The Process of Trying to Land a Literary Agent
On Tuesday, May 13 I sent off my first query to a literary agent. I have since sent out ten more bringing the total to eleven. For most I am using a database called QueryTracker which helps me find agents who are open to submissions and makes sure they are aligned with the type of fiction I wrote. So far I have received five rejections.
When I submit to agents there is usually an auto reply that gives me an idea of when I can expect a response. The shortest amount of time was three weeks, the longest was sixteen weeks...but one I just sent on 6/4 I got a response to today. It was another rejection but that's okay.
Below is an example of what agents are writing to me.
Dear Lindsey,
Thank you for sharing BEFORE DREAMS COME TRUE with me. I appreciate being included in the agents you're considering for representation.
Unfortunately I'm going to step aside at this time. I make these difficult decisions based on my personal taste and areas of expertise. I encourage you to continue submitting to others, as reading preferences are subjective, and what may not be a good fit for one person may work perfectly for another. You're welcome to submit to any of the other agents at CMA, and I am open to future queries on new projects from those who have submitted to me previously, so please keep me in mind.
I wish you the best of luck in placing this with another agent. Thank you again for your query.
Best wishes,
Laurie Dennison
Creative Media Agency
Dear Lindsey,
Thank you so much for querying me but I'm afraid I'm not the right agent for BEFORE DREAMS COME TRUE. This is an entirely subjective decision that takes into account several factors, including my client list and their upcoming projects, as well as my current taste, expertise, and read of the marketplace.
I deeply respect your creativity and hard work, and appreciate the time you took to query me. I wish you the best of luck with this project!
Sincerely,
Paige
I plan to continue sending out my work to more agents, at least another ten. My goal is to finish that by the end of this month. The agent works as a liason between me and the publishers. They have access to people that I don't.
Data shows that July is the worst time to contact agents as their response rates severely drop off during summer breaks, so I'll take some time off from sending out new material at that time.
Should an agent give me a positive response, they will likely request a full manuscript before actually agreeing to take me on as a client, so that will take some time for them to read the whole book as well. I wish I could speed up this process, but this is the way the industry works.
My follow-up meeting with my editor
I met with my editor, Lauren, over a Google Meet last week. I requested her help refining my one line hook/pitch that some agents are wanting. After writing 400+ pages of this story, it was hard to boil it down to ONE sentence. She gave me a lot of good ideas and I'm currently reworking the pitch.
This is the pitch I was using:
After a whirlwind romance with a rising country star results in an unplanned pregnancy, a twenty-three year old songwriter crosses paths with a hopeful adoptive mother and together they must confront their pasts, navigate the present, and ultimately make choices for the futures they so desperately want.
Here are some of her suggestions:
1) When a whirlwind romance takes unexpected turns, a young woman crosses paths with a schoolteacher facing grief, forcing them both to confront the past and reimagine what the future could hold.
2) When dreams take a detour and personal battles quietly rage, a young adult struggling with her relationships and a grieving teacher find solace in each other—and together, they find strength to face their pasts and their futures.
Advanced Reader Copies
I ordered three physical copies of my book from Mixam.com, a website anyone can use to print all kinds of books. Unfortunately there were formatting errors when I resized the file, so I had to spend many hours correcting things before ordering a new batch. It was a much bigger learning curve than I expected to get the formatting just right. The two new copies should be in my hands any day.
So far my mom has read it, and now my sister and book club members are reading it! It's surreal to know that my book is in the hands of people I know. I will use their reviews to help promote/market my book, and to catch any final proofreading errors. That job is starting to feel like it will never end.
For now, I’m hanging in there, anxiously awaiting more reader feedback. :)
