Some people say you don’t need an agent to get a book deal, and plenty of stories exist to prove them right. As for me, I knew right off I wanted an agent. I had zero contacts in the publishing industry, the thought of contract negotiation gave me hives, and I didn’t want my manuscript to spend years languishing in the slush pile at the few sf&f houses that still accept unagented submissions.
Ah, but wanting and getting are two different things. A mountain of information on agents and queries and the whole process is available online – much of it excellent, some of it contradictory! – but I always found writers’ personal stories far more interesting and helpful than dry lists of advice. So, here’s my tale of my ride on the query-go-round, complete with timeline for those as obsessive over details as I was in my agent-hunting days…
November 2007: Started my first draft of The Whitefire Crossing.
February 2008: Finished the first draft.
March 2008: I revise the draft using Holly Lisle’s one-pass revision method. Afterward, I have a suspicion that my revision was too easy and therefore not deep enough, but also have no clue what else the book might need. I begin reading agent blogs, lurking on the Absolute Write forums, poring over sample query letters, etc.
April 2008: Wrote about a million drafts of a query letter. Considered giving up in despair. Eventually reached the zen-like state of not caring how badly the query sucked. Sent out first query, to an agent who repped epic fantasy and was known for a fast response time.
Five days later: Agent requests partial. Holy crap! After begging a few friends to give my first chapters another once-over, I scamper to send. I then waste untold hours staring at my email and blog-stalking said agent, alternately bracing for rejection and dreaming of a full request. Naively, I assume that fast query responses should translate to equally fast partial responses. Oh, how wrong I am.
May 2008-July 2008: While waiting (and waiting, and waiting), send out more queries. Get more requests, amidst plenty of rejections. After an embarassingly long time, I wise up and stop staring at my inbox. Instead, I work on a sequel to Whitefire, even though prevailing wisdom says I should work on an unrelated book instead, since nobody will want a sequel if Whitefire doesn’t make it. I decide I do not care, I want to write sequel more than I want to be published.
August 2008: Agonizingly slowly, responses to my partials and fulls start to trickle in. Many rejecting agents are kind enough to give feedback, much of it positive. Too positive, actually. They are too nice and I am too dumb to see that between the lines of the compliments, they are all saying the same thing: HELLO YOUR BOOK LACKS TENSION!!!
September 2008: Though I’m too blind to see the huge obvious gaping flaw, I do realize I need help figuring out what’s lacking. I decide to attend a local writing conference, the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Conference, and sign up for an agent critique workshop in which my first 10 pages will be read and critiqued by both an agent and the other workshop members. The one agent coming to RMFW who I know reps epic fantasy has already rejected me, but two other agents who rep urban fantasy are vague enough in their interests that I hope they might be open to other types of fantasy. Neither has a huge internet presence so it’s hard to find out details about them and decide which is the best fit. I decide on Becca Stumpf of Prospect Agency, because she mentions A Wrinkle in Time in her bio and that was one of my favorite books as a kid.
RMFW Conference 2008: Critique workshop goes better than I could possibly have hoped. Becca Stumpf loves my first ten pages, asks for my full. Best of all, another workshop member invites me to join a critique group chock full of experienced writers, including one of my all-time favorite fantasy authors. I cannot believe my luck.
Oct-Dec 2008: Critique group kindly but firmly points out the enormous flaws in my book. At first I try to do spot fixes…but gradually I realize I’m going to have to do a complete rewrite of the entire novel. Gaah! But I love the story far too much to bail now.
Jan 2009: I nudge Becca and a couple other agents who’ve been holding on to my full for months, no longer hoping for anything but a “revise and resubmit”. Several agents say they’d like to see a revision, but only Becca gives detailed, explicit feedback (that matches right up with what I was hearing from the critique group). She even calls me to discuss the book.
Jan-Aug 2009: Revise, revise, revise. Most of it done in a sleep-deprived haze of exhaustion, thanks to my son being born early in the year.
Mid-Aug 2009: Send out partial of revised version to Becca.
September 2009: I attend the RMFW Colorado Gold conference again, have equally awesome experience. This time I did the critique workshop with an editor from a major sf&f house. Editor asks for my full and assures me she is happy to wait until agents respond on revised version. I email reading agents to let them know about editor interest.
October 2009: Have sudden epiphany about how back half of book could be WAY BETTER. Hope that reading agents will take their sweet time so I can implement changes. Promptly get email from Becca saying she loved partial, wants to see full. Doh!! I know the worst thing a writer can do is say they’re not done yet when an agent asks for ms. Yet I know book will be a million times better with further changes. Hold my breath and send apologetic email to Becca begging for chance to do further revision before sending. Like the naive idiot I am, I confidently state my assumption the revision will only take a few weeks. Becca says that is okay with her (whew!).
November 2009: Realize I have horribly, HORRIBLY underestimated time needed to make changes, with a young baby in the house. Become slave to computer in every scant free moment, much to my husband’s dismay.
February 2010: Finish revision, at last. As I am doing final checks, Becca emails me to ask how revision is going. Thank God, I am able to say I am sending it her way at last! She asks for a 2-week exclusive. Most writers say never to grant these, and I had intended to send book to a few other interested agents…but by now, I know that Becca and I can work well together, and she has been by far the most invested and enthusiastic about the book, so I agree.
Two weeks later: Becca emails to say she loves it and wants to offer representation! We set up a time to call, I ask her a million questions and am happy with all her answers, so I say yes. And I’ve been delighted with her as my agent ever since!
So there you have it, in gory detail. (Too much detail, no doubt!) For anyone who’s read this far, I’ve got a few parting thoughts:
1) The best agent for you isn’t always the one you might think based on previous sales. I’d never have guessed from Becca’s profile that she’d be so enthusiastic about my book and such a great match for me.
2) From talking to other agented writers, I’d say matching communication styles is one of the biggest factors in how happy they are with their agents. Are you the sort of writer who prefers an agent who’ll only get in touch if they have news? Or do you want someone who responds to every email promptly and provides frequent updates? (As a neurotic, type A overachiever, I’m delighted that Becca is the latter sort of agent!) Whether or not you get a choice of agents, it’s good to know what you want, so that you can have a frank discussion with any offering agent about expectations (on their side and yours).
3) The real test of an agent is what happens if a new client’s book doesn’t sell. Do they drop you like a hot potato, or do they stick with you through thick and thin? This is often difficult to know, because most agents will assure you during that interview phone call that they believe in you as a writer, etc, and most writers don’t talk about negative experiences…but diligent use of google (or private talks with other writers in your genre) can reveal much.
4) Thank God, your query doesn’t have to be perfect – and neither does your novel, or you! – so long as you’ve done the best you can. If my story shows anything, it’s that agents can look past flaws.