It Takes a Village to Raise a Writer (Or: Agented!)

My dear sweet readers,

A couple of months ago, I made a blog post called "Belief," about having written a manuscript that I truly believed in with all my heart, even though it wasn't getting a great - or really any - response from my carefully planned and strategized querying efforts.

To be honest, I almost didn't post it. I thought it made me sound like an entitled, maudlin jerk.

But you all came on over and expressed your love and support, your "it's normal"s and your "ONE is fabulous"s, and your "keep on truckin'"s, and I felt better.

Your comments, and your love and support, pushed me to put it in just one more contest before I officially called querying quits - The Writer's Voice Contest. I was lucky enough to get plucked from the contest slush by Cupid, and my amazing teammates helped me polish ONE's query and first page to an even higher shine.

Three weeks later, I got this email:

I LOVED ONE. Merrin Grey is complicated, she's not waiting to be saved (THANK YOU SO MUCH for writing a heroine like this) and Elias is complicated and intriguing and the entire premise freaks me out in a good way...

You guys. This agent THANKED ME for writing Merrin. (Um, what do you even say to that? "You're welcome?") I figured I'd died and gone to heaven. 

Well, it got better. We talked on the phone, and the way she talked about my characters, it was like she'd crawled into their brains and stayed in there awhile, taking notes. She said she felt like she could fly with Merrin and Elias (cue copious tears.) But wait ! It gets better! She wanted to talk about TWO (sequel to One, if we ever got that far) and all the other projects I'm cooking up. (I mean, seriously. So surreal.) 

Tonight, I was delighted and honored to sign with Tricia Lawrence of Erin Murphy Literary. Tomorrow, the paper contract goes in the mail, and we're officially super official.


There could not possibly be a better fit for this manuscript or for me, for so many reasons. Her excitement for ONE is palpable. She's squealing-excited, and we haven't even gotten to work yet. But I can tell she has big plans, and will do just about anything to see ONE and maybe some other things I dream up succeed. She gets the story, you guys. She gets it. She gets me. She's a truly amazing agent, part of an incredible team, and I can't believe my luck.

******

But that's not the real "How I Got My Agent" Story. Because, after all, in order for all that to happen, I had to have two things:
1) An Insane Amount of Luck and
2) a finished and polished manuscript that would catch Tricia's eye.

To get to that manuscript, I had to have the strength and perseverance to keep writing, keep working my butt off, even when my own better judgement told me that ONE was destined for a life in The Drawer.

How did I keep myself standing, and wading through the muckiness of Query Hell?
 You. Each and every one of you, who ever:

• read a horribly messy draft and cheered it on anyway,
• helped me tear my MS apart and reassemble it time after time after time
• dragged me through the mud and muck of the query trenches
• grabbed my bootstraps and pulled me up 
• made me feel ashamed of wallowing in self pity
• inspired me to write more
• challenged me to keep going
• guilted me when I said I would give up
• made me feel ashamed about feeling sorry for myself
• hugged me when I thought I couldn't take any more
• loved my writing
• loved me, especially when I whined and complained and really, really, REALLY didn't deserve it.
• Who gave me chance after chance after chance at success.

Most especially, and never, ever to be taken for granted, my critique partners.
The sweet Gina, the energetic Maggie, the understanding Jamie, the reflective Jenny, the hilarious Megan, the cantankerously brilliant Chessie, the encouraging MarcyKate, the painstakingly proof-reading A.K., the fangirling Amber, the levelheaded Cait, the enthusiastic Kat, the supportive Rachael, the industry-insightful Jessica, the loving Jani, the ruthless Marieke.

You gave me exactly what I needed at exactly the right time to make ONE the best it could be before going out into the world, to survive the query trenches, and to come out having signed with exactly the right agent, in a way I never expected, never planned for.

That's how I got my agent. I leaned on all those people, I loved them the best way I knew how, and they gave back to me in spades. They carried me through all the writer's toughness and helped me come out on the other side intact, alive, and kicking. With a manuscript that's now, happily, doing the same.

Thank you. I owe you everything. 

Lastly, since I know you're wondering, some (terrifyingly abysmal) stats:

Queries sent: 127
Rejections: 89
No-response: 38
Requests from queries: 6
Requests from (three) contests: 4
Informal requests (AKA "ninjas"): 2
Offers: 2 (You never know how the offers will come. YOU NEVER KNOW.)

Last, my (hopefully) non-condescending, non-platitude advice to aspiring authors like me:

Keep writing as long as it makes you happy.
Surround yourself with loving, supportive, encouraging people.
Keep sending your work out, if you believe in it.
Remember:You never know what's around the corner. NEVER. (Even though, if you're a control freak like me, that thought makes you CRAZY.)

Please wish me, Tricia, and ONE, the little manuscript that could, tons of luck as we send it even further out into the world! (We sure could use it, and appreciate it more than I can say.)