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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