Query.Sign.Submit.Debut! with Ava Jae

Ava is a young adult author and her debut, BEYOND THE RED, releases from  Sky Pony Press on March 1! She is represented by Louise Fury of The Bent Agency.

 

 

 

Connect with Ava . . .

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads * YouTube * Instagram

Get the book . . .

Amazon * B&N * Indiebound * BAM!

 

Now for Ava’s insight on querying, signing with an agent, going on submission, and being a debut author!

QUERY

What resources and websites did you use when querying?

I used Casey McCormick’s Literary Rambles to start off my research, but then I would follow up by Googling more recent interviews, agency pages, etc. because a lot of the profiles are pretty old and some of the information has changed. I also used QueryTracker for the first time the round that landed me an agent, and that was really helpful in terms of finding agents, seeing average response times, and also just keeping track of who I’d sent what and when.

What was your method for querying? Small batches? Query widely? Wait for feedback?

If I remember correctly, I think I sent out an initial batch of ten queries, then always kept ten queries out—so whenever I got a rejection, I’d immediately send out another query. This gave me time to do revisions on the query if it wasn’t working, and also helped me not take the rejections quite so hard because I sent out a new query to hope for right away.

Had you queried other books before the one that got you your agent?

Oh, yes. The querying round that landed me an agent was actually my sixth time in the query trenches—I’d queried four other manuscripts, one twice (with several years between the querying rounds), so I was pretty familiar with the process by the time I got my agent.

What helped you get though the query trenches? Inspirational posts? Writer friends? Writing another book?

All of the above! Seeing other writers talk about their experiences—particularly if it took them a long time to get agented and/or published—was a massive encouragement for me during the long years of querying. Talking to writer friends also helped, and writing another book while I was querying was really important because it helped me not to obsess over the querying process and also gave me hope for the next project.

SIGN

Did you sign as a client of a career agent or on a book-by-book basis?

I signed as a client of a career agent, which has been wonderful. My agent’s guidance not just for whatever book we’re working on, but for my career as a whole has been great.

Once a writer has signed with an agent, what’s the next step?

That depends on the agent and the manuscript! For editorial agents, you may do a round (or several rounds) of revisions with your agent. For those who aren’t editorial, or if your manuscript doesn’t need more tweaking, then it’ll probably be straight to submission—after the agent puts together a submission plan, of course. For me, it was the former. :)

At what point do you share new story ideas with your agent?

I don’t share story ideas with *anyone* until I’m 100% sure it’s going to be a real project that I’m going to finish—which isn’t official for me until I’ve written at least 10,000 words. So far I haven’t mentioned new projects to my agent until after I wrote the first draft, which has been fine. I may pitch something earlier once I’m sure the project will be a project in the future—I haven’t decided. Though if I was ever in the situation where I had several ideas and wasn’t sure what to pursue, I’d probably talk it over with my agent first.

SUBMIT

What is a typical first round like once a writer goes on submission?

Barring super-quick sales (which are not the norm), first round of submission is usually pretty quiet for a while, because getting feedback takes forever. Well. It feels like forever, anyway. For me, it took over a month (maybe two? I don’t remember) before we started getting feedback trickling in. How large the submission round is will depend on both the agent and that particular manuscript, though.

Do you see the feedback from editors?

Sort of? With rejections, I usually had paraphrased explanations from my agent, and sometimes I saw quotes with compliments, which was cool. When we started getting interest, that’s when I began to get more specific details.

What do you suggest a writer does while out on submission?

Work on something else, if at all possible. Submission, like querying, is less painful when you have other things to distract you—and even better, other projects to get excited about.

Did you know there was interest in the book before you got an offer or was it a surprise?

I did! I’d heard initially that the editor loved the manuscript and was getting other readers, so I had small status updates along the way when more readers liked it, the book was going to the acquisition board, etc. It was exciting. :)

DEBUT

What other 2016 debut books have you gotten to read? Did you get to read them early?

Yes! I’ve had the pleasure of reading The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig, Burning Glass by Kathryn Purdie, The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskie, After the Woods by Kim Savage, Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace, Assassin’s Heart by Sarah Ahiers, Crossing the Line by Meghan Rogers, Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin, and The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye early, which was awesome. I also recently read This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp, which was a great read, and I’m currently in the middle of The Reader by Traci Chee, which I’m really enjoying.

Is there a lot of support among debut authors?

There is *so* much support and I love it. I’m part of two debut groups and it’s been wonderful to get to know other debuts, have the opportunity to read many of their books early, and just support each other along the way.

What advice would you give to writers who are working hard to get to their own debut year?

Keep writing, keep reading, don’t rush, and don’t give up. It takes some people much longer than others—for me it was a little over a decade from starting to write my first ever manuscript to seeing my book published. Take the time you need to get your skills and your manuscript to publication; in this case, time is on your side.

Thanks, Ava!

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Query.Sign.Submit.Debut! with Brittany Cavallaro

 

 

Brittany is a young adult author and her debut,
A STUDY IN CHARLOTTE, releases from  HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books on March 1! She is represented by Lana Popovic at Chalberg and Sussman.

 

 

Connect with Brittany . . .

Website * Twitter

Preorder the book . . .  Amazon

Now for insight from Brittany on querying, signing with an agent, going on submission, and being a debut author!

QUERY

What are some important things for querying writers to consider when researching agents?

One thing that was really important was considering whether I wanted an agent who was close to the beginning of her career or one that was already very established. I spent some time talking to agented friends about what they liked about their representation, how much attention they expected, what the submission process had been like for them, etc. My take on this might be slightly different, because I started out as a poet. Poets don’t have agents, generally (there’s no money for an agent to make!), and so I had published poems in journals, as well as a chapbook and a full-length collection, on my own. More than anything, what I was looking for was an agent who could walk me through the fiction world (a place that was very new to me) while providing editorial guidance. I also decided, after watching a few friends be ignored by their agents in favor of more famous clients, that I wanted someone near the beginning of their career that I could grow with.

What advice would you give to querying writers?

Don’t rush. It’s really tempting to—we want to have our work be seen, we want to feel legitimized, we want our novel to be in print. We’ve already put so much into it, and the process can be excruciatingly slow. But in the end, what I took from my experience is that it’s absolutely worth it to take the time to polish your book and to really research the agents that you’re querying. I’m so happy with where I ended up, but when I look at the initial list I made (and then later discarded), I’m happy I took the time to research and figure out who might be the best fit for me. When I read an interview with Lana Popovic, where she listed favorite books and TV shows and films that lined up exactly with mine and where she talked about an editorial philosophy that was dead-to-rights with what I wanted, she went right to the top of my list. But it took some digging to find that information, and I’m really relieved that I took the time to do so.

What was your method for querying? Small batches? Query widely? Wait for feedback?

Small batches, and wait. I sent out to six initially, I think. When Lana Popovic sent me a revise and resubmit (that was brilliant, grueling, and spot-on), I stopped querying other agents and stepped back to work on my manuscript. I returned it her, along with the first forty pages of what would be A STUDY IN CHARLOTTE!

SIGN

How did you know your agent was the right one for you?

I did a lot of things you’re not supposed to do, I think! When she called to offer representation, I agreed right away. Oops.

THAT SAID. We’d gone back and forth via email over the course of a month, talking about my manuscript and the work I was doing to make it better, and I felt like I was in perfect hands. This might sound absurd, but I feel very safe with my agent, and also like that she understands the place my work comes from—what I want to accomplish tonally, with narrative, with my characters, what my influences are. Mostly, when I got the call from her, I felt relief. Because I had no idea where I was going to look next if I hadn’t signed with her!

What is the revision process like between you and your agent?

Lana is in a lot of ways my ideal reader. Like I said above, she really has a handle on where I’m coming from, and she knows how to help me move my manuscript to the place I ideally want it to be (which is where she wants it to be, too). She gives me notes on the line level and on the macro level. We went through 2.5 major rounds of revisions before CHARLOTTE found a home.

At what point do you share new story ideas with your agent?

I tend to come up with a general idea (usually grounded in genre) and then wait for it to attract character beats, world beats, narrative beats. Only when I can really describe it in paragraph form do I bring it to my agent. So far I’ve only talked through one additional with her, but I’m finishing a contract right now for the Charlotte Holmes novel series, so it’ll be a little time before I get to sit down and write it.

SUBMIT

Do you see the feedback from editors?

I do! My approach to this…well, I have a thick skin until I don’t. I asked Lana to send along editorial comments on A STUDY IN CHARLOTTE when it went out, which I actually found immensely useful. And then I was at a conference in Denver and got a note that just ended me, out of nowhere (it wasn’t even that harsh), and asked Lana to call me. I was in a designer denim store, sitting on a giant puff in the dressing room, crying. Definitely a low point. But it was important for me to know that I did have limits, and to know when to back away and take some time for myself.

What do you suggest a writer does while out on submission?

Try to keep writing, if you can. It’s so difficult, because you have so much focused on this one project, and it can feel like every word is trying to wiggle out around that anxiety. I worked in other genres. I spent a lot of time reading, reminding myself why I loved books and why I did what I did. I threw myself into my teaching, and got a lot out of encouraging student writers to continue ploughing away.

How did you celebrate when you got the news about your book deal?

When I got the call, I remember being in my PhD adviser’s office—she was away on sabbatical, and I’d been given it for the semester—staring at all the pretty vases on her bookshelves, trying to write a poem, and then just…my phone ringing, Lana on the line, total disbelief. My memory sort of fizzles out there. I know my husband and I went out to dinner that night. And I told myself when my advance came, I could buy one totally insane, frivolous item, so when it did, I went to Anthropologie and made a beeline for the full-price dresses. It’s a nice memento. And it’s pretty cute.

DEBUT

What other 2016 debut books have you gotten to read?

I’m part of the Sweet Sixteens debut community and have been really lucky to read a number of my peers’ books through an ARC tour. Some favorites have been Emily Henry’s THE LOVE THAT SPLIT THE WORLD, Anna Breslaw’s SCARLETT EPSTEIN HATES IT HERE, Parker Peevyhouse’s WHEN FUTURES END, Jeff Zentner’s THE SERPENT KING, and Kali Wallace’s SHALLOW GRAVES – all books with gorgeous writing and strong, complicated characters.

What do you wish you had known about being a debut author?

That nothing happens, and everything does, all at the same time. Everything and nothing is different. And that the best thing you can do is focus on writing the next book. I feel like that’s my advice for everything, but it’s something that can be difficult for me to focus on in the thick of things, that really, the thing I can control most is how the next book turns out. It’s the best (and most pleasurable) place for me to put my energy.

Also, you don’t need to be on every social media platform if you don’t want to. Don’t be afraid to compartmentalize. I really love Twitter to connect with other writers and readers, but I am hopeless at using Facebook for anything but friends-and-family kinds of things, and my Instagram is mostly pictures of my cat. That’s okay! I don’t think it’s affected anything for me at all.

What advice would you give to writers who are working hard to get to their own debut year?

Breathe. Remember to celebrate the small victories. And try to get out to meet your editor, if you can—they’re your champion in all this, and I’ve loved getting to know Alex Arnold as we’ve worked together this past year.

Thanks, Brittany!

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Query.Sign.Submit.Debut! with Kali Wallace

Kali is a young adult author and her debut,
SHALLOW GRAVES, is now available from Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins! She is represented by Adriann Ranta at Foundry Literary + Media.

 

 

    To connect with Kali . . .

     Website * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads

     To get the book . . .

     Harper Collins * Amazon * Barnes and Noble * IndieBound

 

Insight from Kali on querying, signing with an agent, going on submission, and being a debut author!

QUERY

What advice would you give to querying writers?

Think long term. If you have many types of manuscripts in progress, look for agents who represent many types of novels. Remember that you are looking for somebody to work for you, in a professional capacity, as honestly and as diligently as they can. You're not looking for a new best friend or a therapist or a cool new social media buddy. There's absolutely nothing wrong with querying new agents who are actively building their lists, but look at the context of how long they've been in the business and where they work. There's also absolutely nothing wrong with querying established agents who have fifty clients more famous than you but, again, pay attention to the context. It will make the inevitable replies--or complete lack of replies--a lot easier to withstand.

And most of all: always be working on your next novel while you are querying your first.

How did you keep track of your queries?

An epic spreadsheet. I had the agents' names, agency, contact info, what they requested (letter, sample pages, etc.), expected response time, the date I sent the query, the date and type of reply I received. And something I learned from submitting short stories to markets: Whenever I sent out one batch of letters, I made sure to have another few names in line so that when I received a pass, I could send out another query right away. I had way more names on my list than I ended up needing, but they sure were well-organized.

Did you ever have a Revise & Resubmit? What should a writer consider when deciding whether or not to take one on?

I did have a few agents indicate they would like to talk about the possibility, but I decided not to do it. The problem both times was that they were asking for changes that would turn my book into something I didn't want it to be. I hadn't realized before I got those letters exactly where the line would be for me. I'm actually a pretty flexible writer when it comes to editorial changes; if somebody suggests a change in a manuscript, I will consider it carefully, from all angles. I'll think about whether I agree with the problem they've identified, then I think about whether I agree the solution they've suggested is the best one.

An extreme example: One agent wanted me to rewrite my exceptionally dark, bleak horror novel into a light-hearted fantasy romp. It sounds outrageous now, and it sounded outrageous then, but I do understand her point of view. She knew how to package and market one kind of book, so she advised me to change my book into that kind of book, even though there was basically no similarity between the book she was imagining and the one I had actually written.

So I guess what I learned is that if an agent asks you to revise and resubmit, what you need to do before you agree is take a step back and think about what they're asking. Will their suggested changes make the story you've written--the book you care so much about--a better version of what you want it to be? Or will those changes transform it into something you never wanted to write?

SIGN

Are there any specific questions you’d suggest writers ask an offering agent during “The Call”?

Oh, quite a few! The most important thing is to know, before you sit down to talk to a prospective agent, what kind of career you want to have. I know I can seem foolishly optimistic to be thinking about novels of the future when you've only just gotten somebody to notice your first manuscript, but you want an agent who can help you get a start in what will hopefully be a long, fulfilling career.

So you really do need to think about asking questions like: What happens if I decide I want to write books in a completely different market or genre? What if I want to write an adult mystery? A hard sci fi novel? A short story collection? A picture book? What do you do if you hate an author's second book? What do you do if the first one never sells? What happens if I take ten years to write a single book? What happens if I have five other manuscripts just about ready to go?

Don't be shy. You are not going to say the most outrageous thing any agent has ever heard, and you want to know if that person is going to be the right person for any twist or turn your career might take in the future.

How did you know your agent was the right one for you?

I told her that every other agent I'd heard from had said my book was too gruesome and dark to be released into the wild, and asked her if she felt the same, and she said not at all. That's how I knew we were going to work together just fine.

How editorial is your agent? Is it what you expected?

I've worked on four books now with my agent--the first that didn't sell, the second, third, and fourth that did. On each one I've asked for and she's offered a pretty strong degree of editorial feedback. It's often about things like trimming out unnecessary characters or subplots that confuse rather than enhance the story, focusing on the main character's personality and arc, and finessing the tone of the story to make sure it's fantastical when it should be fantastical, fun when it should be fun, dark when it should be dark.

SUBMIT

Do you see the feedback from editors?

I did. My agent forwarded the pass emails to me. Some of them contained helpful feedback--comments on the pacing of the first half of the book, for example, are comments that I can work with--and some were less helpful. It can be a bit disheartening to see a lot of editors passing and explaining why, but it's also encouraging to see when editors say, "Not this time, but send me whatever she writes next." That helped keep me motivated working on the next book.

What do you suggest a writer does while out on submission?

Write another book. Write another book. Write another book.

How did you celebrate when you got the news about your book deal?

I made breakfast. It was delicious.

See, when I got the news, I happened to be on vacation in Hawaii with my family. A quick glance at world geography will reveal that Hawaii is several time zones away from New York City. This meant there were a couple of days where my agent was calling me when I was driving around the Big Island without reliable cell service, and I was calling her back long after business hours in New York, and I finally woke up one morning at six a.m. to a "CALL ME IMMEDIATELY" email. That meant I was standing beside a pool overlooking the Pacific Ocean at six a.m. when I got the news. It was all very surreal in a sleep-deprived, pre-coffee kind of way.

I had planned--way back when my first, unsold novel was on submission--to celebrate the event by opening a nice bottle of whiskey I was saving for the occasion, but that whiskey was in Colorado, and I was in Hawaii, so I settled for breakfast first, and some champagne with my family much later in the day.

DEBUT

What is the best thing about being a debut author?

You mean, besides publishing a novel? Because obviously the best thing about being a debut author is PUBLISHING A FREAKIN' NOVEL.

Aside from that, oh, it's a wild roller-coaster of emotions, but it's so much fun too.

What have you learned about being a debut author?

Here is a dark little secret that most people don't seem to know before hand: At some point very early on in the process you are going to be so incredibly sick of talking about your book and yourself that you'll want to go live in a cave until humankind forgets how to read. That stage will likely follow the highest heights of giddy excitement, and it will pass, and eventually you'll settle into a happy medium somewhere between those two extremes, but it's going to happen.

What else are you working on along with all the promotion?

I was revising my second novel right up until the day of my book's release, which was kind of ridiculous but also probably the best possible thing I could be doing. There are so many expectations wrapped up in a debut novel, especially in YA publishing, which has a vaguely creepy obsession with first novels. It's easy to get swept up in it, in all the dark miserable feelings of failure as well as all the castle-in-the-sky dreams of success, and it's easy to forget that what actually matters is the work. Imagining stories and writing them down, and doing it over and over again, for as long as one can plausibly get away with it. Having another book to work on through all the debut madness--a book that has absolutely nothing to do with my first, and is in fact a very different kind of book--helped me focus on what was really important about this step in publishing.

Is there a lot of support among debut authors?

There absolutely is, and I would advise anybody who is feeling a bit lost or overwhelmed by the whole process to find a debut group and cling to them like they're a life raft. Other writers with books coming out the same time as yours are not your enemy. They are not your competition. They are an excellent source of good will and humor and encouragement and commiseration--and, in many case, friendship.

Thanks, Kali!

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Query.Sign.Submit.Debut! with Melissa Gorzelanczyk

 

Melissa is a young adult author and her debut,
ARROWS, is now available from Delacorte Press/Penguin Random House! She is represented by Carrie Howland from Donadio & Olson.

Connect with Melissa . . .

Website * Twitter * Instagram * Facebook * Goodreads

To get the book . . .

Barnes & Noble * Amazon * Penguin Random House

Insight from Melissa on querying, signing with an agent, going on submission, and being a debut author!

QUERY

What advice would you give to querying writers?

I think I really learned you need to query widely, but in batches. Try new things, like #PitMad, a twitter pitch contest hosted by Brenda Drake. That’s how I met my agent!

How did you keep track of your queries?

I made an excel spreadsheet that included the agent name, what I sent them, the date and the most exciting or depressing column—their response. (For those who like to know numbers, I sent 63 queries before meeting my agent, 22 of which were for ARROWS.)

What do you wish you’d known back when you were in the query trenches?

Don’t send out work that isn’t ready. Too often, we want to skip the good writing part and move straight to the amazing contract part. It never works that way.

SIGN

Are there any specific questions you’d suggest writers ask an offering agent during “The Call”?

I mean, if you Google “what to ask an agent during The Call,” you’ll find a lot of ideas. I think the most important thing to consider is if you like your agent. Do you feel comfortable talking to them? Do you have anything in common? Do you think she’s nice? Or badass, if that’s important to you? Does she “get” your work and your plans for future works?

Did you sign as a client of a career agent or on a book-by-book basis?

My agent said outright she wanted to rep me for my career. I’m really happy to have her on my team! She’s amazing.

Once a writer has signed with an agent, what’s the next step?

For Carrie and I, the next step was revising ARROWS until it was ready to go out on submission. We went through two rounds.

SUBMIT

What do you suggest a writer does while out on submission?

Keep writing your next book. Seriously, let your agent do her job and you do yours—which is writing.

How did you celebrate when you got the news about your book deal?

The next day, as the deal was officially in the works, I went out for breakfast with my sisters and niece.

DEBUT

What have you learned about being a debut author?

You need to work really hard on your own publicity. Yes, you, because you are your book’s greatest advocate. While your publisher and agent have multiple titles to worry about, you only have one. Use that to your advantage. The sooner you implement a plan, the better you’ll feel about your debut year. And make sure you bring your agent, editor and publicity team into that conversation!

What’s involved in promoting a book?

*falls over dead*

Is there a lot of support among debut authors?

Ohmigosh, the debut community is SO supportive of each other. I’ve seriously made some lifelong friends through The Sweet Sixteens and the Class of 2k16 author groups. They’re my peeps!

What was it like to receive your ARCs?

I made a video capturing the moment. See for yourself! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oveOamV-MlA

What advice would you give to writers who are working hard to get to their own debut year?

You make your own luck. Focus on craft, write the best book you can at the time, and keep moving forward.

Thank you, Melissa!

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Query.Sign.Submit.Debut! with Emily Skrutskie

Emily is a young adult author and her debut,
THE ABYSS SURROUNDS US, is now available from Flux! She is represented by Thao Le of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.

 

Connect with Emily . . .

Website * Instagram * Twitter * Pinterest * Goodreads * TASU on Goodreads

To get the book . . .

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Book Depository * IndieBound

Insight from Emily on querying, signing with an agent, going on submission, and being a debut author! 

QUERY

Had you queried other books before the one that got you your agent?

Yes! I’d been querying for over five years on two different books before THE ABYSS SURROUNDS US. I started querying my first book when I was fifteen years old, then started querying my second at nineteen. Then when I was twenty, along came TASU.

How did you keep track of your queries?

I kept a query document, which was basically just a BIG list of agents that might be a fit for my work. Under each agent, I kept track of #MSWL requests that lined up with my work and any other things that I might be able to use in the query’s personalization. When I sent a query, I noted the date. If I got a request, I noted the date—both of when the request was received and when I sent the pages. If I got a rejection, I noted the date and greyed out the entry.

What advice would you give to querying writers?

Start small. Start with a single sentence. Act like that sentence is all you get to effectively pitch the book. Then see if you can do it in a paragraph. Then allow yourself a second paragraph. The biggest problem I see in queries is a lack of focus, usually because the author is adding too much extra information. Building a query from the ground up is my go-to method to make sure my pitch stays focused.

SUBMIT (Read on to find out why Submit came before Sign!)

Did you know there was interest in the book before you got an offer or was it a surprise?

My story’s a little out of order compared to most people. I actually received my offer of publication before I signed with an agent and before I had even started querying. I had posted my query and pages on the WriteOnCon boards for feedback before submitting the manuscript to Pitch Wars, and my editor saw them and made a request. A couple weeks later, we had a phone call where he discussed bringing the book to acquisitions, and a few days later, I got an email with an official offer from Flux!

How did you celebrate when you got the news about your book deal?

I was in a stats class when I got the offer, but that night I celebrated in the most college way possible, by going to a party and drinking champagne out of a solo cup.

SIGN

What was the week surrounding your offer(s) of representation like for you?

In a word, hectic. When I got that offer of publication in that stats class, I immediately sent out queries to the agents who had read the full of my previous manuscript. Twenty minutes later, my phone started ringing with my first of four offers of representation. I took a week to get all of the responses under my belt and then made a decision. All the while, I was also grappling with a difficult CS course, shooting a movie, and just trying to make it through my senior year of college in one piece. Fun times!

Are there any specific questions you’d suggest writers ask an offering agent during “The Call”?

The most important question I asked on The Call was the one that helped me decide clearly among my four offers. What I did was ask every agent to tell me about some of their clients’ projects that they were excited about. Hearing the way each agent expressed their enthusiasm for their clients really helped me decide which one would be the best advocate for my own work.

DEBUT

Is there a lot of support among debut authors?

Absolutely! It’s a wild, terrifying thing to do by yourself, and I’m so glad I don’t have to. The Sweet Sixteen group is full of great resources and even greater friends, so debuting doesn’t have to be scary.

What was it like to receive your ARCs?

I was in the process of moving back across the country at the end of the summer, and my ARC was waiting for me at home after a long day of travel. I tore the thing out of the package, took a few pictures, and then collapsed on the couch with the book snuggled in my arms.

It’s very soft.

What is the best thing about being a debut author?

The enthusiasm! I really feel like everyone has my back, and even though there’s a lot of anxiety, every day more people are there to prove how little I need to worry. 

 

Thanks, Emily!

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