How I Got My Literary Agent
Well friends, turns out these are hard to write! Who knew that after reading countless “how I got my agent” blogs myself, it would still be a struggle to put mine into words.
I’m going to skip some of the “my writing journey” stuff. The super early stuff. Maybe I’ll write more about those bits later. For now, we’ll talk mostly about querying and the wonderful, stressful, stunning, heart-wrenching, magical moment that is signing with a literary agent.
Hopping write (wink wink nudge nudge) in!
The summer of 2018, I wrote my first book. I love daily targets and strict self-imposed deadlines, so I finished that first draft in 2.5 months. In the rush of those first months I also joined Twitter to connect and learn from the writing community, and reconnected with an old high school friend. She’d recently finished drafting her first book too, and well…long story short, now we talk nonstop every single day. The best CP I could’ve asked for!
My circle of author friends grew (y’all know who you are), and I learned so much alongside my peers. However, it took me 6 (really more like 7) books and 4 years for skill, luck, and timing to line up just right!
Someday, I’ll tell y’all more about those books that weren’t “The One.”
I started out writing high fantasy, because that’s my original love. I wrote four high fantasies, both adult and YA, before realizing I also really enjoyed horror. My next book was an adult horror, followed by another adult horror which would eventually become the YA thriller that got me my agent.
“Lake Book,” as I affectionately still call it, was an adult supernatural horror that centered a dark family secret, estranged siblings, and cosmic horror lake monsters. Also, ghosts. I enjoyed it, agents requested it, but a trend emerged as the rejections rolled in; I kept getting passes that made it clear agents wished it was more of a thriller than a supernatural horror.
Okay. Cool. I’m always game for a challenge. There was just one problem: I knew absolutely nothing about the thriller genre (except apparently how to write a pitch that lent itself to being a thriller).
With that specific help request in mind, I entered Author Mentor Match asking if anyone would be willing to take on the huge task of teaching me how the eff to write a thriller.
Enter my superstar mentor, who gave me advice with her sharp editorial eye and cheered me on through, well, massive re-writes. After all, I was changing the entire genre of the book, not to mention the age category. I added characters, changed the plot, added a dual timeline…the works!
Reader, let me tell you: I have never felt less clever than while trying to write a thriller. What do you mean everything has to relate back to the central mystery? What do you mean this trope might be over-done and therefore, is not a surprising twist? What do you mean I can’t solve all my problems with magic? (Lol, yes, I know I’m not supposed to do that in fantasy, either.)
But I survived, I’m proud, and I’m excited for where Lake Book will go. My agent and I will be chucking my darling, difficult child out into the land of submissions, and I couldn’t be happier!
So here we go. The numbers that summarize my journey from the beginning (of Lake Book) to signing with my wonderful agent. I’m going to tell you details about querying the FIRST version of Lake Book (the adult supernatural horror) vs the SECOND version (the young adult contemporary thriller). Just know that over the course of all the books I wrote and queried, I sent hundreds of queries. It’s been a longggg journey!
Lake Book 1.0
Queries Sent: 44
Partial Requests: 1
Full Requests: 8
Length of Time Querying: 5 weeks (This is a somewhat misleading number. This is the span of time I was sending queries, not receiving replies; however, I did fully withdraw any outstanding queries when I got into AMM in February, 2022, about 3 months after starting to query.)
Lake Book 2.0
Queries Sent: 46
Partial Requests: 1 (Before nudge)
Full Requests: 15 (8 before nudge, 7 after nudge)
Length of Time Before 1st Offer: 3 weeks
Number of Offers: 4
Let’s talk about those numbers! First, because I adore this factoid and discovered it while writing this blog: I started querying Lake Book 1.0 on November 1, 2021, and got my offer on Lake Book 2.0 on November 1, 2022. SYMMETRY, yay!
Anyway! Because I knew I was DONE revising this book, I’d already sent out a ton of queries. I didn’t query in “batches.” I wasn’t going to wait for feedback from agents this round. How each person approaches this varies, but for me, this was the right decision. However, I will say that beyond maybe a few test queries to see if YOU change your mind about your query package, the old adage to query in batches is perhaps no longer reasonable with the current pace of publishing responses. Just my two cents!
I got my first offer quickly (considering again the general pace of publishing). The offering agent sent me “the email” (the “can we set up a call” email) a week and some change after requesting the full. I thought my heart was going to explode. I saw spots. How do you comprehend that the thing you’ve wanted for so long is actually happening? I was beyond excited to see that this agent loved my work and wanted to talk.
I’m going to do a mini-blog soon on exactly what I was doing when I saw “the email.” Hint: it’s not cool—it borders on embarrassing, but is also funny.
Moving along! I’d sent a lot of queries in quick succession, and many agents hadn’t even gotten to my query yet before I started nudging. Some agents passed because of timing issues, some because it wasn’t the right fit, and some (yay) requested the full! I actually got two full requests (un-nudged) while I was sending the “offer of representation” emails. It was an overwhelming night, to say the least.
Now…multiple offers is an amazing gift. I’m so fortunate that several agents loved my book and thought they had a spot for me on their list. I knew all the technical things to do: ask questions, talk to clients, talk to your peers, choose the person you think will be the best partner for your career.
But. BUT!! Every agent who offered was kind, passionate, and I would’ve been thrilled to work with any of them. As querying authors, we so rarely have to be the ones to deliver bad news; we’re mostly the ones receiving it. I am extremely familiar with hard news after many years in the query trenches, with multiple books. When you’ve spent every single day of your life for years wanting someone, anyone, to love your work, it feels antithetical to your very existence to tell people who finally DO love your story, “No, we won’t be working together.”
The weeks passed, and ultimately, I decided that the best fit for me was the second agent who’d offered. She was a joy to talk with, and I knew she’d be passionate about me and my future projects. I’m thrilled to be working with the delightful Chelsea Hensley of kt literary, and building my author career with her.
I’m quickly realizing this is getting long, so I’ll wrap up here. If there are any parts you want me to elaborate on, let me know! I hope this was at least a little interesting; I know I always personally enjoyed reading these (regardless of whether I was nodding along or screaming just a little with happy-for-you-want-it-for-me-too jealousy).
If you want to see more glimpses into my writing life going forward, definitely come be my friend on Instagram or TikTok!
Stay magical, friends!
Roselyn