Jumping Back Into the Trenches

Tags

Literary Agents, querying, referrals, Rejection

Well, that’s basically a nightmare phrase, isn’t it? Signing with an agent is supposed to be the thing that hoists you out of query letter hell forever. It’s a safe zone, a guarantee, a lifetime plan!

For some.

For others, it’s a really great thing that happens but isn’t meant to be the start of a lasting relationship. There are about a billion reasons for an agent-author partnership to end, and some of them are far worse than others.

I’m an “other”; my first agent and I split in June, just shy of a year together. I didn’t announce it, because how do you announce it? Instead, I shifted things around on my website and blog (rather than removed, because she’s still the agent on the contract for BEHIND THE SCENES) and deleted her from my Twitter profile and PM page. I told people I speak to in non-public forums, and answered anyone who asked on Twitter. In reality, what more can you do?

At the same time, I was also really lucky, because here’s the thing about my first agent: I still think she’s awesome. I have no regrets. Ask me what I would’ve done differently, and I have no answer for you. Ask me what I think she should’ve done differently with the book she offered on, and I definitely have no answer for you.

Here, though, is where that offer part is so tricky: it’s on one book. You query one book. You get an offer based on one book. And sure, an agent can ask what else you’re working on, but A) a lot of them don’t, and B) what can sound great in premise isn’t necessarily something they’ll love in execution. It’s one reason it’s so important for an agent to love your voice; it’s their best insurance they’ll love the rest of your work. If your first book isn’t necessarily a reflection of your later work (which, due to its highly commercial nature, mine wasn’t), then it may turn out the expectations just weren’t quite on track, and you’re not meant to be after all.

So, let’s say you hit an impasse on a book, or communication style, or pitching plans. Then what?

Dear readers, I’m not gonna lie – it is terrifying. Leaving your agent, even when it’s mutual, even when it’s amicable… it is like setting your security blanket on fire and then rolling around in the ashes. And when I see it continuing to be a great partnership for my former agent-sisters, it feels sort of like watching my ex-boyfriend in a great new relationship and wondering why we couldn’t make it work. No matter how neat, and how much you adore and respect everyone involved, it sucks. And boy, will it screw with your confidence.

Plus, for me, it wasn’t just as a writer – I was fully prepared for a “If you can’t even keep your agent, why the hell should we listen to your pub advice?” from someone who follows my blog. (This did not happen even once. I love you guys.)

If you read The Daily Dahlia, you already know that I have a lot to say about querying. I give a lot of advice, discuss etiquette and best practices… I have four queries posted up top that have all gotten requests.

And yet, when I started querying again, I felt like I knew nothing. Like, I could not figure out how to do a thing. I’d read someone else’s post on querying for the second time and it was basically “I got a new agent in five minutes, after getting a hundred referrals!” and I was all “WHY ISN’T EVERYONE AND HER MOTHER REFERRING ME AND NINJA-ING ME AND WHY DO I FAIL AT LIFE?!”

Then there was everyone else’s raging confidence that everything would be fine. I got a ton of, “Oh, you’ll get a new agent again in five seconds. You’re so networked.” Never mind that the extent of my “network” is Twitter friends, same as everybody else. Never mind that sure, I’ve got agent friends, but people liking you doesn’t mean they like your work, or take your genre. The votes of confidence were sweet, but at times, it felt like I’d have to be an idiot to screw this up, and I was pretty sure I was going to. So I ran to my CPs and trusted friends, and I posted on OneFourKidLit, and I scoured AbsoluteWrite, but ultimately, what it comes down to is this:

If your current agent relationship isn’t right for you, but you know you want an agent, you just have to push yourself to do it eventually. You will come up with a thousand reasons why it’s risky or scary or crazy. But if you can’t get out of your own way and push past them, you’re never going to get what you want.

So, let’s do this! Round 2! Kinda awkward, right? Especially if people know you had an agent before? Or if you have a book deal? I mean, like, what kind of reject are you?

THE KIND OF “REJECT” THAT HAPPENS ALLLL THE TIME.

Guys, for real, this is a thing that happens. Hi, I’m Dahlia! Now you know someone it happened to. Also? I had three friends going through the same thing at the same time and all three have great new agents. The point is, this happens, you’re not a freak, and agents do not take one look at your query and go, “Ew, why would I want her now?”

So, now that that’s out of the way, how do you actually do this thing?

First things first, make sure you understand your agency contract’s termination clause before you and your agent actually part. (And yes, you should understand it before you ever sign it.) Termination clauses vary by agency, and can be anything from “Either party can terminate whenever” to much stricter options that will keep you from subbing for months. The wrong move can mean breach of contract or even that you’re obligated for 15% to both your old agent and your new one.

In some cases, what you can do is ask for a waiver of the termination period. If your agent doesn’t want to sub your manuscript anyway, (s)he may be willing to just give it up and free you completely. If this is your situation, and you’re parting on good terms, it may be worth asking. (Can you tell I did this? I did this.)

As for actually writing a query letter? Well, it’s… a whole lot like you did it the first time. A query letter is a query letter. The only differences are that you might add something like this:

“After an amicable split with my previous agent, I am currently seeking new representation.” If you mention the split, you should also mention whether or not the manuscript you’re querying has previously been submitted. Mine had not, which was admittedly a good place to be in. If yours has been submitted, make sure you have a list of every single editor it’s gone to. (If it’s been submitted to a lot of places – say, more than 5-10 – it may not be the best ms to query with, and you might have better luck if you queried with something else and saved it to use as your option.)

For me, one thing that came up a few times was the fact that I had a three-book deal. Now, obviously that’s a pretty specific situation, but the point is a general one: Be prepared to answer any and all questions about how your previous representation affects this one. Terminating your agency contract isn’t terminating your publishing contract. The agent on that contract is still entitled to his or her 15% of every book (s)he signed for you.

Again, for me, this was an easy situation – the three books in my contract have already been decided, so there was no obligation to submit the manuscript I was querying for it, which means there was total freedom for new agents to sub it anywhere they liked. This isn’t always the situation. If you’re in a multi-book contract in which not all the books have been determined, or you have an option clause, this is something you need to be aware of. If the manuscript you’re querying isn’t freely available for multiple submission, agents need to know.

Now, in case you haven’t noticed the common theme here, I’ll state it plainly: I was in a great situation to do this. I had a wonderful first agent who made it as easy as possible and wanted me to find an agent who was truly the right fit. I had a manuscript (two, actually) that had never been submitted to editors. I had a multi-book contract that had no claim on any manuscript I was pitching. This was very neat. Not all splits are. Unfortunately, I can only speak to what I know.

If your split isn’t quite as neat, remember the following two things:

1) Never badmouth your former agent. There is literally not a single good thing in the world this can do for you. If your split wasn’t amicable, just don’t say it was amicable. “I recently parted ways with my agent and am seeking new representation” is just fine. But if you trash your agent, you’re only going to hurt yourself.

2) If you’ve been subbed, the list of where you’ve been subbed is key. If you don’t have this, and your agent won’t provide it, query another manuscript. I know this sucks. Withholding that list is one of the worst things an agent can do. I’m so sorry I don’t have a better answer for this. It just is.

Finally, let’s talk specifics, and what you really “need” when you’re querying the second time:

Connections? Nope. Among the agents I queried are several I consider myself friendly with. Some requested, some did not. I will concede that not one rejected with a true form rejection, but at least one rejected at the query level. Because she’s an agent, and it’s her job to reject manuscripts she doesn’t connect with. If you’re going to take that personally, either don’t query your agent-friends, or don’t befriend agents. And the one I ultimately signed with? Never spoke to her before in my life before sending that query.

Referrals? Nope. I had three friends really, really kindly offer referrals to their agents. Because I didn’t think any of their agents were the right fit, I didn’t use any of them. I asked one friend to use her name, and she allowed it, but her agent turned out to be closed to queries. And that’s the glorious history of me and referrals.

Pub credits? Obviously, now that I have a book deal, I can’t speak to whether or not this matters, but as far as I know, every single agent I queried is happily open to taking on debuts. Honestly, the whole multi-book contract thing seemed to hinder more than help, if we’re playing with sides of that line.

The point of all this is, you did it once, and you can do it again. You’re not damaged goods. You are experienced, you are proven, and you’re probably pretty damn good at what you do. So step out of your own way, dive back in, and give yourself the second chance you deserve.

***

On a personal note, I want to give massive thanks to everyone who was utterly awesome to me during this time when even I found me utterly unbearable. If you guys knew how much crap and freaking out some of my friends have had to listen to in the past few weeks, you’d be amazed that any of us even function. If you’re not sure who you are, check your IMs, DMs, e-mails, and texts from the past few weeks. If more than 50 of them are from me, I probably mean you ❤

So, that’s the story of why you saw me in pitch contests, why I haven’t been blogging, and why you might’ve noticed changes in my bios in various places. I split with my agent, and now I have a new one, and her name is Lana, and yelling it in Archer’s voice is really fun, and all is well. And if you’re reading this because you read all my posts, thank you, you’re awesome. 😉 If you’re reading this because it applies to you, please remember you’re not alone, and plenty of these stories have happy endings – there’s no reason in the world to think yours won’t too!

And, of course, if you want to know how some agents feel about it, you can always check this out 😉

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A Happy New Thing

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Interviews, Lana Popovic

So, you might have noticed I haven’t been blogging much lately. Well, there are a couple of reasons. The first one is that I’ve been doing a lot of blogging and interviewing elsewhere lately. So, if you haven’t already checked out those posts, please do! They include:

The First Time I Didn’t Write a Me – for the Like a Virgin contest

Writing Club Wednesday: Being a Pusher – for YAMisfits

This interview by Seth Z. Herman

This interview by Kristina Perez for The Madeleine Project

***

The second reason is this:

It wasn’t a great time to blog about the things I want to blog about. I’m very open about my experiences in publishing, as you may have noticed, but when querying or on sub, it’s kinda best to keep those things on the DL. And since, you may or may not be aware, I was back in the query trenches, I wanted to see how things played out first, especially since actually knowing things from experience is kinda key to blogging about them, yeah?

So, I’m blogging now to say this:

I will blog about returning to the query trenches after splitting from your first agent. (And thank all the people who’ve had to deal with me over the past 6 weeks. You know who you are, and holy crap do I love you.)

I will blog about dealing with multiple offers. (Which sounds so awesome until they come from incredible agents and you just sit there in shock that you’re actually going to have to say no to all but one.)

I will blog, hopefully not alone, about all the awkward parts of publishing. (There are so many, holy crap.)

But today, I’m just blogging to say that I’ve signed with Lana Popovic of Zachary Shuster Harmsworth. Because, for the love of God, when you find an agent who says this about the book of your heart, and tells you that “you write delectably excellent douchebag,” you grab a freaking pen, ASAP.

(And props to Rachel Russell for doing this most excellent interview with her!)

So, that’s my happy new thing, and I promise, informative posts to come in August!

I Wrote a Book. Now What?

Tags

query letters, revising, Self-Publishing

I noticed a really interesting phenomenon when people I know IRL heard/saw I got a book deal: they were, by far, more impressed that I’d written a book from start to finish than the fact that I’d also gotten an agent and sold the thing.

In my head, I was all, “Wait. Seriously? Of course I wrote a book. All my writer friends have written books. That’s not the hard part of this. It’s the must-happen part. The rest is the stuff not everyone does. How is that not what you’re focusing on?”

But surprise, they’re right. Because while at this point, I’ve taken the whole “writing a book” thing for granted, and I suspect a lot of other people reading this have too, the fact is

HOLY CRAP. WE HAVE WRITTEN ENTIRE BOOKS FROM START TO FINISH.

This is an amazing thing. I know we don’t really get that anymore, and even as I’m typing this, I’m still thinking, “Well, yeah, I’ve written a lot of entire books from start to finish.” I am literally still missing the point in my own head even as I tell you DO NOT MISS THIS POINT.

You, who are writing a book. You are amazing. You really are. Those people who say, “I’d love to write a book when I have the time” don’t get the most fundamental point of being a writer: you make time. We are the people who’ve decided this is worth squeezing in alongside jobs and parenting and bill paying and cooking and cleaning and commuting. We are the people who have found the time where other people don’t even see it exists.

So, we’re kind of a big deal. Separate from agents, and publication, and all that jazz, we write, and that is a really freaking big deal.

You wrote a book. Now what?

Stop. Breathe. Applaud the crap out of yourself.

If you already know what comes next in terms of the querying/publishing business, you can stop reading here, but I also wanted to write a post for those people who legit wrote a book and really don’t know what comes next. Because in truth, I get that a lot, and when you’re really new, the amount of information out there is daunting, even to people willing to do their research.

So, hopefully, this will make it a little neater and easier 🙂

Step 1: Polish that sucker

Completing a manuscript is awesome, but when you’re done, what you have is a first draft. A first draft isn’t a finished book, period. A finished book requires revision, editing, correction, and general polish. So how do you get that done?

• Run through it several more times on your own. Yes, it gets tiresome to keep reading the same stuff, so find new ways to mix it up. Some people swear by reading it aloud, or backward, or from the bottom of the page up, to take themselves out of the story and see where it needs major copyediting. One thing that works really well for me is sending the completed manuscript to my Kindle and reading it that way; for me, it provides some distance and allows me to read it more objectively, since it really just looks like an ebook.
• Get yourself some beta readers. These are people who read your manuscript and provide critique. Click that link – there’s a lot more information there. I definitely recommending finding at least one or two who specialize in your category and genre (more on those shortly) but sometimes, the best critiques come from non-writers. After all, more of those will be reading your book post-publication than not.
• Revise, revise, revise. There are plenty of great links on the Internet about ways to do this well, from how to trim to what to look for. If you’re not getting enough from your beta readers and your own reads, these may help. You can find some on my Writing Resources page.

Step 2: Pick Your Publication Path

Once you feel your manuscript is absolutely the best it can be, it’s time to figure out what you want to do with it. I’ve laid out the differences between the main publication paths here, but the briefest gist is this:

Your next step is going to be to try to get an agent, or it isn’t.

How do you know? Well, it depends what you want. If you want to give your manuscript a chance at the major publishing houses, your next step is going to be querying (more on that shortly) your manuscript to literary agents, because those houses (including Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, HarperCollins, Disney-Hyperion, Bloomsbury, and Scholastic) will not accept manuscripts that are not submitted via agent.

If you know you want a smaller publishing house, then you have to consider whether you’re okay being limited to the ones that don’t require an agent for submissions. Bear in mind that also means you’ll be on your own to negotiate your contract, or you’ll have to hire a lawyer who specializes in such things.

If you know you want to self-publish, then your next step is going to be figuring out how to do just that, which means researching platforms (such as CreateSpace) and vendors.

Because I’ve yet to self-publish, and it’s not my area of expertise, I strongly encourage you to check out some blogs about self-publishing if you’re considering that path. I also encourage you to find self-published titles you admire and pay special attention to those authors, and find out what editors and vendors they used. They’ll be by far the most helpful allies in this process! (You also may want to check this out.)

No matter which of these paths you choose, there’s one thing you have to do first: Isolate and understand what it is that you’re selling. All books fall into at least one category and at least one genre.

A category refers to the age range of your target reader. (Think in terms of in which section of the bookstore your book would be shelved.) So if the target audience for your book is adults, your book is Adult. Even if your main character isn’t. (See Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce series, or THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME by Mark Haddon.) Now, this doesn’t mean people of multiple ages can’t enjoy your book, but you still have to target your main audience. JUST ONE. Pitching your book as MG/YA suggests you don’t understand the nuances of either one.

Categories include PB (Picture Book), Early/Young Reader, MG (Middle Grade), YA (Young Adult), NA (New Adult), and Adult. For more information on each category, do some research. You’re far enough along now that it’s time.

A genre refers to the classification of content of your book. It includes things such as Sci-Fi, Fantasy (which can be narrowed down further, e.g. Contemporary Fantasy or Epic Fantasy), Contemporary, Romance, Historical, Paranormal, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic, Western, and many more. You can assign a book more than one genre, but for the love of everyone, max it out at 2-3. Just because your book has a romance doesn’t mean it is a Romance.

The key is this: you’re trying to get your book placed in a bookstore/Amazon categories. Think about where you think it belongs, and go from there.

Step 3 (if not self-publishing): Sign with a literary agent or publisher

Congratulations – you’ve made your first major publishing decision! Crazy, isn’t it? There are so many options out there these days, and it can be hard to choose. One really great thing to remember? The choice you make now doesn’t have to be the one you go with forever. Obviously, if you sign with an agent, the paths you take are ones you have to discuss, but it is absolutely possible to publish X with a major publisher, Y with a small publisher, and Z on your own. Yay, modern publishing!

At this point, you’ve reached what I like to call “The First Gatekeeper Step.” This is the first point at which someone in a position of power can say “No.”

If hearing your first “No” is going to make you quit, stop. Breathe. Write something new. You are not ready for this yet.

Have you established you can handle a rejection? Fantastic, because no matter who you are, you’re going to get some of those. Maybe even a lot of those. Read this if it helps. Now, onward!

If your aim is a small publisher that doesn’t require an agent, the first thing you’ll have to do is find out which small publishers don’t require an agent. Research them well to find out what they offer, how long they’ve been in business…read this, basically. Once you’ve isolated where you want to pitch, follow their guidelines!

If your aim is to find a literary agent, there are a few main ways to do that:

1. Attend conferences at which they’re hearing pitches
2. Enter contests
3. Query

I have never been to a pitch session, so I’ve nothing to say about that, but by all means, if you have the time to go and money to spend, they’ve certainly worked for people I know. Agent Sarah LaPolla has a post on things to keep in mind if you attend a conference, so go ahead and read it if you’re thinking about it!

For anyone who’s followed my path, you’ll know that I found my original agent through a contest, specifically The Writer’s Voice. Clearly, I’m a fan of these, but they’re not right for everyone (particularly if you don’t write MG or YA), and they’re not right every time. (I’ve blogged about this too.) If, however, they’re something you think you’d like to pursue, it’s important to stay on top when they’re happening and what the guidelines are. If you’re on Twitter, Brenda Drake, Cupid, and AuthoressAnon are all good people to follow.

Querying is the most common way to get a literary agent, and it involves the following elements:

1. Create a query list, taking into account agents that rep your category and genre and have the sales and experience you’re looking for. Not sure where to start? Querytracker is an excellent database. Use their search function and go from there. Once you have names/agencies, you can get narrower information if they’re listed on LiteraryRambles. (I also have a list of recent interviews with agents here.) Finally, check Writer Beware to make sure the agents you’re considering don’t appear on a list of agents to avoid.
2. Check submission guidelines. Every agent requires queries to be submitted in a particular way – some want just the query letter, some want the first chapter, some want five pages, etc. Make sure you follow each agent’s guidelines as explicitly as possible. Submission guidelines can always be found on an agency’s page. Make sure to check the general agency guidelines as well as the individual agent’s page.
3. Write a query letter.

A query letter is effectively where a cover letter for a job application meets the back cover copy of a book. For resources on writing a query letter, check my Writing Resources page. As a very bare summary, your query should include this:

“Query” written in the subject line.

Dear [agent name – ALWAYS. Never “dear agent”.]

Information about you and your book that includes word count (rounded), category, genre, title, and pub credits if you have them. A mention of why you’re querying them specifically is nice.

A brief synopsis of your book that reads like back cover copy, including the fact that it does not reveal the ending. (For an example, click on My Books up top. The cover copy for BEHIND THE SCENES actually was my query.)

A signoff, including how to reach you.

How you arrange those central things is up to you. I generally intro myself in the first paragraph, give 2-3 paragraphs to my book, then sum up with my word count, pub credits, and maybe some info about myself, but there are so many query letters available on the Internet you can see there’s no one right way to divvy it.

So, that’s the gist! If you’ve still got questions… learn to love Google 🙂 And good luck!

A 50K Giveaway

Hi, readers! I like you. Because you know what’s nice? When you work hard on blog posts and people actually read them. (And also tweet them, post them on Facebook, recommend them to others, and comment on them.) And being that this pretty little blog has just crossed 50K pageviews, it seems like people are doing just that.

Cool 🙂

So, in a little thank you for sticking with me through my ranting and general pedantry, I’m doing a giveaway. And because this is about my blog, here’s how it’s gonna go:

If you want to be eligible to win SOME GIRLS ARE by Courtney Summers, comment on my interview with her. If you already have, leave a comment here telling me you want it.

If you want to be eligible to win FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS by Diana Peterfreund, comment on my interview with her. If you already have, leave a comment here telling me you want it.

If you want to be eligible to win THE BOYFRIEND LIST (the first in the Ruby Oliver series) by E. Lockhart, comment on my post about my 10 Favorite Contemp YA Authors, preferably by telling me about your own.

If you want to be eligible for a query crit OR a query-list consultation, comment on any of my posts categorized as Querying, including any of the Perpetual WIPs: Querying Writers.

As always, thanks so much for reading and commenting, and good luck! I’ll announce winners at 2 p.m. EST tomorrow, July 3rd!