How I Got My Agent: Guest Blog with Lara Chapman

Welcome to another edition of How I Got My Agent. Lara Chapman, a fellow member of the West Houston chapter, recently signed with an agent and graciously agreed to guest blog today.

Welcome, Lara. Tell us a bit about yourself, your book, and your agent.
This is my first guest-blog and I'm very excited. I write Young Adult Contemporary Fiction. My agent is Holly Root with the Waxman Literay Agency. The title of my book is FLAWLESS (a Cyrano love story with a modern-day twist).

How long have you been writing?
Three years.

Along the way to representation, did you change subgenres?

Yes! I began writing adult contemporary romantic suspense because that’s what I liked to read. What I found, though, was that my voice was too immature for an adult heroine (as pointed out on several occasions by contest judges) so I did some research and read a ton of YA books before making the switch. There’s been no turning back since!

How many books did you write before signing with your agent?
Two adult contemporary romances, then two YA novels. The third YA novel was FLAWLESS.

What steps did you take to find your agent?
I actually queried pretty widely in the beginning. I made a list of the agents who repped my favorite YA authors and started with them. One of those agents was Jenny Bent (agent to tres extraordinaire YA authors, Tera Lynn Childs and Stephanie Hale). Jenny liked my writing, but didn’t have time to give it the attention she thought it deserved, so she referred me to Holly, who had previously worked as Jenny’s assistant and had recently moved to the Waxman Agency as an agent.

How did you go about researching agents?
While I definitely spent plenty of time trolling the internet for information – especially Agent Query and Publisher’s Marketplace. I found the most useful research was identifying agents that repped authors I enjoyed reading and thought my writing resembled. Once you see the list of authors an agent has signed and later sold, you get a feel of their interests and the type of voice that catches their attention.

What were some of the most important characteristics you were seeking in an agent?
Communicative – I really wanted an agent that stayed in communication and was accessible. Because I teach full time, it was imperative that my agent be email friendly as most of my communication takes place after working hours. I knew from the communication I’d had with Holly when I’d queried her with my first two YA novels that she was that kind of communicator.

Credibility – We all want an agent that has credibility within the industry. I knew I wanted an agent that was actively selling books in my genre because that meant she had contacts in the YA publishing market. It also meant she knew what editors were looking for!

Did you have more than one offer of representation?
Holly was my only offer of representation, and it was truly the only one I wanted. I just “knew” she was the one. Our personalities clicked, she was easy to talk to, and I trusted her advice implicitly. The backstory on my relationship with Holly is long… as in 2 ½ years long. I would query her, she’d ask for the partial, then the full. Twice she rejected me, but you could tell it just pained her to pass, even though it was the right thing to do (much as I hate to admit it). She’d offer some advice about how to make the next manuscript bigger and better. The term “high concept” was mentioned frequently, and we all know how elusive that term can be! During those 2 ½ years, I’d make pitch appointments with Holly when we were at the same conference and just talk about the industry. Keeping in touch was key to developing our relationship.

Now tell us about the day you got the call saying I'd love to represent you!
Holly emailed me on Monday afternoon (on the first day of school, which is crazy for teachers everywhere!) and asked if I’d be available to chat the following afternoon with the note that she was “so happy with the work” I’d done on the manuscript. I quickly replied with a manic YES and spent the next 24 hours obsessing if this would be “the call” or if she was planning to let me down gently. When she called the following day, 20 fifth graders had just returned to my classroom from PE, sweaty, stinky, and well… generally just icky! I grabbed the phone off my desk, left the sweaty preteens to make wild guesses about who I was talking to, and took the call in the hallway.

There’s nothing quite like hearing an agent talk about your writing using phrases like “really hit it out of the ballpark” and “high concept” (I finally got it!) and “I’m really excited about this!” When she finally asked, “So, what do you think? You want to do this deal?” I nearly screamed! Instead, I just gushed effusively and think I got a “yes” in there somewhere. When she sent me the contract via email an hour later (See? Good communicator!), I read it at least a thousand times, making sure it was MY NAME on the paper. A copy of it is still sitting on my nightstand so I can look at it every single day! I’ve decided that August 25th is a new family holiday… aka Holly-Day… to be celebrated for many years to come!

Who was the first person you called/emailed after getting the agent call? How did you celebrate?
I texted my husband and my critique partners first thing! Next up were my sisters! Honestly, the only people that really “get” what an accomplishment signing with an agent is are other writers. Husbands, sisters, and friends are happy for you and proud of you, but your writing circle explodes in celebration! My personal celebration was pretty low key… my only requirement was that I not be required to cook or clean for 24 hours and I got what I wanted.

Finally, do you have any words of wisdom for writers?
It sounds so trite and I’ve read the same words while stifling an eye roll more than once, but it’s so true… NEVER QUIT WRITING! You can’t sell what you don’t write and that’s just the plain and simple truth. I had all but decided to toss in the towel on writing, deciding instead that maybe I should consider it a hobby, not a career. But just listen to this story… the manuscript Holly actually signed me on had been lost in her email for nearly a year! When she never responded to my partial submission, I took her silence as a polite “don’t call me, I’ll call you” brush off. Regardless, I kept tweaking the story, loving it more and more with each revision, but never querying another agent. Fast forward a year… when Holly was cleaning out her email, she saw it, loved what she read, and asked for the full. Six weeks later, she offered representation! You never know what’s just around the corner. Believe in yourself, in your story… and never, ever quit! Oh, and you might want to follow up when an agent doesn’t respond to your submission.

What a great story, Lara!

Lara's website and blog are under construction, but be sure to bookmark the sites:
http://www.larachapman.com/ and http://writingwithscissors.wordpress.com/

How I Got My Agent: Guest Blog with Lark Howard

As promised, here is the next installment of How I Got My Agent featuring my West Houston chapter buddy, Lark Howard.

Welcome, Lark. Thanks for agreeing to guest blog. Please tell us a bit about yourself, what you write, and about your agent.
I've written a contemporary paranormal romance set in Paris entitled DEYROLLE. The title is the name of a real place--an elegant townhouse full of taxidermied animals. The hero, Adrien Deyrolle, is a French aristocrat with vast psychic powers including the ability to bring the animals to life. Needless to say, the frequent trips to France for research were a blast. I recently signed with Becca Stumpf, of the Prospect Agency.

Have you been previously published?
I’ve published a lot of magazine articles over the years, mostly ghost writing for architects or engineers. No novels so far……

How long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing fiction since junior high when I made myself the heroine of a West Side Story inspired saga. The hero was a boy I worshipped from afar because he was actually taller than me. Most of my colorful jobs involved lots of marketing and PR writing. Then about five years ago I wrote a woman’s fiction tome to entertain myself and found my way to RWA. Writing seriously for publication? About 4 years.

Along the way to representation, did you change subgenres?
Are we counting the sci-fi fantasy I wrote right out of college? Let’s not. Since getting serious I’ve written in two genres, suspense and paranormal romance. I love suspense and have not given up on that manuscript. Frankly I'd probably be on my 3rd suspense if my critique partners, Sarah Andre and Fleury Sommers, hadn't bullied me into writing Deyrolle after the first 25 pages--the only pages I had--won a contest. I loved my premise but thought the story would be a marketing challenge because it involves psychic powers rather than the vampire/werewolf/witch/demon characters paranormal readers love. My CPs insisted the story was fresh and original and I should finish. I think it was a good change and now I have a spin-off WIP and three more stories in the series I’m dying to write.

How many books did you write before signing with your agent?
Three including the 200,000+ word woman’s fiction tucked under the bed where it will forever remain.

What steps did you take to find your agent?
I soaked up every piece of knowledge and advice I got from the wonderful authors at West Houston RWA--especially Sharie Kohler, Tera Lynn Childs and Colleen Thompson. I entered contests hoping to be discovered, attended conferences where agents talked about what they were looking for and how to submit. I pitched whenever I could—local conferences, out of town conferences, RWA National—and cold queried via email. As it turned out, the face-to-face seemed to work best for me. Several agents I met informally requested fulls and followed-up with interest in possible representation. I met Becca at a conference in Houston last fall, chatted with her at the Friday evening reception, sat at the agents' table at lunch (hey, they asked for volunteers!) then pitched in the afternoon. All three agents at the conference requested Deyrolle and I ended up sending fulls to two of the three. All that and a great program for $100!!!

What were some of the most important characteristics you were seeking in an agent?
I wanted an agent with a good agency who loved my writing and wanted to be part of my career. The business is too tough to risk your career on an agent who's less than totally gung-ho about your work. Contacts, industry savvy, understanding the business were basic requirements, of course. As was professionalism. It was also important to me that she/he represented authors outside the romance genre as well as within. My work tends to break a lot of the romance genre conventions which was an issue for some of the very romance oriented agents.

Did you have more than one offer of representation?
I had serious interest from other agents but no offers on the table…the dating with no ring sitch. Some of those I'd eliminated from consideration before I made my decision.

Now tell us about the day you got the call saying I'd love to represent you!
We'd been in contact and an email proceeded the call—an are-you-available-to-talk email—so I suspected the offer might be coming. I had my questions ready for her and we talked about the story—what she loved about it and what I was in the midst of revising. Her excitement and enthusiasm was exactly what I'd been hoping for. My decision to say yes came about halfway through the call although I had many more questions. After accepting, it struck me that I’d made a commitment to my writing in committing to my agent. From then on, writing was my career, not a hobby I hoped to turn into a career.

Who was the first person you called/emailed after getting the agent call? How did you celebrate?
I was in Pennsylvania visiting my sister/beta-reader, Cheryl, so she heard my half of the conversation. I called my husband then Sarah Andre and Fleury Sommers, my CPs who midwifed the book. I’m not sure when the Grey Goose made its appearance.

Finally, do you have any words of wisdom for writers seeking representation?
I can only repeat advice I got from some fabulous and generous authors. Write the very best book you can. While you’re agent hunting, write the next one, and the next. You never know which will catch someone’s attention. Try everything. What works for one person might not work for someone else. A lot of people get their agent through queries, some through contests, some through pitching. Unless you get your work out there, you won’t get an agent, so just do it. Submit to a lot of agents. Some will be very slow in responding, some won’t respond at all and other will send rejections. And a few agents will show interest. It’s business for them, not a personal thing, so toughen up and keep submitting.

Thanks so much for sharing your story, Lark!

The Business Savvy Author

Stay tuned for the next edition of How I Got My Agent with debut author Lark Howard. Meanwhile, here's a post to tide you over. Let me know your thoughts!

After nine years working as a market research analyst for a F500 corporation, I've learned valuable lessons about professionally managing my day career. I apply those lessons to my writing career as well. Here are my tips to become a business savvy author.

You are your own public relations manager.
Every time you speak or post on the Internet, you are essentially putting out your own press release. What you say and how you say it affects your reputation as an author. Consider how you want agents, editors, booksellers, other authors, and readers to view you as an author. Act accordingly.

In marketing, perception is reality.
In focus groups, I've witnessed the shock of engineers and product managers when they hear respondents' erroneous perceptions of a product. I always tell them Perception is Reality. What that means is that it will take a great deal of work and positive messaging to reverse the incorrect or negative perceptions. As writers, this means avoiding shooting yourself in the foot. Recently, I've seen several authors publicize bad news such as poor reviews, low sales or rejections online. If you get a negative review, don't publicize it. Focus on the positive ones. If you are currently submitting manuscripts, don't post about recent rejections on your blog or website. Why? Because you may create a negative perception about your work to other agents or editors. Remember, perception is reality.

If you want to succeed, don't make enemies.
You may have had negative experiences with a former critique partner, agent or editor, but be wary of venting your frustrations to anyone except the most trusted friend. Be honest with yourself as well. There are always two sides to a disagreement. If a relationship goes sour, then have the strength to do what you can to either improve it or sever it if necessary. Don't burn bridges because you never know when you might have to work with that person again.

Propose solutions.
One of the most important lessons I've learned in my marketing career is to avoid complaining. My previous manager gave me some great advice. She worked hard to overcome emotional reactions because it wastes energy. Instead of complaining, focus on finding solutions to the problem. Others will view you as a team player and a positive influence.

Do network.
You don't have to be an extrovert to form relationships with other authors. Dare to reach out. In my opinion, the majority of RWA writers are friendly and helpful. If you're a newbie, volunteer for your local or online chapter. Take advantage of mentoring programs if they're available. Write favorable reviews for an author whose book you enjoyed. Give and you will receive.

Formulate a marketing plan.
Set an overall goal and then list realistic steps to achieve it. Periodically review your intermediate goals and be flexible about making necessary changes. Setting an overall goal to publish in five years is unrealistic; it may happen sooner or later. Instead, honestly evaluate your writing capabilities and let that guide you.

Kick the green-eyed monster to the curb.
At some point in your career, you'll likely feel a pang of envy over another writer's good news. It's especially difficult if you've gotten a rejection or a low contest score. But don't let that pang of envy turn into raging jealousy. We've all seen authors give back-handed compliments to a writer celebrating good news. These back-handers are the types who let jealousy fester and spend their time ripping others apart. But while they're wasting energy disparaging others, the successful author is working hard on her next project. Develop strategies to deal with the inevitable disappointments in this writing business and keep your focus on your own career.

Ask for what you want.
If you don't ask, you'll never get it. This particular subject highlights the importance of having a business savvy agent. Sometimes what you ask for is inadvisable. Other times, it doesn't hurt to try. In the latter case, the worst that can happen is the other party will say no.

Take control of your career.
Yes, there are aspects of the publication business that you have no control over. Lines fold, editors move to new houses, and trends change. You have two choices: whine about your misfortune or reinvent your career. Successful authors do the latter.

Dare to Submit.
Once you've polished your manuscript to the best of your ability, do your homework and then start submitting. Fear is your greatest enemy in this business.

Have the courage to say no, thank you.
There may be times in the course of your career when you will be offered an opportunity that does not align with your goals. The decision is often gut-wrenching. Take your time, ask questions, and do your research. You can only make the best decision you can with the information you have at the time. Remember, it's your career. Do what's best for you, even if it means turning down an opportunity. For the record, I've done it, and I have no regrets.

Finally, the best advice I ever got.
When I was a newbie, an editor told me something I've never forgotten. She put her fist to her heart and said, "Listen to your own inner voice."

May the Magic Romance Fairies be with You!