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!

Lots to Do

I haven't written anything here in a while. Since the novel revision retreat, I've been incredibly busy – both at writing and at work.

I revised my entire young adult manuscript based on comments and ideas from the retreat. For the moment, I've set that aside to 'stew' a little before I make one final set of revisions.

I went to two SCBWI conferences – in Austin and Houston – and learned more tips for writing and revising.

And, of course, I've started a new book. A middle grade story that's been fun to develop. I haven't written much of it yet – only about four chapters – but I think it'll be fun when it's finished.

But my short-term focus has had to change from both the young adult novel and the middle grade one. The Houston SCBWI conference included a presentation by Jenne Abramowitz from Scholastic. She discussed chapter books, and I got the idea to re-work an earlier piece I had written as a chapter book. So, that's my concentration right now. I have a three-month window in which to re-work the book and submit it. We'll see how that goes.

And in the middle of those three months, I'm going on vacation, so I have to work double fast. Not to mention all the work I have to do for my job. It's going to be crazy!

Here's hoping.

And I created my own website.

Aftermath: Novel Revision Retreat

Using the word aftermath in the title of this post is not the best word choice, but it's the best I can come up with after an exhausting weekend of learning revision techniques.

The retreat was phenomenal. The people at the retreat were terrific. The location was beautiful. The facilities were excellent (the chairs in our work room were fabulous - I could actually touch the floor!). The food was delicious - I didn't even eat that much on cruises!

On to the retreat, though. As I said, we were assigned to groups of four. We sat with them and discussed each other's manuscripts all weekend. My group's work was wonderful, promising and encouraging. Each of them had work that was distinctly different from mine and from the other people in our group. I can't wait to read the published versions of their works, and I do believe that all of them have the potential to be published.

Throughout the retreat, I learned ways to add depth and improve my novel. I have lots to do, but I'm ready to get to work.

Thanks, Darcy and Houston SCBWI, for a wonderful retreat!

Novel Revision Retreat

In a couple of weeks I'll be attending a novel revision retreat led by author Darcy Pattison and sponsored by Houston SCBWI. I don't really know what to expect from the retreat.

We had to read two books ahead of time and submit a completed novel. From those submitted novels, we were assigned to groups of four participants, and we got copies of each others' manuscripts to read.

I've read the assigned texts and the manuscripts – one was a contemporary middle grade and the other two were middle-grade fantasy. Mine was an historical novel for young adults.

I enjoyed the manuscripts. I'm looking forward to meeting the writers.

Hope I learn lots at the retreat. I really want to improve my writing. And then I hit the road for conferences in February and March.

Good News

Back in early June, I sent a young adult novel I wrote to an editor I met at the Houston SCBWI Editor Day Conference.

Friday afternoon I got an email response from the editor's assistant. While the overall answer was a "no" on publication, the answer was so inspiring that I have to share.

Here are some of the comments the assistant sent.

"Your story has all the elements of drama, mystery, intrigue and danger to make for a very exciting thriller. From the start, I wanted to know what was happening to Anna and what she would do to get out of this horrible situation. Your short chapters add to the paciness of the story, and it’s a very smart choice. Your novel reminded me a bit of Gabriel Lord’s new series, CONSPIRACY 365, which I highly recommend you take a look at."

I need to look up this series since I'm not familiar with it.

She also wrote about the ending of the novel. She liked the ending but thought certain aspects of it take "away the power of the contrast you’ve created with the tension earlier in the novel. I would consider rethinking and reworking this as you revise."

It's good advice, and something I'm mulling over in my head. I've got to let the idea cook a while before I really start to attack the writing.

But I am thrilled that someone enjoyed the book! It made my weekend.

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!

Another Round of Queries

I've sent the young adult historical fiction query to more agents. Since I returned from vacation, I've been remiss in querying.

I have remedied that today!

Between writing and work at the library, I feel like I'm barely treading water. Fortunately, summer will soon be over, so I think I'll be able pull myself up. Ah, the life of a public librarian – busy in the summer, but getting some rest during the school year.

We now interrupt the vacation updates

I sent a YA novel to a publisher today. This was a publisher from the Editor Day event I went to in Houston back in February.

Fingers crossed!

Editing Complete

After nearly a month, I finally finished editing and correcting the YA novel.  I think it's in the best possible condition that I can get it in.  Now, I just need a professional to offer any helpful suggestions.  Any agents or editors out there?  I'm more than willing to send it to you!

The Work Goes On

I'm in the process of editing my YA novel.  It's historical fiction set during the French Revolution.  While the editing is taking a while, I'm not hating it as much as I thought I would.  Perhaps that's because it's my own revisions and not an actual editor's.  But I really think it has more to do with the fact that I finished it in June and haven't really looked at it since.  That's helped clear my mind and allowed me to edit with a fresh eye.

I only hope the red ink in my pen lasts!

Meanwhile, the critique group I belong to is giving me advice about another YA novel I finished.  This one is set in the present day, almost.

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!

Another Conference

The good news about the conference I'm attending next month is the person who's critiquing my YA submission. It's Cynthia Leitich Smith, one of my favorite authors! I don't know whether she'll like my work or not, but I'm thrilled to have someone I so like and respect read it. That will be exciting.

I'll let you know how it goes.

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.