When It's Time to Move On (Or How I Got My Current Agent)
Tuesday, July 27, 2010 Question of the day: I'd love to hear what happened to that first novel that didn't "make it" with your initial agent. How did you part ways?
I was just about to write a long post detailing the journey of that first novel - which, thank the LORD, will never see the light of day - when I realized that I'd done just that for Meg Waite Clayton's blog a few months ago. So I've cut and pasted that post below. (Apologies for the few of you who will notice the crossover. I really don't think there's a better way of retelling the story of when I told it to Meg.) Here you go. If you have questions about the agent hunt/cutting ties/starting over once you've read it, feel free to post in the comments section, and I'll address them!
STUBBORNNESS HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY STRONG SUIT:
I had several starts and stops along my road to publication, and any of them, I have to say in retrospect, might have been enough to knock someone less bullheaded out of the race. Fortunately, stubbornness has always been my strong suit, and I was undeterred.
Prior to transitioning to fiction, I was a full-time freelance magazine writer, but had always felt that pull toward novels. So one day, about eight or nine years ago, I realized that all the day-dreaming in the world wasn’t going to get an actual manuscript written, and thus, sat down – with no clue what I was doing at all – and started writing. The manuscript took me three or four years to complete, mostly because I stopped halfway and had no idea what to do from there…getting started was easy, finishing it? Not so much.
Eventually, I put my head down, dug in and wrote those last 150 pages, and well, I’d be lying if I said that I thought they were anything less than brilliant. BRILLIANT! I had already envisioned the bestseller list, the movie soundtrack, the cover art when I started my agent search. I can’t remember now how many queries I fired off, but it was somewhere in the ballpark of average: more than twenty, less than fifty, when I got that sweet, sweet offer that every writer hopes for – representation for my novel.
My agent said that the book would require fairly extensive editing, and so we got to work, cutting exposition, axing unnecessary scenes (brilliant, as I was sure they were), fine-tuning until she deemed it ready for submission. Oh, those anxiety-filled days waiting for word from editors – every second passed like an hour, every email in my inbox a quick sign of hope (then deflation when it wasn’t from my agent) that I was about to transition from unpublished to published author. Alas, the rejections rolled in…and rolled in…and rolled in. Many of them were very gracious and a few were near-misses, but lo and behold, by the end of our process, not one had come in as a “yes.”
Devastation. Despair. What’s a gal to do?
Well, for me, ever that stubborn toddler, I refused to give in. Within a few days of mourning, I sat down at my computer and started fresh. This time, I actually had a vague idea of what I was doing, how to create a story arc, how to write the whole damn thing without a two year lag in the middle. So I did. I wrote frantically, completely the entire manuscript in three months. I passed it off to my agent with much euphoria. Unlike the first time around, when I blindly deemed myself brilliant, this time around, I actually had a basis for comparison, and I knew this one was good. At least much better than before.
My agent came back with edits, and I made them. And then….nothing. Silence. My phone calls stopped getting returned, my emails went unanswered. And very slowly, and then very quickly, I started feeling very, very sick to my stomach. My agent, I knew in my gut, had lost faith in me. Despite the fact that I loved this book, that this book, I was certain, was sellable.
A month or so of silence went by, and finally, we spoke. Yes, she admitted, she wasn’t gung-ho on this. She thought, and I’ll never forget this, “That going out with this manuscript will do more harm than good for my career.” And what did I want to do? She asked. Revise the original manuscript. (No.) Start an entire new one that she would take a look at. (No.) Or find someone else to represent the current one. (Yes.) To be fair, I hesitated and mulled it over for about two hours. And then, that was that. We parted ways amicably enough and that same afternoon (need I raise that stubborn toddler analogy again?), I started querying agents all over again.
Two major set-backs: 1) an unsellable completed manuscript, 2) an agent who didn’t think I was viable in the marketplace.
So what?
I queried my little heart out, and this time, I received several offers of representation within the first few weeks. I signed with my agent –Elisabeth Weed - who remains my agent to this day, and a few weeks later, she sold that manuscript, the one that would have done more harm than good for my career, in a four-way auction. Could it have gone a different way? Could my first agent have been right? Well…sure. Some stories will end like that. But mine didn’t. I refused to let it. I refused to let one person’s opinion – my original agent’s – dictate the course of my future AND refused to let it override my instinct that my book was a worthy one. Thank goodness for my gut. Thank goodness that I was born stubborn as a mule. Thank goodness that I connected with the right agent for me. That’s the story of how I became a published author. Was it easy? No chance. Was it worth it? Indeed.
Agents
Reader Comments (15)
Wooo!!!! Talk about giving a girl hope to go on!!!
Thank you so much for this - I too was really interested in how everything happened.
Sad that it had to happen though, but fantastic that you've now found your own perfect agent!
A question: did you say you've previously been repped?
Your story is a great one, heart warming, and most of all, honest. And the reason why I say that is because there are big name authors out there who won't admit they've written before/been rejected/not gotten offers or had to search more than say a week for their agent. It's so important to hear the truth about how difficult this business is.
Judy - really? That's so strange, that people wouldn't acknowledge how difficult this industry is. It wouldn't even occur to me not to! Well, glad to put it out there - always happy to make things seem a little less daunting.
Megan - thanks - good question! I'll pull it out to the main blog and answer it later this week.
Thank you so much for your honesty about this industry and how hard it is to break in. I am new to the internet blogger world but not to writing and dream of becoming a published author. Your story inspires me to keep going, learn more, and know that just around the corner could be another step in the long journey of getting there! I wish you much continued success! If you have a chance, I would love an honest, professional opinion on my writing. I have attached my blog URL.
Thank you so very much!
Lori Pace
Must be a heart-warming day for Elisabeth -- between your post and Therese's over at Writer Unboxed, there's a lot of love for her on the web today!
Great story (not that I'd expect any less from you ;P) and thanks for sharing it. We writers can always use a reminder to be determined and have faith in ourselves and in our work.
Your story always makes me smile. It's such a perfect example of determination and how important it is to believe in ourselves and never stop working, pursuing, dreaming. You're proof that good things come to those who make them happen, and reading about your publishing journey is simply inspiring. Thank you!
Such a warm fuzzy for aspiring authors everywhere with all the key ingredients, tenacity, a great manuscript and the luck of a fighting writer's spirit. I loved your story. Thanks for sharing. Actually, thanks for sharing with us on an everyday basis.
Thanks for the inspiration. Suddenly, my 6-month "lag time" (e.g. temporary resignation to failure) doesn't feel quite as insurmountable. Your story is motivation to saddle up to the laptop and get busy again!
Thanks Allison- I really needed to hear this today! Great post! xoxo
Thanks for posting this - helps to keep the motivation going!
Thanks for sharing your story. I try to keep the stubborn, but sometimes it wavers, like its been doing this week. It always helps to be reminded that I'm not the only one trying to crawl out of the slush pile.
Thanks for this! Sometimes one can get the feeling 'what if it's not the industry, what if it's actually me?, and then one wonders if it's stubborn or just plain stupid to keep querying. It's good to know that persistence can pay!
Great post, Allison. Good to know that some, like you, will simply not surrender. My own record of landing agents--Zero agents for about 150 queries--had me near the "I quit" stage when the current state of the publishing business actually worked in my favor. I landed a deal with a small publisher without an agent, and my book will be released September 16. Best of luck to you in what looks like a long and successful career!
That's why you shouldn't let agents rewrite you! Congratulations.
Scott Nicholson
http://www.hauntedcomputer.com