

I revised again. This time I had to change the ages of my two main characters, delete quite a few chapters and change the beginning. Again.

But all that was done before I went on vacation.

My agent has submitted the revisions to editors again, and now we wait.

That’s how the publishing business works. Lots and lots of waiting. I am learning patience through this process.

Writing Update

After a few rounds of revisions for my agent, she submitted the manuscript for my young adult novel to several editors.

Unfortunately, they all passed on my work.

However, a few of the editors had kind words and some constructive criticism. At least one expressed an interest in reading the manuscript again if I made revisions.

Guess what I did?

I spent April and May busily revising, revising, revising — early mornings, lunch hours and after work.

Today I sent the whole thing back to my agent for her to read over. We'll see what she thinks.

Revisions to Queries

I finished the revisions on my young adult novel and have begun querying agents. While I don't have an accurate timeline for the book, I think I worked on it – off and on – for about three years.

I wrote about four chapters and then set it aside to work on other things. When I came back to it, I picked up where I left off. Then I started writing the middle of the novel all the way to the end. I came back and finished the beginning.

The next step was to revise the entire thing, which I did on the computer.

Then I printed it out and revised again. Which led me to retype the entire thing and revise it again on the computer.

Another printout. More revisions – this time with highlighters!

Typed it all again.

Another revision on the computer.

Took it to a novel revision retreat where three other people critiqued it.

Revised again – retyping it once more.

Printed it out again for more revisions. I read this copy aloud to myself during lunch in my office.

Made corrections. Printed it out again. Emailed copies to some trusted readers for comments.

Made final corrections. Read over it one last time (mainly for typos) on the computer.

Prepared complete document for sending out to agents.

Wrote query. Revised query. Revised again. Revised one last time.

Wrote synopsis. Revised synopsis.

Sent queries to some agents.

And now the waiting game begins.

I have four different drafts saved on my computer. The first and second drafts had thirty-one chapters, and the third and fourth have thirty-three. Scenes were dropped and added, characters were added, and the ending changed completely.

Fingers crossed!

Another Agent, Another Partial

I sent a partial of my YA novel to an agent today. She also requested a synopsis. I really hate writing those. They seem so much like a book report that I can't stand it.

When I was in elementary school, we participated in the Pizza Hut Book It program. There were a few problems with this program as far as I was concerned.

1. We were reading for free pizza coupons, and I didn't eat pizza at that time.

2. We were supposed to read a certain number of books (I don't remember how many) and write a book report about each one.

3. When you read your book and wrote a report, you got a gold star on a board.

I always read the books - often more than the requirement. I rarely wrote the book reports. I just never saw the point. Plus, I wasn't interested in the pizza.

Oh, well.

Wish me (and my book report synopsis) luck!

Editor Day

The Houston chapter of SCBWI held its Editor Day event yesterday. It was an opportunity for aspiring children's writers to meet with editors from different publishing houses and imprints. It's also an opportunity to submit to them as the houses they work for are closed to unagented authors.

And while I'm still trying to get an agent, I don't have one yet.  So, this was a great opportunity for me.

I got some wonderful ideas, met some new people and know exactly what I'm going to submit to these editors.  I've just got to polish my manuscripts until they're shiny and bright and unable to resist!

Fingers Crossed

I sent out queries to agents again about my YA novel. I received a request for a partial (I think, the email was actually kind of vague, but I don't want to overwhelm the kind agent with more than she intended) and will send that to her tomorrow.

Here's wishing myself luck!

Brazos Valley Conference

I went to the Connections & Craft conference sponsored by the Brazos Valley SCBWI today, and I had a great time. Two other members of the critique group I belong to attended as well.

The conference also functioned as a workshop, so we had a few writing exercises to do during the day. These helped us work on openings and character development.

I mentioned earlier that I had a critique scheduled with Cynthia Leitich Smith. That went great. She loved my manuscript! Or at least the first 10 pages. She gave me the names of some agents for submissions. I'm currently in the process of editing the piece (again), so I'll finish that before I try submitting again.

Here's hoping!

Queries: Update

The queries I sent out about my YA novel went better than for the middle grade. I got one partial request that became a no, but that's better than all no's.

So, I've sent some more queries. Fingers crossed!

YA Novel

I've finished a young adult novel set during the French Revolution. I think it has a better hook than the middle grade novel I've been querying. So, I'm setting aside the middle grade book to send out queries for the YA one.

I sent four queries today. We'll see what happens.

Update: Queries

Well, I told you I sent some queries out to the agents I met at the writer's conference in Austin. I sent four queries out then and have heard two no's. The other two have not responded as of yet.

About a week later, I sent out four more queries to agents I have not met. But I have gotten two no's from them, too.

So, I'm still waiting to hear from four agents - or to hear the "no response" response.

Fingers still crossed!

The Writing That's Ready

I've got two picture books that I have queried a few agents about - but no one was interested. I queried a middle-grade novel I've written to another agent - to another no. I really think my query letters stink. I try to make them interesting, but I think of them like persuasive letters, which I was never any good at writing in school. Also, I have to sell myself. I couldn't sell water in the Sahara, so it's difficult for me to try to sell my own writing.

Oh, well. I'll just keep plugging away.