HOW I GOT MY (SECOND) AGENT

Welcome back!

I’m happy to have you here for the second time around!

My querying story isn’t exactly an atypical one (it genuinely surprised to me to learn that so many authors have been agented more than once) but I did want to share it, nonetheless.

From what I’ve seen, and felt myself, a lot of shame can come with the transition from agented to unagented. For me in particular, it had felt like I had gotten so close to only then, involuntarily, take 100 steps in the wrong direction. Though it was my previous agent who left the publishing industry, rather than it being a choice on my end, I still had those feelings of shame and sadness. It didn’t help that a lot of other aspects of my personal life were falling apart; having THE PURSUIT OF POMEGRANATES pulled off sub and being left unagented in the midst of all of that was A Lot.

Truthfully, I feel so grateful to be able to say that period of my life feels like it was a whole other world away; and after everything, I’m very excited to be able to share the newest development in my writing journey.

Without further ado!

THE STATS

These are the stats for my second time querying TPOP!

QUERYING: From July 6th, 2023 to October 26th, 2023

 🏷️ SENT: 100+

🏷️ UNANSWERED: 28

 🏷️ REJECTED: 100+

 🏷️ PARTIAL: 4

 🏷️ FULL: 13

 🏷️ OFFERS: 1

These stats are higher than my first time querying TPOP simply because I was so set on persevering, even if only out of spite. I knew the story was ready for rep and I knew I just had to find the right person who loved it as much as I did. 

Unsurprisingly, a lot of the rejections I received were due to the fact that the project had been on sub. Despite being on sub for 2 months, and being sent to 5 editors, a lot of agents felt they’d be unequipped to re-pitch it. Whilst hurtful, I understood. Some rejections were due to similarities of client projects and bandwidth for lists. Most were generic, form rejections.

All of them were equally as draining, no matter how plain or how detailed.

It was a truly exhausting process; one that didn’t get any easier, despite the fact that it had been my 5th time querying. I just had to remember to take everything with a grain of salt. I would tell myself:

Believe in yourself.

Protect your peace.

In an industry like this, it’s really all you can do. 

HOW IT HAPPENED FOR ME (the second time around)

When my previous agent left the industry, they mentioned that their assistant may be able to take me on as a client. Truthfully, I hadn’t even known that they had an assistant until I received the notice that they were parting ways with publishing.

Because I didn’t know anything about said assistant, and was unsure about the potential partnership due to that fact, I made to decision to jump back into querying TPOP.

It wasn’t until a pitch event in October that the aforementioned assistant and I were able to connect.

When Leah liked a pitch of mine, I decided to reach out. 

One lengthy video call later, I was entirely reassured of both Leah’s love for my story and her passion for what she does. Being able to catch up on lost time and tie up loose ends was all I had really hoped for; but coming out of our conversation, I had truly felt like I found my perfect agent fit!

Leah’s subsequent offer was one that I felt incredibly grateful for. She had been patient and kind, offering me answers to all my questions and concerns, assuring me that she would do everything in her power to ensure TPOP got out into the world.

And the rest was history!

I’ve said it more than once once, and I’ll shout it a thousand times over: don’t settle for less than what you deserve. Follow your gut. 

And for me, for now, I’m allowing myself to be excited. To be hopeful. It has been a long time coming and I can only wish the same for all of you. Continue to chase your dream—it’s not as far away as you believe.

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Enjoy this snippet from my previous “How I Got My Agent Blog”, as it’s still relevant and I stand by the advice!

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Please note that I’m no professional and these thoughts stem from my own experiences. No querying journey nor publishing journey ever looks the same. Not everyone gets an agent on their first manuscript. Not everyone has sparkling stats and a six-figure deal. Like any labour of love (or work), writing takes as much time as it takes heartbreak and joy and everything else.

MY QUERYING JOURNEY

I wrote my first manuscript in December, 2021. I queried it in January, 2022. It was nowhere near ready — but THOSE WHO BURN THE BRIGHTEST was the story that changed everything for me. I learnt a lot in those first few months, about the intricacies of querying and refining your art, about how a story can be broken down and down and down until it, and you, feel like nothing.

I was hopeless for many months because of TWBTB. It got hundreds of rejections — and then I got scammed out of a publishing offer (that’s a whole other thing) and it only made me feel worse.

But during that time I also wrote SEVEN SILENCED. After SEVEN SILENCED came A PROMISE OF PEARLS — WHEN WE FALL AND WHERE WE LAND — THE PURSUIT OF POMEGRANATES. All within the same year. And even though I feared that TWBTB would be my only story, the only idea that ever felt worth writing, I kept dreaming and building and writing. 

Then, TWBTB found the perfect home with Lake Country Press. SEVEN SILENCED after that.

Though my querying journey in search of a literary agent continued. It never stopped.

It was heartbreaking and hopeless 90% of the time. But that 10% — the knowledge I gained, the people I met, the lingering feeling that I just had to keep going — was enough. 

Querying is not easy. For the most part, it’s not fun. You never stop checking your emails and bracing for rejection. You drive yourself up the wall looking at other people’s success and wonder why it’s not you. 

It’s hard to find hope in an experience that feels as fruitless as this. But keep writing. Keep reading, keep learning, keep building connections and do your best to protect your peace.

I don’t know how much solace my advice will offer though I wanted to say it regardless. Even though I was in the position only a few weeks ago to disregard ideas like this, it’s important that you believe in yourself, through it all. Remember that it’s not you that’s the problem almost 100% of the time. This industry has a lot to do with luck, timing and persistence as much as it does with skill.

THE ADVICE

LUCK

The most marvellous (😭) thing about querying is that the perfect agent for you could be closed to submissions at the time you’re wanting to send your story out. There are so many factors that can be tied back to luck and that’s, ironically, a massively unfortunate part of it. Whilst I know this isn’t the most helpful tidbit to consider, it is important to remember when you’re in the depths of querying misery — sometimes, it’s quite normal to be more unlucky than lucky. Some get it right the first time but most don’t. Jealousy can come so easily in these types of situations. It’s not always you or your story. Sometimes, it just is. Keep doing what you’re doing. Research for the right fits, write important dates down (eg the opening of a particular agents submissions or even nudge periods) and keep going.

TIMING 

Timing plays a big part hand-in-hand with luck. Sometimes your story needs more refining — and you could learn that through sending out 100 queries and getting 85 rejections, a few R&Rs and full requests with non-editorial feedback. That process alone can take months. More often than not, you’ll feel like you’re wasting time. Unfortunately, publishing is a slow burn, in every step you progress to and through. You’re not wasting time so much as practising patience. Be patient with yourself, first and foremost. I wrote 5 stories in a year — and that isn’t normal for most writers. I have hyper-focusing tendencies and tend to enforce strict and unnecessary deadlines for myself. Other writers take longer, other writers are slower. Do what you have to do and ensure it brings you joy — if not joy, at least take breaks if it’s making you miserable. Don’t be so hard on yourself. This isn’t a race, even though it often feels like it is.

PERSISTENCE 

Perhaps the most exhausting part. It felt like forever and a day each time I woke up to 10 form rejections (damn you AEST). I got to a point where I was stubborn enough that it felt even worse to just drop everything and stop trying. It wasn’t an easy choice, for me or my mental health, but it was one I made because I love my stories, I love my characters and I think they deserve to have their time in the light. Everyone fights for their stories for their own reasons.  It’s normal to feel discouraged and disheartened, both with the industry and with yourself. But celebrating persistence and being kind to yourself is so, so incredibly important. If that is easily done, then pushing through comes next. Keep going. The right match is out there.

I believe in you!