McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft

Query that Worked (or, How I got my agent)

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Josh:
At meg_evonne's suggestion, I figured I could provide a bit more detail and background to my signing on with an agent this summer.

So it all started long ago...back in February of this year, that is. It seems a while back, though in the perspective of the publishing industry in general, it wasn't that bad a turnaround time.

Anyways, I attended one of my favorite writing conferences in the area, the Pike's Pike Writer's Conference (my other favorite is the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer's Conference). My goal this year was to network hard, and I had a list of agents and editors who all represented speculative fiction. I wanted a chance to talk to each one and give a 30-second pitch, at the very least. It started off well with the chance to sit at a dinner table with agent Donald Maass the first night, who heard my pitch, gave me his card and asked me to send the manuscript his way. So that helped put me in a good mood for the rest of the conference, to say the least.

The next morning, I had a pitch session with Scott Hoffman, of Folio Literary Management. I took a few pages of my manuscript along with me, though I didn't plan on showing them to him. While pitching the story concept, though, he pointed at the pages and asked to see them. Then he speed-read them, handed them back and told me to send the manuscript to him, saying he liked what he saw so far. By the end of the conference, I had managed to talk to every agent and editor on my list, with several more materials requests, and left the conference exhausted but exhilarated.

So I sent the manuscripts and partials out to the various folks. Two months went by. At that point, I'd heard back from a few with the usual "Thanks but not quite right for us..." After another week, I decided to drop a line to Scott, just to make sure he'd received the manuscript and it hadn't gotten lost in a spam folder somewhere. He replied almost immediately, saying he had it and enjoyed it, and had also passed it to another agent he worked with (Rachel Vater) to get her opinion on it as well. As soon as she finished reading, they'd be in touch. Another week passed, during which I did everything possible to distract myself. At last, Scott emailed to setup a time he could call, and when the call came, he offered representation--which I gladly accepted.

Here's the basic way I pitched my story, and a generalization of what I told the agents and editors at the conference. "The working title is Enter the Janitor. It's an urban fantasy about a janitor employed by a supernatural sanitation company called the Cleaners, which works to keep reality safe and clean from things like dust devils, toilet snakes and other forces of Corruption. The main plot revolves around the janitor training up a new recruit, whose recently discovered powers could burn down an entire city."

In fact, Scott asked me some questions like, "What's the audience for this, and what other series would you compare it to?" I did draw a quick reference to the Dresden Files, saying, "Well, what if Harry Dresden had decided to become a janitor rather than a P.I.?" I think that comparison helped show some market appeal while also sticking to the original idea.

A few questions from meg_evonne:
Did you write the dreaded synopsis? - Yup. Synopses are almost harder than queries for me, but I try to do one for each manuscript. Also, Scott asked me to draft up a synopsis for a sequel to be sent along to publishers with the proposal for the first one, and at this point, I'm 3/4s through a first draft of the sequel manuscript, tentatively titled The Maids of Wrath.

Had you met the agent previously? - No. This was my first time meeting Scott, but he is a great guy with a good sense of humor. At the same time, he's blunt in his opinion and will let you know what he really thinks, which I find to be great, as I'd rather be told the direct truth about my work than be led along to eventual disappointment.

Just how many manuscripts did you write before this successful one? - Let's see. I've got about six trunk novels which I consider my "apprenticeship" manuscripts. Ones that are extremely flawed and will never be published unless I rewrite the concepts from scratch. I've got a couple other fantasy novels that I believe have potential, and Scott and I have discussed which ones might be worth working with down the line.

And JUST how many revisions did you agonize through before being accepted- I'd say two major redrafts, mostly focusing on the first third of the novel, and then smoothing out consistencies with the rest based on those. Feedback came from several beta readers I've worked with, as well as a community of writers from the Online Writing Workshop (which I highly recommend).

-and then what about that 'revisions the agent requested' go? - Rachel and Scott gave me a first round of overarching revisions, yes. Nothing serious, like changing a character's gender or turning the urban fantasy into a historical romance. Just things like making a scene more tense, making a character more consistent, etc. Scott is now working on a line edit to help punch up the text, and then the plan is to send it out to publishers.

Whew. Hope this isn't information overload. I'm happy to answer any other questions if folks have 'em!

meg_evonne:
And who wouldn't have snapped at your comparison, ""Well, what if Harry Dresden had decided to become a janitor rather than a P.I.?"   LOL  and your sequel has a gorgeous title with "Maid of Wrath".  I'm online as a future reader. 

And your first freakin' pitch was Don Maas at a dinner table?  I would never have opened my mouth!

It is a wonderful agency.  I'm sure they will quickly sell your manuscript.  Please, please keep us posted.  Every success story makes my heart sing.  OK, you don't want to be near if I'm singing.  I think I have a beautiful voice, but others seem to disagree.

Thirteen hits from quiet sorts.  A line from Mockingjay struck me as true...  "People will love you, want to kill you, or want to be you."  Or some such wording, my copy isn't here at work.  You'll have to let me know if the quote applies over time.

Kali:
Very cool story, Josh, thanks!  And yeah, I'm with Meg.  I wouldn't have been able to get a word out to Donald Maass, I'd have been too busy genuflecting.  That's my first choice agency, sorta like applying to Harvard! Not that the good people at Folio are anything to sneeze at.  They're on my list, too, and I can only dream my reception is as warm as the one you've gotten.

LizW65:
Congratulations, and best of luck getting your manuscript published!

Josh:
Meg: I'd rather folks didn't want to kill me, if I have a choice in the matter. Donald Maass is a great guy, and it's easy to feel comfortable around him. The one good thing was, I'd practiced the pitch enough times, it wasn't too hard to slip in the natural course of a conversation. The funny thing was, once I'd pitched, the rest of the writers at the table all piped up as well, encouraged by Maass' positive response. He asked for a couple other manuscripts as well.

Kali: The Maass Agency is excellent, yes. Maass' books on writing have also been some of the most formative in my writing. If you haven't read them already, I highly recommend them. Most are listed at the bottom of the Fiction Writer's Virtual Toolbox on my site, along with other writing books I've enjoyed.

Liz: Thanks!

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