{"id":125,"date":"2014-08-15T01:27:49","date_gmt":"2014-08-15T01:27:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.melissagorzelanczyk.com\/blog\/?p=125"},"modified":"2023-12-15T05:38:09","modified_gmt":"2023-12-15T05:38:09","slug":"how-i-got-my-agent-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.melissagorzelanczyk.com\/blog\/how-i-got-my-agent-2\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Got My Agent"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It all started more than 5 years ago when I told Mr. Right: “I want to quit my day job and write books.”<\/p>\n

Okay, okay,\u00a0I’ll fast forward to my thrilling news. You guys! This is the big one!<\/p>\n

I HAVE AN AGENT!<\/p>\n

Meet literary agent Carrie Howland of Donadio & Olson<\/a>.<\/strong>\u00a0Yes, her name is Carrie. She lives in New York City. Isn’t she pretty? And smart-looking? Don’t you just want to jump up and down and dance around like crazy with me??<\/p>\n

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Wait … an agent? Is that like getting a book published?<\/span><\/p>\n

No, not yet, but it is a huge step toward that goal.<\/p>\n

Most big publishing houses only<\/strong> accept book submissions from authors who have an agent.\u00a0Carrie will help me polish fake replica rolex datejust 41 stahl gold 126331<\/a> my manuscript and send it out to editors on my behalf. And because she’s an agent, the editors will actually read my submission, instead of throwing it in the trash.<\/p>\n

I should mention that not all agents are equal. Carrie won’t get paid unless I do. A literary agent should never<\/em> expect you to pay them before they sell your book (and if they do, RUN). Carrie is the real deal.<\/p>\n

Now, the long version of this story.<\/h3>\n

I was 9 years old when I knew I wanted to be a writer. The books I wrote throughout my childhood were therapeutic and helped me understand a little more about the world. As a teen, I queried my work to a number of publishers, but was met with form rejections. They were actually mailed on paper back then.<\/p>\n

I grew up. I moved out of my parents’ house and got a “real job” and did something I really regret: I stopped writing stories for a while.<\/p>\n

Sometimes our dreams have an awkward way of reminding us they exist. Newly married with two step-kids, a full-time job in the newspaper industry and a very busy household, I couldn’t stop thinking about the work I really wanted to do. I wanted my stories back. I wanted to slow down and try. I really did tell Mr. Right: “I want to quit my day job and write books.”<\/p>\n

In the 2 years that followed, we paid off $42,000 in debt, started a savings, and I started to write.<\/p>\n

In 2010, I completed\u00a0The Channels, <\/em>a YA paranormal mystery,\u00a0during NaNoWriMo<\/a>,<\/p>\n

Turns out, writing a novel in a month without an outline will result in a rather painful revision process. I revised and revised and sweat and crumpled paper until I thought it was ready for submissions.\u00a0In September 2012, I officially sent The Channels into the world.<\/p>\n

While I waited for agents to beat down my door, I jumped right into a new project. This time, I had a plan and outline in place. Sadly, rejections for my first book began to roll in, but I knew my dreams were nothing unless I kept writing. Three months later, the first draft of ARROWS\u00a0was done.<\/p>\n

I learned about patience.<\/h3>\n

Older and wiser, I realized my first novel hadn’t been <\/em>ready to submit, and I wasn’t going to make that same mistake with ARROWS.<\/p>\n

While I revised, I dabbled in a few contests and sent a few queries, but my focus was my book. I’d quit my day job three years earlier. Yes, I had two completed YA novels, and lots of projects I was proud of, but still no agent. Still no publisher. Patience helped me write a better book, despite all that.<\/p>\n

Luckily, I wasn’t too patient. Last Thursday,\u00a0I participated in #PitMad<\/strong>, a Twitter pitch party organized by the fabulous Brenda Drake<\/a>.\u00a0My extremely helpful Pitch Madness mentor Sharon Johnston<\/a> wrote my pitches.<\/p>\n

Here’s what happened:
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Carrie favorited my pitch! I smiled, sent her the (requested) first 50 pages of ARROWS and continued on with my day.<\/p>\n

Within hours, she requested the full manuscript.<\/strong>\u00a0This got my attention. She was excited about my book. I allowed myself to wonder if this was it.<\/em> I Google-stalked Carrie and found out she worked for the agency that represented the authors of Fight Club <\/em>and The Godfather. <\/em>I pinched myself and\u00a0proceeded to psycho-refresh my inbox the rest of the weekend.<\/p>\n

On Monday, I forced myself to do something productive before checking my email. But when I logged on, I braced myself.<\/p>\n

There it was.<\/p>\n

An email from Carrie.<\/p>\n

I knew from experience that my hopes could come crashing down, so\u00a0I read it fast, skimming the paragraphs for words like unfortunately, despite and I couldn’t connect. <\/em>Hm.\u00a0Nothing.<\/p>\n

I started over and\u00a0proceeded to make a loud outburst.<\/p>\n

A scream\/choke\/flailing type thing.<\/p>\n

She loved my book!<\/p>\n

She asked to represent ARROWS as well as my career as a writer. Then, she called me<\/p>\n

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and we chatted for more than an hour about her ideas for revisions and submissions and lots of exciting future things. Today, I have officially accepted her offer of representation. I’m so thrilled to take this next step in my career with her. I’m glad my life got too busy five years ago. I have my stories back, and I’ve never felt luckier. I am ready to get to work.<\/p>\n

Here are the stats for ARROWS:<\/p>\n