The 7 “Be”-Attitudes of Finding Your Agent & New Deal Announcements!

I’m so excited to announce two deals today, both for the wonderful Marcie Colleen, picture book writer extraordinaire. But not only that! I asked Marcie to write on the process of finding an agent for the blog, and she’s created a list of the key qualities that will carry you through your search—it’s as inspiring as it is useful. Be sure to scroll down for her smart advice, which follows these announcements.

Here’s our first deal, for THE ADVENTURE OF THE PENGUINAUT, the story of intrepid little Orville, a penguin who imagines visiting the moon. I love this story, especially for Orville’s dreamy determination:

Children's: Picture book

Marcie Colleen's debut THE ADVENTURE OF THE PENGUINAUT, about a penguin who lives at the zoo and dreams of building a spaceship to fly to the moon, to Emellia Zamani at Scholastic, by Susan Hawk at The Bent Agency (World).

And here’s our next deal for LOVE, TRIANGLE and a second unnamed book. The first time I met Marcie she told me she had this title, but wasn’t sure of the story yet. Watching it come together has been a total delight:

Children's: Picture book

Marcie Colleen's LOVE, TRIANGLE, about best friends Circle and Square, and the dynamic Triangle that comes between them, and to Alessandra Balzer at Balzer & Bray, in a very nice deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, by Susan Hawk at The Bent Agency (World).

Please join me in congratulating Marcie at www.thisismarciecolleen.com or on Twitter: @MarcieColleen1.

And now, here’s Marcie herself, with  

THE 7 "BE"-ATTITUDES OF FINDING YOUR AGENT

I am often told how lucky I am to have such an awesome agent. And yes, Susan Hawk is amazing. After all, we make quite a team and sold three books this year—two of which were sold in a five-house auction!

But am I really lucky?

Of course, I tried wishing on a star, writing to Santa Claus, and crossing my fingers that one day an agent would just randomly email me and ask to represent my work. But when it came down to it, those things did not get me Susan.

What did land me such a fabulous partner-in-crime was hard work. It was planning. It was researching.

It was attitude.

You see, the responsibility lies with the writer to do everything within their power to find an agent. So for those of you still looking, still hoping, and still wishing on a star, here are my 7 “Be”-Attitudes to help you along the journey:

1. Be“craft”y. First and foremost, focus on craft. If you want to be agented (and published), spend time making your writing the best that it can possibly be. Take classes, attend workshops, join critique groups, and read books. I feverishly worked on my craft for years before I felt ready to start the query process. And having worked on craft for so long, I was confident that what I was submitting was not half-baked, but something I could be proud of. It’s easy to be eager, but don’t rush this step.

2. Be social. I know social media can be a time suck. But if used well, it can be a writer’s lifeline. By seeking out communities of writers on Facebook and Twitter, I was able to learn more and more about the industry. I was able to keep current with new titles, be introduced to names of agents and editors, and ask burning questions—all without even getting out of my pajamas!

3. Be present. All right, so I eventually got out of my pajamas and ventured into the “real world.” I attended conferences, classes and workshops where I was able to get to know fellow writers, as well as editors and agents. I even had many face to face critique sessions with industry professionals, one of which actually introduced me to Jenny Bent and ultimately led to querying Susan. Sure, these kinds of events cost money—but it’s worth it. Consider it an investment in your dream.

4. Be Nancy Drew. Once you have a few names of agents that you want to query, don’t wait for Santa Claus to deliver them under your tree on Christmas morning. Instead, find them through Twitter, Google and Facebook. Read interviews they have given and blog posts they have written. Get to know what they are interested in and who they represent. Get to know their personality. Find out which conferences or industry events they will be speaking at. If possible, attend those same events. Are they participating in an online forum or a webinar? Again, participate if you can. Sure, this can be a lot of work. In fact, it might even seem like a second job. But isn’t your dream worth it?

5. Be mindful. Check in with yourself. What do YOU want in an agent? Make a list.  Do you want someone who represents a few different genres that you write? Do you want someone who has a background in editorial or is also a writer? How about someone who you can relate to personally? This list is perhaps the most important of all. I knew Susan was my dream agent because she met the criteria on my wish list. But that doesn’t mean she will be perfect for everyone. Don’t ignore your own wishes in your search.

6. Be patient. This all takes time. Lots and lots of time. I first queried Susan in the winter of 2013. We emailed back and forth a number of times going into the spring, eventually met, and she offered representation shortly after, in June. Agents are busy people. If you don’t hear right away, do not fret. Take a deep breath. Continue to work on your craft. Query someone else. Keep moving forward. And never, ever lose faith. Which brings me to the last “be”-attitude.

7. Be dreamy. Never lose sight of your dream. Your dream is what is going to keep you going through the silence and through the frustration. Remember, a rejection from an agent is not a rejection of you. It simply means that you haven’t found your Susan yet. And believe me, finding the one agent who is super giddy about your writing, believes in you more than you might believe in yourself, and wants to take you to the highest heights is well-worth the wait.

Many thanks Marcie, and good luck to everyone on their agent search!

How I Found My Agent -- A Guest Post by Ami-Allen Vath

As part of a continuing series on our blog, HOW I FOUND MY AGENT, here is a guest post by Ami Allen-Vath about her querying experience and how she came to be represented by our agency. I’m so thrilled to have her as a client and am looking forward to what I know will be a very successful relationship. You can find out more about Ami at her blog: www.amiallenvath.wordpress.com. -- Victoria

HOW I FOUND MY AGENT

In March of 2013, I began querying my YA Contemporary novel. It was my first completed manuscript. My first query trench visit. Which, for me, meant every rejection, especially in the beginning, was a cause to go absolute bananas for alarm. Should I re-write my beginning, maybe tweak the ending? Or just burn it? Come on, which one? It took me a while to really get what subjectivity meant.

I started reading “How I got my Agent Stories” like nobody’s business. Looking for inspiration and well, just to know “what to expect when you’re expecting to get an agent offer.” It was the same kind of deal when I was trying to get pregnant a few years back. Reading everything I could read, looking for secret handshakes and averages and overall, hope.

Six months after my query journey began, I received an offer. From a publisher. Wait, what? I thought you’re not supposed to submit to publishers and agents simultaneously? Well, at the time, I didn’t know there was any controversy about that. But, I think as long as you’re informed about all the reasons to and not to, (please do your research) then ultimately, it’s your choice. But you should only query and submit to those you’d seriously consider if they make an offer. Don’t send your query off to someone you know you’d never say yes to.

One of the agents who already had my full manuscript was Victoria Lowes of The Bent Agency. TBA was at the tippy tippy-top of my list and had been since the beginning of querying. As soon as I read an interview with Victoria on Michelle Hauck’s blog, I put her on my list of agents to research. From there, I was impressed with her experience, aspirations, and the fact that she’d been learning and working alongside the professional, personable, and incredibly successful Jenny Bent. Her wish list also seemed to be very much in line with my novel. When Victoria requested my full manuscript, I was equally nauseous and excited to get it into her hands. Also, since she specializes in digital-first, she was the very first agent I thought of when I received my publication offer. I had a strong feeling that if she were “the one,” I’d be in good hands.

Aside from the full requests already out there, my “OFFER RECEIVED” email to recently queried agents got me two more requests. My inbox oozed of congratulatory, subjectively seeming, and gracious emails, but let’s not sugarcoat it. It was rejection week. One agent said no, but “we encourage you to accept the other offer.” One said no, but with regrets and felt confident it’d be okay since I had another agent offer along with the publisher. Try telling any querying writer not to overthink those emails. I had to explain it to my husband in layman’s terms. “No dude, they’re not being jerks. It’s like a girl dates you and thinks you’re hot but kind of boring. Or she loves hanging out with you but just can’t see herself bringing you home for a lifetime of shenanigans.” Sigh. “It all has to click.”

I tried to act cool, but I was really nervous it wouldn’t click for Victoria or the other agents with my manuscript. I didn’t have one dream agent per se, but I’ll admit this: I’d previously ranked the final agents with my manuscript as number ones on my QueryTracker chart. I was feeling that whole “just an honor to be nominated” kind of thing. Yeah but still: pick me PICK MEEEE! I was honored that my manuscript was in their hands, but also panic attacky as hell. One agent bowed out at the end of the week because even if given another week, it wasn’t enough time for her to get to my manuscript. Which proves that having an offer doesn’t mean that all agents will go nuts to read your book overnight. Agents are really busy so a time crunch is also another reason to say no. (Cue: Queen’s Under Pressure).

The more I thought about my initial offer, I really, really wanted an agent to help me out on this decision. Okay, let me be honest, I needed an agent’s guidance like nobody’s business. Because, once I read over the offer and started doing more research…SURPRISE! I didn’t know anything about rights and royalties and percentages and negotiating additional book options. Turns out I didn’t feel qualified and didn’t really want to take twenty-four crash courses in publishing contracts and hire a lawyer.

There was a lot of soul searching over the week. And a lot of ice cream eating. After an agonizing weekend, Monday morning came and an email from Victoria Lowes of The Bent Agency popped up on my screen. She was requesting a call. Wait? Victoria Lowes of The Bent Agency? Ack! THIS WAS IT! Is this THE CALL that all querying writers dream of? Yep. I didn’t even have to read the email over a million times or send it to a friend to help me psychoanalyze. After saying she’d love to schedule a call, it literally said “(hint: I’d like to offer representation.)” And there was a smiley face! Whaaaaaat? As many times as I dreamed about seeing this email, it was a total shock. It was clean and clear, and…so positive. There was no “But I just didn’t connect” or “I’m sure another agent will see it differently.”

EEEEEEK. I squealed the news to my toddler and texted my husband at work. Then, I scheduled the call like a pro–after my son got home from school and during my daughter’s nap.

I’d like to say the call was calm and cool while I asked the twenty some questions from the list I made months ago. Not even close. The first time I called, it went right to voicemail. On the second call, I heard every third word until I asked Victoria to call me back because of a bad connection. Listening to “loved—au—erp–representation” when you’ve been dying to hear an agent offer is brutal. When we finally talked for real, my throat was tight, and my voice was all shaky like it was tenth grade again and I was talking to my crush *Jason Murphy. (*pseudo name) It went by fast and I wasn’t in the moment although I wanted to be. I couldn’t think or speak or remember any of my questions even though they were on my lap. I have a theatre background and have led numerous business meetings and client presentations for my past sales job, so I don’t know where this came from. Oh wait, I do. When ever had I been thissuperclose to the start of making the first dream I’ve ever had come true? Never. I can’t even.

Victoria said she loved my book, thought it was funny, authentic and most importantly, she wanted to rep me and my career—not just the one book. And that alone is a dream come true. I accepted Victoria’s offer the next day. Since THE CALL, I’ve had more questions answered (with a less shaky voice), a very lovely welcoming email from the head of the agency, and a phone call that had me high fiving myself afterwards for having such a thoughtful, sharp, and on it agent. The faith and work Victoria has already shown and put into my book has been amazing and humbling. I’m excited for the journey ahead and am confident that this partnership will lead to great successes.