Sydney J. Shields's Blog

The Honey Witch Content Warnings

Hello friends! Now that ARCs for The Honey Witch are starting to make their way into the world, I wanted to provide some content warnings. While this story has lots of warmth, heart, and cozy vibes, some heavier themes are discussed.

Content warnings include:

Tattooing/Needles Burns Bee stings Loss of a grandparent Discussions of infertility A woman seeks aid of the honey witch for treatment of her miscarriage

One of my favorite scenes in the book is when Marigold, the MC, is reprimanded by her grandmother for speaking poorly about the life choices of another woman. Her grandmother tells her, "What any woman wants for herself is not for you to decide. You would do well to remember that." This is something that my own grandmother instilled in me from a young age. Women deserve choices. Women deserve control over their lives and their bodies. That is a strong theme throughout the book, and I hope you enjoy it!

PUBLICATION ANNOUNCEMENT: THE HONEY WITCH (Orbit US and UK 2024)

I'M GOING TO BE A PUBLISHED AUTHOR!!!!!!!

The Honey Witch sold in a six-figure preempt, in a two-book deal to Orbit US and Orbit UK! I'm going to do a brief overview of how this all went down, but eventually, I'll do a whole post detailing my entire publishing journey thus far.

But for now, LET US SCREEEEEAAAAAM!!!!!!!!!

In May of 2022, I challenged myself to write this book in ONE week. Something in my gut told me that this was *THE* book and I knew that the faster I finished, the faster I would get to where I wanted to be. Call it intuition, call it luck, call it anything you like! I just had a very strong sense that this book idea was going to change my life.

TW: Loss of a grandparent, grief

Writing this book was cathartic for me. I lost my grandmother (very suddenly) a few months before, and it was one of the hardest things I've ever dealt with. I wrote this book to heal from that grief, and to feel like I was spending time with my grandma again. In many ways, writing this book was selfish because I wrote what I needed at the time—delicate, soft grief. And through many rounds of editing, the book became so much more.

I signed with my agent mid-September and we went out on sub in late October/early November. There were a lot of potential outcomes for this book, and I cannot even begin to imagine how I would have navigated this without my agent. She is so sharp and brilliant. When I got on the call with the editors at Orbit, I had another gut feeling that was similar to when I got the idea for the book. I wanted to work with them more than anything. I was actively fighting tears (in a good way) during the call with them because I was just so happy. All of the stars aligned for this deal—a six-figure, two-book preempt with a big-five publisher. Someone pinch me?!?!?!??

I have no idea when this will feel real. Maybe after this blog post goes up? But as of right now, I still cannot believe that this is my life.

Here is my timeline of this book, for those who are curious:

May: Wrote THE HONEY WITCH (THW)

June - July - Most of August: Edited THW

Very end of August: Queried THW (I believe I sent 18 queries total, with 11 full requests and 4 offers of representation. It took about 2-3 weeks. I did have a few agents who would have offered if I could've given them more time, but I knew that my agent was the one for me so I didn't feel the need to change my deadline.)

September: Signed with CAA for literary/film/tv representation

October: Edited THW

November: Went on submission

December: SOLD

There are so many people I need to thank, so without further ado and in no particular order:

Thank you to Mollie Glick, my amazing agent who changed my life in the best ways. Thank you to Brit Hvide and Nadia Saward at Orbit who love this story as much as I do! Thank you to Lauren Davila for being the most amazing friend, and for teaching me how to participate in pitch events. To Megan Eccles who helped me polish my query and opening pages, and gave me confidence when I was at a very low point. Thank you to my dear friends, Andie and Ria, who read this book before I even queried it and were so helpful and kind. To my agent siblings, Kasey LeBlanc (my whole heart and my guiding light through all of this), Deborah Crossland (my author mom who has accepted me as her middle child), and Katie Wolf (one of the sweetest and sharpest writers I know). To David Kang for being an amazing friend, writer, and chess opponent. To Ris, the first person to draw Marigold, who helped me discover even more about my own MC. To Kendall Lacy for always being ready to scream with me at a moment's notice, through the good times and the tough times.

To Joey for inspiring everyone's favorite character in this book, and for being my best friend since the womb. Also, Liz and Kayleigh—thank you for being lifelong friends, and thus teaching me to write heartwarming friendships that rival our own.

To Nikki Moss for being the best sounding board for all of my ideas, and also being an incredible friend. I would be forever lost in the ether without you.

To Danie, my kindred soul who believed in my writing before anyone else and stood by me through all of the breakdowns and self-doubt. My angel <3

To Morgan, the other half of my brain, my sister in a past life, and writer of world-changing books, thank you for everything.

To my parents who push me to pursue my dreams and always accept me for who I am.

And to Will, my partner and my world, you are my person. Thank you. <3

Any expression of gratitude would be incomplete if I failed to thank all of the people who have cheered me on through all of this. If you've ever followed, liked, commented, or shared any of my posts, THANK YOU. You are the reason I pushed through the hard parts. You are the reason I write. I truly hope that this book is everything you want it to be. It was made for you. <3

Updates, updates! Read all about 'em!

WE HAVE A DATE!

For those who have been waiting for an exciting announcement from me, I have news! Next week, I'll finally be able to share all of my secrets. Friday, April 7th, you'll finally know all about THE HONEY WITCH. This also happens to be the day before my 25th birthday, and I could think of no better way to celebrate.

Please subscribe to my newsletter if you haven't already! There will be exclusive updates there along with some extra juicy details that you won't find anywhere else. Keep an eye on my Tiktok and Instagram because I may be posting some hints leading up to the big day!

Of course, I have to tease just a little longer. Really, I wish I could just tell you everything right now. But don't worry, it's worth the wait! I think you're going to be thrilled when you know what's been happening behind the scenes. Thanks for being patient with me, and if you thought that this paragraph was a little strange, it might be because there's a hint buried here.

See you on the 7th, honeybuns

What on earth...is going on...in the house of commons?

A lot, actually. A lot is going on.

Updates on THE HONEY WITCH are coming soon, so I'm not going to talk about it in this post. Instead, we'll talk about...everything else!

Happy holidays, friends! I am going out of town to spend the holidays with my family. We're doing a traditional Christmas dinner, courtesy of my British partner who makes the best roast dinner in the world. I got too many sweaters for my dog, but it's okay because she genuinely loves them. I think she has anxiety and the sweaters act like compression vests. Or...maybe she's cold? Either way, she's going to be very excited about her gifts.

I'm trying to do the whole work/life balance thing throughout the holidays...well, actually, that's a massive lie. I am not stopping or slowing at all. I am very lucky to have a boss who WANTS people to take time off and encourages time away from the screen, but I do this thing where I fill all of my spare time with other work. You know, this whole "author" thing. The problem is that writing does not feel like work and I genuinely want to do it all of the time. I feel like I have a lot of people telling me to slow down, but I don't want to!!!! Writing is my favorite thing to do! It's a hobby as much as it is a job.

So, that said, I'm writing so much and I'm loving it. I'm focusing on [redacted], and up next on the priority list is [also redacted actually], but THEN, I'm rewriting my first book! I think most of the people who follow me on tiktok found me through this book because it went viral so many times. There was this strange period where every time I posted a snippet from this book, it just EXPLODED. The problem was that the book was just...too much? It was the very first book I ever attempted to write, and I knew I wanted it to be a series. I made the mistake of info-dumping every little piece of the world in book one, without having a ton of plot to carry it. There was action, but it wasn't a cohesive story. Beyond that, it doesn't really match the brand that I want for myself as an author. I've been rereading it in preparation for this rewrite, and I do have to say that the WRITING ITSELF is...really good. I don't remember writing most of this because it was so long ago, so I feel like I'm actually experiencing my work the way that a new reader would, and I actually like it?!?!??? Normally I am very critical of my own work, and I do see the glaring plot errors of this story, but when it comes to the actual words on the page...damn, they are PRETTY.

Sometimes I wonder how different things would be if I stayed with this story. I sent out 1 query to 1 agent, got a request, and then a rejection. I spiraled. I did send it to maybe 5 other agents after about a month (because at the time, I didn't realize you were supposed to do that???? I thought you picked the agent you wanted, and if they rejected, you needed to start over) but they all rejected. I sent it to some small presses, since less than 10 rejections was apparently enough to kill my dreams of being agented with this book, and I started working on THE HONEY WITCH. Funny story: by the time I got my first offer on THE HONEY WITCH, I still had some open queries for my first book, and I randomly started getting requests??????? I ended up with 5 offers of publication for my first book from small presses, and I still had 1 full out with an agent. I ended up pulling the project because THE HONEY WITCH had so much more interest from agents, and being agented was ultimately what I really wanted.

But now, I'm seeing my first book in a whole new light, and I cannot wait to rewrite this so that the story SINGS. I genuinely think that y'all will absolutely love this book so much more than you would have if I published the old version. Think...victorian-inspired whimsigoth fantasy. Soooooo exciteddddd!!!

I hope you are happy and healthy this holiday season. More exciting updates are coming soon <3

2 months as an agented author!

Time flies when you're writing books!

Well, not really. Right now, time is like trying to hold a feral cat that will go from sleeping in your arms to clawing off your face in less than .0002 seconds. The distance between calm and chaos is short.

Yesterday marked 2 months of being represented by my dream literary agent, and I have an announcement that you have probably seen whispers of in my IG stories...

I'M ON SUB!!!!!

For any friends who may not know, "on sub" is shorthand for your agent submitting your book to editors at publishing houses in pursuit of a sale. To get to this point, you have to:

1) Write a draft

2) Edit that draft so it doesn't suck anymore and it becomes a manuscript

3) Query that manuscript to literary agents

4) Receive an offer of representation from an agent that's a good fit

5) Edit the manuscript AGAIN with that agent to make it as polished as possible

THEN, your agent will start submitting your book! I'm unable to discuss some of the specifics of what is happening with my book now, but I will provide updates as soon as I can!

This post was supposed to be about what life has been like these past two months, so let me stop this tangent and get back to the point. I signed with Mollie Glick on September 9th, and spent all of September and October editing. It was very hard! I love my agent and her brain is magical, which can sometimes leave me feeling a little bit intimidated, even though she consistently provides me with assurance, advice, and witty Jane Austen references. She's working really hard not only on my book, but also on my confidence as a writer. I often get in my own head about the idea of letting her down because she was my DREAM agent (like, I thought I might have to write at least ten books before she would talk to me because she was so cool), so the idea of having this dream come true and then messing it up TERRIFIES me. I think it's just going to take a little more time for all of this to feel real. For a long time, "Mollie Glick" was like a concept to me, an idea that existed in the abstract, a goal to reach for. But now, she's a person, a colleague, a friend, a person who listens to my chaotic ideas and helps me channel that into a book. Does that makes sense???? Am I being too emo??????

Anyway, editing was hard, but I learned so much and I am so beyond proud of the book. It's actually HILARIOUS to see the differences between the one-week draft and the finished product because honestly, you can barely tell that these two projects came from the same brain-seed.

As far as being on sub, again I'm not able to say much, but I CAN say that the moment you find out that your book is with your dream editor, you will probably scream. It is a scream-worthy moment.

In other news, I started a new tiktok account just for writing/querying advice! It's @sydwritesbooks if you are interested. Feel free to comment any questions!

To end this post, I want to say thank you to all of my bookish besties who have been supporting me from the very beginning. I couldn't do this without y'all.

Thank you. <3

Flash Fiction Challenge!

I turned in my revisions to my agent on Friday of last week. I spent the weekend with my best friend who came to visit me, but since she left, I've been practicing the art of thumb twiddling (aka doing nothing).

I posted a tiktok asking what the heck I'm supposed to do while waiting for more feedback, and Megan Eccles (@ MeganJaureguiEccles) suggested to try writing short stories. I said "Megan, how? I need a tutorial on how to write tiny things." And Megan said, "Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blehVIDyuXk&ab_channel=BrandonSanderson

So, I did! Because I do everything that Megan says! She's a genius and a BRILLIANT writer.

This is a lecture from Brandon Sanderson's creative course, with special guest lecturer Mary Robinette Kowal. I took this seriously and participated in the interactive assignment! The challenge: write a piece of flash fiction with a specific number of sentences allocated to each section. Mary provided the following details:

- Write a story about a Jockey

- Write a story set on a coaster

- Write a story in the Sci-Fi Genre (I kinda leaned more steampunk, but the vibe is right)

- Write a story in under fifteen minutes

- 250 words (Mine is more like 350...but hey, it's my first try!)

Here is what I came up with:

Underneath me is a thrumming metal machine covered in rotting fur that once held blood. Real horses are a nearly extinct luxury that I can’t afford unless I win, and I never win—at least, not honorably. The poor folks who can’t escape the rush of the race come here to the stallion circuit, and we race our makeshift beasts on the rusty tracks until their steam runs out.

I shouldn’t be trying again so soon after my stallion’s last breakdown, but the winners of this race get extra rations, and I am hungry for what I am owed. Every loss has kept my stomach and my money pouch empty, and I need this win to fix a lot of broken things.

The countdown is too fast, and my stallion is the only one that doesn’t move from the starting position. I’m pressing the bright red button with my heel as hard as I can, but the stallion stalls and sputters below me until the other riders are halfway through the track. By the time we’re finally in motion, I’m already fucked. The other riders look like specs of black hope fleeing from me. There’s one way to save my ass, but if I get caught trying it again, I’ll be worse than hungry and poor—I’ll be killed.

Better to be killed trying than die waiting. The only way to win now is with bloodfuel, even though it’s been outlawed for centuries, but I don’t care—I’m an outlaw, too. I find the tuft of fur that covers the sharp blade on my stallion. I run my palm across it smoothly and pretend to feel nothing as I deftly move my hand from the blade to the horn of the saddle. There’s a mouth there with a leathery black tongue that shoots out to lap up the blood that pours from my wound. I feel it purring below me as it’s satiated, and then, we are the wind.

The wind is a hungry thing, and when we cross the finish line before the others, I know that I am just like the monster that I keep hidden beneath the metal.

Last place gets killed for sport, their blood on my hands as they die in my stead. I lick it up and know that I, too, am fed.

_______________________________________________________________________________

It was a fun little challenge! I have never in my life attempted to write a short story, flash fiction, or any tiny thing. Not sure if this is my calling, but I'll keep trying!

ttyl u sexy moth creatures <3

slay the day

- syd

My First Month As An Agented Author

HOW has it already been a month??!?!?!?!?!

I signed with my literary agent exactly one month ago today, and I'm here to tell you about it. When I was querying, I saw countless posts about how to survive the query trenches, how to perfect your opening pages, what to do on the call with an offering agent, but from what I've seen, the advice tends to stop there. I understand why—everyone's post-signing experience is different. Everyone has a different timeline. There's not a lot of universal advice for this situation, but I still think it's important to share what life is like once you FINALLY have representation!

On our initial call, my agent and I thoroughly discussed her editorial vision for my book, so I was able to dive into edits fairly quickly. I typed up a brief overview of some changes I wanted to make and sent them to her for review. We got on the phone the next day to talk through them and figure out where we could add some more depth to the story. I took a few days to chew on some ideas. Then, I typed up an extremely detailed, scene-by-scene summary of the book that included the revisions I wanted to make. I sent that doc to my agent, she loved all of it, and revisions officially began!

I completed my first round of developmental revisions a few days ago, gave my agent a progress update and an ETA for delivery of the revised MS, and started line editing the manuscript to make it as tight as possible. During this time, my AMAZING friend @ReadWithNikki was reading the book and giving me some feedback as well. Her insight was fantastic and really helped me tighten up the ending of the book. On Friday, 3 weeks and 5 days after signing with my agent, I turned in my revised manuscript!!!!!

So, what now?

Well, now we wait. My agent is currently reading the revised MS, but since I got all of the changes pre-approved, I am feeling pretty confident that she will like my execution! A lot of my other agented friends have a different revision process—when they get their edit letter from their agent, they just go straight into the MS without running all the details of their solutions by their agent, and the revised MS is the first time their agent sees their new ideas. Maybe one day I'll be on that level, but I had too much anxiety to dive straight in without knowing my agent liked what I was planning to do.

I anticipate at least one more round of revisions. As I finished this last round, I actually had a new idea that got me really excited, but it would be a pretty significant change. I repeated my process—I typed up a detailed scene-by-scene summary of the chapters I wanted to change with all of my revision ideas, and I sent that to my agent along with my revised MS. I love the story as it is, but I think this new idea would fit perfectly...and possibly open the potential for a sequel... :)

I have a feeling I will be reentering the revision cave fairly soon. Luckily, the other changes I proposed would only impact a subplot of the book, so I think I could get it all done in a week.

In the meantime, I'm trying to recharge! I'm watching new movies, listening to new music, and chipping away at my ever-growing TBR. I'm currently reading:

- 1 book that I can't name because it isn't announced yet

- Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood

Listening to:

- Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

- Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Please keep your fingers crossed that my agent is happy with my revisions and that any further feedback is manageable and exciting! As always, I will keep y'all updated here and on my social media.

slaaaaaay

- syd

How I Got My Literary Agent!!!!

The fact that I get to write one of these posts now is so surreal to me. These types of posts were the only thing that kept me going in the query trenches, so I really hope that someone can find some comfort in my journey as well. If you are a querying author, please know that your dreams are absolutely within your reach and I am endlessly rooting for you.

So, let's go back to 2021.

On Prime day of 2021, my partner bought me a Kindle. I've always loved to read, but after I graduated college in 2020, I really fell out of the habit. When I got the Kindle, everything changed. I fell back in love with reading and started devouring 30 books a month. I started a #Booktok account to connect with other readers and find more recommendations. And in August, I decided it was time to write the book that had been living in my brain for so many years.

For those of you who don't know, I used to be involved in the gaming industry and I wrote for some popular tabletop RPGs. I've always adored building worlds and creating intricate magic systems, so I think I always knew I wanted to write my own fantasy series one day. The book I started writing in August of 2021 was heavily inspired by an old DnD campaign! I worked on the book daily for months, and with the help of my Grandma Kathy and my forever bestie Danie, the first draft was finished in November.

And it was an absolute mess.

I started editing it in December, but it was becoming increasingly daunting. The more I learned about the art of writing, the more I honed my craft, the more frustrated I became with the book. I became less and less proud of it every time I opened the doc. And then, in January of 2022, my Grandma passed away very suddenly. I was so broken by this. She never got to read the rest and I physically could not bring myself to continue working on it. I can barely write this now without sobbing. It felt like this was *our* project, and it was incredibly difficult for me to change anything from the last version that she read, despite knowing that the book was not in the best shape. After about 2 months, I finally did another round of edits on the book, but I was growing increasingly desperate to get the book away from me. I sent out 1 singular query to the only agent I knew anything about, and to my surprise, I woke up to a partial request the next day.

I was thrilled, and that request reignited my passion for the story. I thought that this was a sign or something that I was supposed to finish the book the way my Grandma would have wanted. I also didn't really know anything about querying, and I kinda just....assumed that she would sign me???????? She didn't, of course. The book was a mess. I was a mess. I was NOT ready to query, nor was the book, and deep down, I knew it. She sent me a very kind rejection about a week later, and I sent out a few more queries that were all rejected over the course of the next few weeks. During that time, I also started making my silly little tiktoks about the book with excerpts from some of my favorite chapters. To my absolute surprise, they started blowing up, and I went from like 3k followers to 10k very quickly. After I shared as many chapters as I could without spoiling the entire book, I decided it was probably time to write something new.

I had a ton of ideas bouncing around my head, but one REALLY stood out. I'd spent the last year working at Savannah Bee Company and keeping bees, and I really wanted to write a story with a magic system based on honey. Thus, THE HONEY WITCH was born. Danie was the first person I told about this idea, and being the amazing friend that she is, she let me ramble on about my ideas until a very bare plot emerged. I went in knowing that I wanted Honey Magic, and I wanted to write a strong relationship between a girl and her eccentric grandmother. I wanted to put some of my own memories with my Grandma in the story, and I wanted to decorate it with all the things that she loved—yellow flowers, luxurious desserts, romance novels, fancy dresses, snarky jokes, and lots of cute animals. I was more excited than I'd ever been about a story idea, and with Danie's encouragement, I decided to attempt to write the entire book in ONE WEEK.

I kind of did????? I documented the entire challenge on tiktok, and you can find my series about it on my page under the playlist "Writing a novel in 1 week." Full disclosure, the draft was not actually completed in a week, as you will see in the video series. About halfway through the challenge, an acquisitions editor of a small press reached out to me and asked to see my OTHER book—the one from my tiktok teasers that I had queried before. I *panicked* immediately because I had sort of already decided that this would be my "trunk" novel that I would possibly revisit years later after I had the skills to make it better. I paused writing THE HONEY WITCH for a day to polish up the MS of the other book before I sent it off to this small press.

At the end of the One Week challenge, I had about 40,000 words of THE HONEY WITCH done, and it took another 2? 3? weeks to finish the first draft. Please let me stress this—the draft was ATROCIOUS. It was all over the place. It was like 3 different books sort of stitched together with so many plotholes that it could have been a grave-robbed cemetery. However, I learned from my first book that I am the type of person who needs feedback right when I finish the first draft, even if it's an absolute mess. So, thank you to Danie (again) for reading this book in its awful state, and thank you to my alpha/beta readers who read a sliiightly better version that was still not very good.

In July, I was editing the book and getting very excited to reenter the query trenches with a project that I was much more proud of and had a lot more confidence in. And then, the most unexpected thing happened: remember that small press who requested my OTHER manuscript months ago? THEY OFFERED ME A BOOK DEAL. I was SHOCKED and thrilled and maybe a little confused because, as I have stated many times, the other book was a mess. But Lauren, the acquisitions editor, was ready to go HARD in the developmental edits with me and I was so excited to work with her. I paused working on THE HONEY WITCH and was gearing up to dive back into my other book. I posted a little teaser on tiktok that hinted that I had an announcement about it. I sent out more queries with an offer in hand, hoping that an agent would sign me to help me negotiate the contract, and then....

The press closed. It was about a week after they made me an offer, which included thousands of dollars for an advance, incredible royalty rates, and massive store distribution. It was all gone. I withdrew outstanding queries since I no longer had an offer of publication. My dreams were dead, and my heart was broken. I genuinely mourned for a few days and could barely get out of bed. Dramatic? Yes. But I felt like I had everything and then lost it all in the span of a week, and since my only other experience in trying to get published was met with so much rejection, I was anticipating a similar outcome for THE HONEY WITCH.

#DVPit was the day after the press closed, and I didn't actually have a twitter, but Lauren (the acquisitions editor who was equally screwed over when this press shut down) encouraged me to participate and see if anything came from it. As I cried over my keyboard, I created my twitter page and wrote some pitches for both of my books. The first day of the event was for YA books, so I pitched THE HONEY WITCH first. To my surprise, I received 7 agent likes and 3 retweets from HUGE editors. The next day, I pitched my other book and got 1 agent like. During all of this, Lauren was also working tirelessly to find another small press that might want to hire her as an editor and take on the books that she had previously acquired.

It was extremely hectic for the next few days. Lauren was handling everything for my other book, but I was feeling extremely defeated about it. I didn't expect anyone else to be interested in it because like I said, it was a miracle that Lauren wanted it in the first place. I need to take a moment to say that Lauren is actually an angel and I don't think I would've survived this process without her. Anyway, I was ready to focus on THE HONEY WITCH and start moving on from all of the heartache and disaster of my other book.

After I got those likes during #DVPit, I started my official query list for THE HONEY WITCH. I reached out to Megan Eccles to help me with my query package, and she seriously worked some editorial magic on my opening pages in particular. I was able to apply her notes to the rest of the manuscript and I felt like it was more than ready for querying after that final round of edits. I started sending out queries fairly casually, starting with those who liked my pitch during #DVPit. I got a full request quickly from an agent I LOVED, and I was thrilled. I got another full request shortly after while I was shopping for fall decorations. I nearly dropped a glass pumpkin in the middle of TJMaxx when I saw the email. Then, a few days later, I participated in #SFFPit on twitter as well. I got another agent like during that event from a HUGE agent who I never thought would be interested in me, and I sent my query off immediately. Then, I got an email from one of the agents who liked my pitch during DVPit saying that there was a glitch with her submissions and she couldn't open my query, but she wanted me to resubmit through a different link if I was still looking for representation. I resubmitted and she requested my full MS about an hour later. I was FREAKING out at that point, but nothing could have prepared me for the next day.

I woke up to my first offer of representation from the agent who had requested my full the day before. She read the entire thing in one night and offered me representation in less than 24 hours. I.....screamed. We had "the call" a few hours later, and it was incredible. She was so energetic and inspiring and we totally clicked. I sent out my nudges after the call to the agents who had my full, as well as the agents who just had my query. I got 2 full requests that day, and a few more in the following days.

All in all, I got 4 offers of representation and a handful of extremely sweet step-asides. Choosing between these agents was probably the hardest decision I've ever had to make in my LIFE, but I think I knew in my gut who I was going to go with from the second I got off the phone call with her.

I have to say, sending "breakup emails" to the agents who you don't pick is heartbreaking, especially when they are all amazing. I quite literally cried as I sent two of them because I loved those two agents SO much. One of them was on my original list of dream agents, and if you had told me a few years ago that she would offer me rep and I would say NO?!?!?!?!? I would have never believed you. It really took me by surprise.

Ultimately, what solidified my choice was when I found myself at a low point in terms of confidence in my writing, and I asked myself, "Who would make me feel better about my book right now?"

The answer was Mollie Glick, the third agent who offered me representation. I emailed her that night and asked if we could get on a quick call just to go over a few more follow-up questions, but in reality, I just needed someone to believe in me and someone to listen. Even though Mollie was extremely busy, she carved out some time in her hectic schedule to speak with me before she even knew that I was signing with her. She gave me a confidence boost. She put me in touch with her clients who immediately welcomed me and gave me loads of encouragement. She was there for me when she didn't have to be, and I knew that I couldn't pick anyone else. She was THE one.

She IS the one. And now, I am officially represented by Mollie Glick at Creative Artists Agency. I could not be more honored to be her client.

Okay, here is the thing a lot of you probably came here for—the query letter that got me my agent:

Dear [Agent Name]:

Based on [specific reason I chose to query them], I am so excited to present my novel for your review! THE HONEY WITCH is a Sapphic YA Fantasy novel complete at 77,700 words. It combines the aesthetic of Bridgerton with whimsical magic akin to Practical Magic. With a swoon-worthy forbidden romance and overall fairytale feel, it would especially appeal to fans of WILD IS THE WITCH by Rachel Griffin and MIDNIGHT IN EVERWOOD by M. A. Kuzniar.

In a picturesque fantasy of manners, eighteen-year-old Marigold Claude is entering another season without any intentions of accepting a proposal. When her eccentric grandmother Althea visits and finally provides an explanation for Marigold’s strange magical abilities, they return to the Lake Isle of Innisfree where she begins training as a Honey Witch—an apothecary and alchemist who uses her magical connection with the bees to create enchanted honey for her spells. While this lovely power leaves her especially adept at helping others find love, it also comes with an ancient curse that none have been able to break: no one can fall in love with the Honey Witch.

When Lottie Burke, a notorious grumpy skeptic who doesn’t believe in magic, accompanies her best friend to the cottage for a love spell, Marigold can’t resist the challenge to prove to her that magic is real. She invites Lottie and her best friend, August Owens, to stay with her for the summer to prove her abilities, but Marigold begins to care for Lottie in a way she never expected. She longs to break the curse and escape her lonely fate, but when darker magic awakens and threatens to destroy her home, she must fight for much more than her freedom—at the risk of losing her magic and her heart.

As a beekeeper, writing stories that display the beauty of our pollinators is especially important to me. I have a BA in Communication from Columbus State University, during which I published award-winning research in metaphorical criticism and rhetorical theory. I am a Booktok and Bookstagram content creator with over 17,500 followers and multiple viral videos. When not writing, I spend an excessive amount of time playing chess and saving the bees. Thank you so much for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Sydney J. Shields

I hope this post has been helpful in some way, and I am sending all of the love and positive energy that I possess to those who are currently in the query trenches. Don't ever give up. Your story is necessary, and someone is going to recognize that. I promise. <3

I HAVE A LITERARY AGENT!!!!!!

This is a dream come true and I am so excited to be sharing this news with you!

I wrote my book, THE HONEY WITCH, in May of this year. After a summer of editing, I participated in #DVPit on twitter and thus began my querying journey for this book. 18 queries, 10 full requests, 4 offers of representation later, and I am so proud to announce that I am officially represented by the magical Mollie Glick at Creative Artists Agency.

I will do an official "How I got my agent" post that includes my query letter and the many many failures I went through before I got to this point, but for now, let me gush about Mollie: I genuinely feel like the luckiest person in the world to get to work with her. Her vision for my book brought me to tears (happy tears). She may be the coolest person alive. She is brilliant, funny, and SO talented. I have so much respect and admiration for her, and I'm so honored to be her client. From our first phone call, Mollie made me feel like I was allowed to believe in myself and my book. She spoke to me like a peer, which is a rare experience as a gen-z author who is often the youngest in the room.

In many ways, this was a difficult decision. I never expected to have so many offers of representation, and the other agents were phenomenal in their own right. Declining offers from incredible agents is a heartbreaking process, but ultimately, I knew that Mollie was the one for me. I felt it from the moment we got on the phone, and it was solidified when I spoke with her incredible clients who absolutely adore her.

I could not be more excited to begin working together on this book, and the many many books that will follow.

Thank you all so much for supporting me and sharing your endless enthusiasm for my work. Remember—I WRITE FOR YOU!!!!!! And I hope that you love the work that I create alongside my agent because it is all for you. <3

Okay, now I'm going to update my bios on socials to say "Rep'd by Mollie Glick."

Talk soon, friends!

A Love Letter To My Bookish Friends

I hope you all know how much I appreciate you and cherish our friendship, but just in case you don't, please keep reading.

Thank you so much for being there to celebrate with me during the highest of highs, and comforting me in the lowest of lows. We all know that this industry puts writers in whirlwind scenarios more often than not, and a lot can happen in something as small as an hour. Thank you for hearing my hourly updates, even when it gets exhausting. Thank you for giving me advice on how to keep going.

I hope that you feel like you can come to me for anything, too. I love your work, I love your voice, and more than anything, I love being your friend. I am so grateful to have so many incredibly talented friends in my circle, and I don't know what I did to deserve this position, but I find myself thanking the universe every day. I do not know how to properly express how special it is to have friends who believe in my work, even when I do not.

So, thank you. I wouldn't be chasing this dream without you helping me recover from the wounds received along the way.

In no particular order, and nowhere near an exhaustive list of all who have helped me, thank you: Lauren, Danie, Meg, Aslan, Ria, Britney, Elizabeth, Megan, Kayleigh, Andie, Ris, Calypso, Nikki, Jules, Chelsie, Emily, Emma, Rae, Henry, Bree, Angel, Kelsie, and so many more that I am so lucky to have in my life.