So…I have an agent. (Insert insanely over-the-top
cheering and celebration here.) How’s that for a beginning?
I know, right? Crazy. The past few months have been
such a whirlwind that everything seems like some sort of fantastic dream. I
honestly cannot believe this has happened. But it has. And here’s the story:
It started with Pitch Wars. Once I was accepted into
the contest, my mentor (the fabulous Destiny Cole) and I went to work on my
entry. There was a lot of back and forth and a ton of revision, more than I had
anticipated. I knew the book needed help, but was surprised at how much
character motivation and specific details it was lacking. Destiny pointed out
the needs, made some suggestions, and gave me plenty to get the book polished
and done. I wrote a lot then, some weekends spending almost 20 hours on my
laptop to get it ready. The work was hard, but the final result was amazing.
Then came the agent round. If you are considering entering
Pitch Wars, prepare your emotions for the fact that, if you get chosen, you
will be on an intense roller coaster ride of feelings. I’m not kidding here. I
stopped sleeping once my pitch went live and it has taken me about a month since
to calm down. All the fears that I’d experienced prior to entering Pitch Wars
were amplified 100 times while I waited to see what agents would think of my
project. I knew the book was polished and in great shape, but getting only 300
words to ‘pitch’ that to an agent was agonizing. It was torture. I kept
checking the site to see if anyone would post a reply to my submission and ask
to see the manuscript.
And I waited.
Other entries started receiving interest. And more
interest. And more. I kept staring at my page wondering what I had done wrong
and if this had been some sort of massive mistake. Was the title a problem? The
pitch? The page? I had no idea why agents where passing on my work—and that
hurt the most. Then the first request came in and I breathed an enormous sigh
of relief. More requests came in, and more. The roller coaster ride was taking
another turn and it was incredibly exhilarating, a thrill I never imagined. Such
a rush of love for my little book.
The rules of the contest directed everyone to wait a
week before sending materials to agents. This allowed for everyone to read the
entries and give them a chance at so many great manuscripts. And that’s another
thing about Pitch Wars that I didn’t realize before entering. Everyone in the
contest is super supportive and wonderful. You get to know all the mentees and
realize how everybody is traveling on this journey together. You want others to
do well. You love their books and you get this overwhelming sensation of
imposter syndrome because people are fantastically gifted. I felt that way and
as excited as I was to send off my work to agents, I wondered how they would
possibly accept my book over another. It’s like choosing a flavor of ice-cream
when everything presented is your favorite. I was one of many.
There was a lot of back and forth between me and
Destiny the day I sent my requested material. One point of concern was my query
letter. I’d spent so much time on the manuscript that the query needed help.
Destiny was a champ and gave me the advice I needed to improve the letter. That
night, I fired off a dozen emails and (again) didn’t sleep a wink. (I told you
it was a wild ride!)
I thought life was grand as auto replies and small
notes from agents reached my inbox. Some loved the title and had requested based
on that. Others loved the comps. A few enjoyed the voice. I was living the
dream and I was unprepared for the next step. Arriving home from my day job less than 24 hours after sending off my material, I received an email from an agent asking if they could call. OM Freakin’
G. I ran into the house and fired off an email. Sure, I said. I’m available. I
was so excited that I forgot to send her my phone number. I had to reply again
when she asked.
I knew a little bit about agent calls and mentees in
the Pitch Wars group had shared a list of questions to ask, but I’d never
studied them. I didn’t actually think I’d get to that point. I wanted to, I
hoped to, but I was also realistic. I didn’t want to anticipate something
happening and have it never transpire. And I certainly didn’t expect to hear
from an agent so soon.
We spoke for over an hour, talking about the book, asking
questions, and getting to know each other. Stacey was wonderfully kind and professional.
I took notes during the call which is something I recommend since everything was
such a blur that night. There’s protocol with an agent offer and having
manuscripts out to other agents, something I won’t get into here, but let me
say that the two-week wait was agonizing and frantic. (Roller coaster—remember?)
I was so relieved when I could finally sign the agreement and call Stacey
Donaghy my agent. That’s right, I’m now represented by Stacey Donagy of DonaghyLiterary Group. And she’s awesome!
So now the real work begins and it’s exciting. I’ve
started writing another YA Mystery—of course—and we’ll see what the future
brings. Until then,
Happy Reading!
~ Jamie
