From Pitch to Offer – My Agent Story

Now you might be thinking, “Wait, what? I thought she already had an agent.” Yup, I did. Then I didn’t. Now I do again.

Let me start with this. I love my first agent and we worked great together, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out. She knows I’m grateful. I know she’s happy for me.

I made the choice to jump back into querying again and search for the right match for me, but this time around was different. I queried a very select list of agents who I had some connection to, whether I’ve worked with them in contests or auctions, know their clients, or have met them at conferences. And I made sure every one of them was a potential fit as far as genres go. I was so happy with the interest in the story, the positive feedback, and the personal responses from everyone on that list- thank you!

Now, here’s the part you’re probably waiting to hear . . .

Pennwriters
FRIDAY:

I went to the Pennwriters conference a couple weeks ago with my writing buddy & bestie Adrienne. We happened to be in the room when they announced there were extra slots for pitches, so I figured I might as well give it a shot. A tiny little decision that would set everything in motion.

SATURDAY:

The next day, I pitched my middle grade story Truth Heist to Uwe Stender. He loved it and asked for the full. When the ten minutes ran out, he wanted to chat more later.

Adrienne and I ended up going to the luau (drinks & appetizers) because someone gave us a ticket. (Yet another thing that let this story continue!) We talked and laughed for hours with Uwe and some of our new writer friends. He was excited about the book and told me to send him the full that night and he'd read it during the week.

Pennwriters

SUNDAY:

The next morning, after sending him a DM on twitter, he responded with a not-so-cryptic message that let me know he was already reading the book. Let me say that again- HE WAS ALREADY READING THE BOOK! A little while later, he responded with another mention of the story, this time a Seinfeld reference, so you know, double bonus points. Sunday night after I got home, a friend of mine saw that he had put #truthheist in one of his tweets. Holy cow, right?

tweet
TUESDAY:

Tuesday morning, a wonderful little email was hanging out in my inbox. He loved the manuscript and wanted to work with me. :) Cue happy dance.

THE REST OF THE STORY:

After the notify-the-other-agents emails and days of having my manuscript in the hands of some fabulous agents, which is quite an honor all on its own, I found myself very ready to accept Uwe’s offer. So I did.

Querying writers, I hope you get the kind of email I got back from him, including lots of happy capital letters and a whole slew of exclamation points. After reading that enthusiastic email, I thought to myself, yup, THIS is the person I want pitching my story to editors.

Red Thank You Heart

I'm very excited to be moving forward. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to every single one of you who gave me the encouragement I needed along the way. You know who you are and I am forever grateful.

A BIG thank you to my hubby who took care of everything while I was off at conferences last month. Thank you to everyone who read Truth Heist, some of you multiple times. And thank you twitter, for the days when I needed my writing buddies and you were all more than happy to jump in and chat. :)

50 comments:

  1. Congrats! I love reading these stories -- they offer hope to those of us still in the query trenches : ) Thanks for sharing, and all the best with your book!

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    1. Thanks so much. :) You never know when you'll find the right agent. Good luck!

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  2. HOORAY!!!! I'm so, so happy for you and so excited about Truth Heist. Thrilled you found such a great agent match. :-D

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    1. Thanks, Triona! You've always been such a big supporter. :)

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  3. YAY!!! SO glad you found your fit with an agent who is super enthusiastic about your work!

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  4. I cannot wait for all the good things to come and I am the happiest I could ever be for you! That's a lot of happy!!!!!!!!! And I know a certain 5th grade classroom about to finish Truth Heist that will be super excited to know it is one step closer to landing on bookshelves. I believe!!!!!!!!!!

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    1. I love you, Jen. And that 5th grade class is the best. :)

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  5. Congratulations! Sound like you found a great new home!

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  6. Ooooooooh, YAAAAAY! So happy for you, Dee! So quick! So right! So inspiring! CONGRATULATIONS!

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    1. You're enthusiasm is contagious, Kip! Thank you. :)

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  7. Great story and super excited for you!

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  8. I'm SO happy for you!! What an awesome story! Congratulations!!! Can't wait to hear what's next for you and Truth Heist. :D

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  9. Wow! Talk about perfect timing! Congrats!!

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  10. Yay! Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!! :)

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  11. Such great news. I'm rearing to read Truth Heist

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  12. What an awesome story! I'm so happy you found someone so enthusiastic for your work. Congratulations!!!

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  13. Congrats! it sounds like a match made in heaven. :)

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    1. I'm pretty happy about it. :) Thanks so much, Alison!

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  14. Yay, yay, yay!!! LOVE your book and can't wait to hear more good news. Congratulations lady!!

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    1. Janet!! Thank you so much for all of your help. :)

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  15. CONGRATS!! I'm so happy for you! <3 <3

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  16. I HAVE FEELINGS ABOUT THIS AND AM EXCITED!!!!!!

    I'm so happy for you honey!!!!

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    1. You're so super wonderful. Thank you for everything!!

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  17. What an inspiring story. Congrats, Dee! That is wonderful news!

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  18. I'm so happy for you! And for Mr. Stender. And for the children who will get to read Truth Heist. It is such a fun story. Congratulations, Dee!!

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    1. Thanks, Emily! You are always such a great supporter. :)

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  19. Love this story, and I'm SOOOOO happy you've found such a wonderful agent! <3

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    1. Thank you, Kat! And thanks for your encouragement along the way. :)

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  20. Congrats! What an awesome connection and story!

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  21. Huge congrats! What an inspiring story. It shows that when it's the right fit, it all clicks into place. :) Congrats!

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  22. Congrats, Dee. So happy you found a good fit!

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  23. Thanks for sharing your query experiences. I'm glad you found the right agent to drive your novel into the publishing world. Great title - Truth Heist!

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  24. Great story to hear right about now--CONGRATULATIONS!!

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  25. So cool! I'm glad that you're in hands that feel absolutely comfortable to you. Can't wait to hear the happy news that Truth Heist has sold!

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  26. Congratulations! Thanks for sharing your story. :-) Good luck!

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  27. Deeeeee!!! Congrats!! LOVED your story--WITH PICS included!! I hadn't seen the pics before. :) I can't wait to see Truth Heist in the wild! xoxo

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  28. Thank you for sharing this story. It's so important for beginning writers to remember that we can't fall into the trap of thinking everything about our lives will be perfect if we just land one agent. Things change. It's great to read that you knew what was important for you and didn't settle for any agent. I'll remember this when I'm wasting too much time making submissions lists instead of writing... :)

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