Finding An Agent by @TheLiteraryMom #wwow

3/13/2013

I'm very excited today to have guest Amy N. Newman on the blog today. And she has a great topic. Getting an agent. I don't personally have one, but debated on getting on last year when I was trying to find a home for my sweet full-length. Which happened to get a home at Etopia Press, where this fabulous author currently has a release at. Sit back and learn a little more about Amy's story on acquiring an agent. It's a good one!

****
“I have an agent.”

As any writer knows, those are magic words. If you’re anything like me you’ve spent a good deal of time working toward being able to say those words. You’ve probably even fantasized about what it would be like to have an agent. I know I did. Let me tell you a little secret; it’s just like your fantasies, but even better!

My journey toward acquiring an agent started way back in 2008, when I finally finished my first complete manuscript. It was a little romance novel, that will probably never see the light of day. I queried Harlequin with it and it was rejected, so I moved on.

Next, I wrote a YA fantasy, which was published by a small press. And it was exciting, but I wanted more. I wanted the big time. So I kept writing. I wrote a historical romance that’s buried on my computer somewhere. I never even queried that one. And then I wrote a dark, contemporary YA. A novel that spilled out of my heart and onto paper (and yes, sometimes I actually do still write on REAL paper! Shocking, I know!). I knew right away that this novel was different. It was the best thing that I had ever written.

The agents seemed to think so too. Once I started querying, the requests poured in. I got a few rejections, revised based on their rejections, and sent out more. Then something shocking happened. I got an offer of representation.

Those words still give me a chill. An agent likes MY work enough to offer me representation! And she wasn’t the only one either! Suddenly, I had a choice of agents to pick from! I chatted on the phone with them, and two agents really stood out. Michele Rubin of Writers House and Bree Ogden of D4EO. It was a hard decision because I felt like I really connected with Bree, but in the end I went with Michele because it had always been my dream to work with Writers House.

We worked on revisions and were just starting the submission process when Michele told me the sad news; after 22 years in the business, she was leaving. I’m not going to lie, I cried, ate a bunch of ice cream, and then got to work. Yup, I had to re-query agents and do the whole process all over again.

Having Michele as my agent certainly opened doors for me. This time when I queried agents I only had one single rejection. A part of me couldn’t forget Bree, so of course, I included her too. In fact, I’d thought about her many times since I had signed with Michele; I had really felt like we clicked. She quickly got back to me. And joy of joys, she still wanted it!

I knew right away that I would probably turn everyone else down, but I went through the motions, giving everyone time to reply. No one had impressed me as much as Bree. And so last week I signed with her.

It was a great decision. Her ideas for my work and my career, mesh with mine and make them stronger. I know she’s in my corner and willing to fight for me and my work. Not only that, she’s put up with my millions of questions and concerns, and been nothing but patient and understanding.

Yesterday, Bree submitted my manuscript to the big publishers. In less than 24 hours, we’ve had five requests! Five! Even if they all reject it, it’s so exciting that they liked my premise and writing enough to request my novel. Okay, honestly, I’d be crushed. Secretly, I hope that they all love it and there is a huge bidding war for it! But if I wasn’t a dreamer, I wouldn’t be a writer, would I?

Where to find Amy

Website / Twitter / Facebook

A kingdom shrouded in darkness. One girl who can save it all.

On her sixteenth birthday, Ellie Lyons discovers her entire life has been a lie. Kidnapped, she finds herself in a strange kingdom—Alladon—a kingdom she was born to rule, ruled already by those who would see her dead. The children have been imprisoned, caged and awaiting a fate Ellie can only imagine, and only she can save them. But to do so, she must master the skills of a warrior and learn to contain the magic that roars through her veins and burns everything she touches.

But when Morfan, the king’s advisor, sends an assassin to kill her, Ellie finds herself falling for the dark, dangerous Devin. Though she knows her life is at stake, she can’t seem to stay away from him, even as her feelings become strong enough to scare her, and strong enough to disturb Vance, Devin’s second. Vance is the opposite of Devin—blonde, charming, seductive. But his heart holds a kernel of something darker, something that makes him dangerously unstable, especially once he realizes he has feelings for Ellie that Ellie doesn’t share…

Amazon | Nook

Want More Wisdom?

#WWOW or Writers Word of Wisdom - A Smart & Savvy Group of Authors who write a weekly feature for their blog -Writer's Words of Wisdom- each Wednesday. The goal is to impart what we've learned about writing, editing, getting published, book promotion, and more along the way.

Carol Burnside / Annie Rayburn: http://AnnieRayburn.com/blog
Paloma Beck: http://RomanceBeckons.blogspot.com
Tammy Dennings Maggy http://tammydenningsmaggy.blogspot.com

2 Comments

Tara Chevrestt link

3/13/2013 07:50:10 am

I'm curious. Do you think we should bother with agents for non full-length pieces? There's lots of a novellas out there becoming hot and many good pubs (Random House, Loveswept for example) taking them. But would an agent even look at, say, a 15k?

Amy link

3/14/2013 05:35:20 am

HI Tara! To be honest, most LEGIT agents won't consider signing a client for a novella. If you also write full length works, they might represent your novella as well, but remember, agents don't get paid until you do. A 15% commission of say, 100-500 dollars (which is the standard advance for digital romance) isn't going to pay the agent's bills. I say LEGIT because there are some agents out there that would rep a novella, but they aren't necessarily an agent you would want to have. Remember not having an agent is better than having a bad agent. That being said, there are always exceptions to the rule. If you want to submit to an agent that says they rep novellas, then go ahead. Just make sure you research them VERY thoroughly first. Hope that helps!