I have an agent!! AHH!!!

You guys!

This is one of those posts that people dream about writing. I know I’ve dreamt about it. (And goodness knows I’ve read enough of them and turned green with envy!) I’m so so so so thrilled (and flattered and completely in love with saying) that I have an agent!!

 

How did this happen? What’s my story?

I guess my story was always built around bad timing (or great timing considering the outcome(s)!) I queried four times before this. (Once for a novel that lives in my trunk, for Follow Me Through Darkness with the old title, for FMTD with the current title, and then for Salt.)  Salt and FMTD were always passed on with the “I love this/your writing/the voice but __” “But I can’t sell it because no one wants dystopian/paranormal.” “But that genre has passed.” “But it’s too much like something else I have.” Or (my personal favorite) “But if you had sent this two months ago…” That was my response to almost every. single. query. (And now those MSs are soon to be books thanks to two wonderful small presses that I love completely! So I think it all worked out. )

I guess the positive of this whole process has been that I have the nicest rejections ever. Seriously.

So, a few months ago I took a risk and wrote this NA/YA crossover. That doesn’t really exist (aside from a few titles) but that was the story eating at my brain and the characters who wanted out so I wrote it.  (I talk about the how and why a little more here!) I knew it was a long shot. I knew it may never sell, but I also didn’t care. Then, when it was finished, I told everyone (you can ask) that if that book got me an agent then I would be the happiest person ever.

I think there comes a point, as a writer, where you need an agent to get you moving in a new direction. I’d already sold five books, so I knew I could make a path and a career all on my own with small presses and be happy. But I also knew that to sustain that path and keep growing, I needed an agent. Even more, I wanted an agent; I wanted someone in my corner to support me and be passionate about what I was doing — and what I will do. (You know, aside from my friends.) So, knowing that, I knew that even if the new MS didn’t sell ever, maybe it would get me an agent. (Spoiler: it did.)

Enter BEA. I’d only sent a handful of queries at that time, but I had a couple meeting set up with agents with my editor hat on and some with my writer hat on. (BEA is crazy town.) Patricia Riley and I had a sit down with one particular agent to talk about Spencer Hill Contemporary, and we just got on so well. Everything she said, my brain was just like ‘yes’ and ‘yes’ and ‘yes’ over and over.  I liked her, but I had this self-imposed rule that I didn’t want to cross agents with my clients because I didn’t want anything to be weird. (It was sort of a silly rule, even if the intention was sweet; I am an author first, and my clients all know and get that.) When we walked away from that meeting, Patricia looked at me unprompted and not knowing all the things I was thinking and said, “I know you have that rule but you could break it for her. She is everything you’ve ever said you wanted in an agent. I can see you working with her. She gets you.”

But I didn’t say anything to the agent.

I tried to, later, but then the timing was weird and BEA was over and my opportunity was gone. (See? More bad timing.)

It was fine; I would move on and send queries and keep on keeping on.

But every day I thought about that conversation, and I felt like I had to talk to her. So later that week, I sent an email, and we had a phone call where the agent said some really enthusiastic, wonderful words and completely encouraged me to toss out my rule. (She’s awesome and reminded me that while it’s great to make other people’s dreams come true, I can’t forsake my own. It was pretty much exactly what I needed to hear. And probably will need to hear again.) Shortly after, I sent her my MS, and sent some more queries to other people because I had goals, and knew all too well about putting all your eggs in one basket and missing an opportunity.

I didn’t hear anything for a while, which is always the worst part of querying. She sent an email once saying she loved my characters and another later about my writing, but that was all. I got some other full requests, and I carried on with my life. Then, I got The Call. (Ours though was a text — and then a call. And it was way less scary than I always imagined it.) We had a great conversation! She got my story, the characters, the emotion and drive behind it. She got me, where I wanted to go and how we could get there. When I told her I had other queries/MSs out so I had to wait to give her answer, I could hear how disappointed she was. She told me if I went with her, she’d be thrilled, and if I went with someone else, she’d be bummed for herself but she’d be still thrilled for me. And I think the thing that blows my mind (still) is how much I believed every word of it. That was probably the reason I knew she was for me.

I did the whole “send the notification” and more MSs and talk with agents thing. Everyone I dealt with, again, was completely positive and said really, really lovely things about me and my work. Some of those congrats and passes that I may print out and collage because they were wonderful and flattering comments from amazing, enthusiastic, quality agents and all around humans. Really wonderful. But in the end, none of them were her. And speaking with them affirmed and solidified that she was the one for me.

As someone who lives trusting in her gut, my gut knew deep down what the answer was.

And now I get to work with the fabulous Nicole Resciniti at the Seymour Agency!!!! I’m completely thrilled–and y’all better get ready because it’s going to be

 

I’m as happy as a…I’m so happy I can’t even think of an analogy!!

 

Stats:

Queries sent: 27  (I had a very specified search and knew exactly what I was looking for – especially after doing this 4 times before and working in this industry.)

Requests: 10

Offers: Two

Agents: One  (a really perfect-for-me one.)