How I got my agent - Redux.

Here we go again…

If you asked me a few years ago, I never would have thought I would be back in the query trenches looking for a new literary agent to represent me. But, times change, and people do too, leaving me without an agent back in early June. 

In case you’re looking for a “What happened to your old agent?” story, this isn’t it. Most people know what happened, and I don’t feel like diving back into the past when I should be looking toward the future. But regardless of what happened months ago, I like to agree with the one notion that kept on coming back to me over these last few months. 

“Things happen for a reason…”

And they certainly do! Usually for the better!

So, we’re going to jump ahead. Right after the incident, I didn’t know what to do. I was feeling dejected and pretty much lost with my writing. It was a complete reset of my publishing path. I had one project that I was heavily invested in that was going to be my next pitch to my agent, another one that was being rewritten, and one last project that I still had my heart set on. A very special project that so many of my friends and beta readers had the opportunity to read when I first wrote it. That project was on a hiatus, but I wanted to bring it back to life. I wanted someone else to give it a chance.

After a week or so of debating and being convinced by some of my authorly pals (I’m looking at you, Eric Smith), I decided to try my luck at #PitMad. For those of you who don’t know #PITMAD, it’s an incredibly fantastic event that takes place on Twitter where authors get to show off their ideas with a short elevator pitch and some comp titles. I always had fun coming up with pitches, so I decided to enter just for the hell of it. I didn’t have any expectations. So, I took a deep breath, and I posted it.

Now, I DID NOT expect a response like that. And this is what triggered me to start getting back into the query trenches again. And, so I did what any smart author would do. I dove in headfirst.

NOTE - Do not dive in headfirst to the query trenches. LOL. Experiment, take your time, and send out your query in batches! Ten at a time at most. Which is what I sort of did…..” sort of”

Since I had around 14 or so requests from PITMAD, I decided I needed to get my manuscript out there as soon as possible. There were some fantastic agents already with their hands on it, just with PITMAD, so I needed to make sure that everyone out there had a chance to read it (if they were interested, of course). So, I whipped up a query and started spam clicking that send button.

And a lot of you may be curious what my query sounded like - well, here it is.

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Dear AWESOME AGENT,

I recently parted ways with my agent, and as a result, I am now pursuing new representation. ( I added personalized info after this to target each agent I was querying)

Twelve-year-old Elijah Miller always seems to roll a critical fail. He lost his best friend, his mom, and now he's left with an emotionally unavailable father and a sense that the world is crumbling around him. But when he discovers his mother’s final gift—an unfinished Dungeons and Dragons campaign with a hidden message only for him—he decides it's time for one last quest.

After reuniting with old friends, Eli takes over his mom’s role as dungeon master to lead his friends on the adventure of a lifetime. To uncover Mom’s message, Eli must complete the campaign, which turns into a scavenger hunt for clues on how to finish it in the real world. But battling the game’s nefarious villain is only the beginning as a new, greater foe appears—his father, who insists he stop playing and accept Mom's death.

With the campaign’s end in sight, Eli’s dad’s threat to find and throw away what’s left of his mom’s fantasy world means every dice roll could be their last. If Eli and his friends don't finish the campaign and defeat the monsters in his past and present, Eli will lose the chance to find the true meaning behind his mom's message—and finally realize what his mom left behind was more than just a game.

ONE LAST QUEST is a 56,000 word MG contemporary novel. It combines the magic and power of Dungeons & Dragons by building upon a frame story like found in THE PRINCESS BRIDE. It also focuses on a boy's grief and imagination, like in A MONSTER CALLS, THE REMARKABLE JOURNEY OF COYOTE SUNRISE, and THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH. While agented, this novel was being prepared to go on wide submission.

As someone who has dealt with anxiety all my life, and close to those who lost their parent(s), I decided to write a story sharing the emotions of a young boy experiencing both at the same time. I wanted to explore the struggle, but also find the real friendships that are discovered during these difficult moments.

A little about me: I graduated from the School of Visual Arts in NYC with a major in cartooning and illustration. For a few years, I worked as a colorist with Dark Horse and Image, and am currently developing graphic novels and books that include illustrations (i.e. LAST KIDS ON EARTH). I am also in the process of going on submission with an author and their agent to illustrate their MG novel. During the period in which I had an agent, I used my experiences in the publishing world to help co-found Middle-Grade Minded, a middle-grade book blog, as well as serving as a multi-year mentor in the Pitch Wars events

——-

After sending out my query, there was a lot of waiting. With the pandemic going on and life pretty much on pause, the timing was slightly different this time around than last time. But we all know that querying is a lot of sitting on your hands while frantically smashing the F5 refresh key on your keyboard. I did both while finalizing my first draft of my MG Fantasy and drafting a new MG Horror. KEEP YOURSELF BUSY! The worst thing you can do is obsess over the queries you sent out. You’ll get the responses when you get them, lol.

The strange thing is, most of the responses I was getting based on my manuscript were a lot more complimentary than I was used to. Agents were loving my work, but it wasn’t a right fit for them most of the time. Usually, I’d look for something heavily negative to work on before my next batch of queries, but I wasn’t getting that. That was the one thing that told me “Okay, this one still has some "oomph” left in it. Let it ride.” I was nervous, and I wasn’t. If this book didn’t picked up, I knew I had one waiting to be subbed in. But there was still a part of me that some agent would love this story because it really was a story from my heart.

And, eventually, one agent did. Then a few more did.

All in all, I queried from June to September 2020, gaining these results (everyone loves DATA)

120 QUERIES SENT

47 REQUESTS (fulls + partials)

5 OFFERS OF REPRESENTATION

Now, those numbers are pretty good, I guess? Statistically, you want to get your query at an approx—30% request rate or so. I don't remember how many "passes" or "Rejections" I received. I mean, I do know, but I also don't want to look at my spreadsheet anymore, lol. But I also know I received a ton of "no responses." Which is common, and it shouldn't bring anyone down. It's hard for an agent to get back to everyone that queries them.

When all was said and done, it came down to the phone calls after receiving an offer of rep. Over the span of two weeks, I was on the phone more than I had been in years (I mean WHO USES THE PHONE….text messages and DMs only, folks lol) and shooting emails back and forth to so many people. It felt like my head was going to explode. But, despite all the calls, and the other offers of rep, I knew where my heart was after the first conversation. People say you should trust your gut, and you absolutely should. After I got off the phone with my now agent, I took in a deep breath and just smiled. She got me. She REALLY got me. She loved my story, and she loved the ideas I had for future books. But not only that, she was passionate about her job as an agent and also eager to get started. I was sold.

So, who did I choose, you ask!? Well, I am happy to say that I am now represented by TORI SHARP of the JENNIFER DECHIARA LITERARY AGENCY. I am genuinely excited to see how she will help shape my career as both a writer and an artist. But above all, I am ecstatic that I have someone fighting in my corner.

Funny story with Tori, actually. When I queried her, she had just started as an agent at JDLA, so I missed her the first batch of queries I sent out. However, when I read her bio and what she was looking for, I had to do a double-take. It was like a perfect match, and I felt like someone was playing a trick on me or something. Ironically enough, I also had started working on another side project with a friend of mine, and who of all people, but TORI's agent! While working on this super secret project (sorry, I can't talk about it yet), Tori's agent asked if she wanted to work on it. Funny enough, this was when Tori was actually reading my manuscript. Small - freaking - world! First of all, I couldn't believe that I was about to work with Tori anyway on this super-secret project, but now she was going to be my agent too? DOUBLE WIN!

To finish this up, I wanted to take the time to give a special thank you out to those of you who cheered me on from the sidelines over the last few months. Who told me to not give up, and ensured me that my chances were far from over. You were right, and I love each and every one of you. I also wanted to thank each and every agent that took their time reading my manuscript and offering their feedback and rooting for me from the very start. All of your comments and your love for my book really helped me push forward.

And to those authors out there still in query land. Don't give up. Keep writing. Keep telling your stories. Find beta readers. It's only a matter of time before someone connects with it the way you do. You've got this.

See you in editing land.