How I Got My Agent : Summer Spence

The "How I Got My Agent" posts were pretty popular last time, so I've decided to bring them back because, let's face it, who doesn't love to read these stories? As I'm working on an R&R for an agent, I especially find them inspiring, and I hope you will too.

The amazing Summer Spence is here today to share with us her story of how she hooked her agent. Take it away, Summer!

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My "How I Got My Agent" story is a long, blood-and-tears tale of epic highs and lows, driven by two things: persistence and chocolate. Without those two essential ingredients, I would still be wishing for an agent, instead of sending the wonderful Heather Flaherty at The Bent Agency too many annoying emails.

When I started my book, OF NIGHT AND STONE, I had no idea it would even BE a book. I wrote on the train everyday on my way to work, to pass the time. I've always loved storytelling – I have a degree in Theatre – and the train ride was LONG. So I wrote. Usually whatever came to mind. Sometimes about the fantastically funny people on the train with me. But then, one gloomy fall day, I was in a creepy mood, and the beginning of a spooky story popped out. I didn't know what was going to happen next… but I had to find out. I chased that story every day on the train, writing until my fingers cramped and I groaned when I got to my stop.

In the end, I had a very messy manuscript. And I LOVED it. I wanted to share it, this little world that had burst from my fingertips. But I knew it needed work. So I started editing. That took a LOOOOOOONG time. Too long.

But listen – EDITING IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART – and the part that I screwed up. I got anxious. My concept was fresh. My setting was creeptastic. My characters were real people to me. I wanted this thing out there! So I started to query… before I even knew about beta readers or critique partners or character arcs or any of the thousands of craft things I had to learn still.

I got requests. A lot of them. I joined Twitter. I found a wonderful community of writers who all seemed light years ahead of me. They gushed about the revisions they were able to do with the help of their CPs. And it hit me – I had sent my baby into the world too soon. Sure, my mom loved my book. So did my best friend. But they didn't know anything about the craft of storytelling. Ooops.

The rejections came in. (This is where the chocolate was needed.) I developed a nervous tick whenever my email notification dinged. I dug through my book, trying to fix all of the things I suddenly knew were not great. And I got overwhelmed.

Luckily, I found out about Brenda Drake's Pitch Wars contest. (See http://www.brenda-drake.com/pitch-wars/ for details on the contest). I submitted, and I was lucky enough to get in. I gained a fabulous mentor and friend, Evelyn Skye, and her objective eye helped me whip my book into shape.

Sounds easy, right? Like this would be the fairy tale ending. All that hard work had to pay off soon! The Pitch Wars agent round came and I got great requests. I also started querying again in earnest.

And I got rejections. Wonderful, kind rejections. With no clues as to what I could fix. I thought if I heard "this is great, you are so talented, it's just not for me" one more time, I might pull every key off my computer and throw it into the ocean.

I'm not going to lie; at this point, I wanted to give up. But by this time, I had made some wonderful writer friends who wouldn't let me. (PSA – Get some of those!) They told me what every querying writer HATES to hear – "you just haven't found the right agent, yet!"

And they were right. Because then I queried Heather. And everything started going in fast-forward. She was enthusiastic, responsive, and something about this time just felt different.

When I got her email that she wanted to talk about my book (was it THE CALL? Was it NOT? OMGGGGGG), I thought I would explode. Little bits of Summer all over the ceiling. I managed to keep myself together though, and I'm so glad! Because she offered rep and said so many smart things about my book and what she thought we could make it into together, that I was smitten.

The moral of the story is one I'm sure you're sick of hearing. DON'T GIVE UP. Keep pushing. Meet other writers. Learn from them. Improve your craft. Be honest with yourself. If you've written a dystopian vampire romance, you may need to hold onto that one until the market isn’t so saturated. Use everything you write for your own profit and learning. I have rewritten SO MUCH of my book SO MANY TIMES. It has evolved. As have I. And I am so grateful.

And guess what? Now that I have an agent… I'm STILL revising. I'm going to make this book the absolute best thing I can and then send it out into the world again. And I really, really hope some of you will be able to read it someday!

Until then, I live on words and chocolate! <3

Summer Spence is a YA author living in scenic Utah (and always pining for California, her true home). She began her storytelling career on stage as an actor, where she fell in love with words and the beautiful challenge of creating human beings out of them. When she's not dreaming up imaginary worlds, she loves to be out exploring this one. While she has yet to convince her husband and kids that camping is just reading outdoors, or that the beach is only fun with a book, they all agree that chocolate is an absolute must for every adventure!

Summer is represented by Heather Flaherty at The Bent Agency.

Pitch Wars Contest Info

How many of you have heard of Pitch Wars?

It’s an online contest hosted by the amazingly awesome Brenda Drake. And guess what? It’s happening right now!

That’s right, the Mentor Blog Hop went up on Monday and now those of you with completed, polished manuscripts are invited to explore the various blogs of the mentors to see who might be a good fit for you. These mentors are published/agented authors, editors, or industry interns who are giving their time and knowledge to help make your MS shine.

So, you’re probably wondering what this Pitch Wars thing is all about. Here are the deets:

—Check out the Mentor’s Blog Hop. Each mentor is only responsible for one age category. So, if you write YA, make sure you find mentors that are accepting YA submissions. You can find the blog hop HERE. 

—Choose 5 mentors you want to submit to. An easy submission form will go live at midnight (EDT – New York time) August 17 and remain open for 24 hours. Here is what you will need to enter the form: Your top five mentors, your email address, title of the manuscript, category and genre, your query letter, and the first chapter of your completed manuscript (Word .doc or .docx format). For more information, follow the instructions on Brenda Drake’s website on what and how to submit.

—Wait to see if one of the mentors you chose want to work with you. The mentors' picks will be announced on September 2nd. And keep in mind that they can only pick ONE mentee, so competition will be fierce! Don't let that be a discouragement though.

—If you are chosen, then for the next two months, your mentor will go through your MS and offer feedback and advice. They will help make your MS better and give you the confidence you need to continue (or begin) your querying journey. 

—November 3rd and 4th is the agent round, and over a dozen agents will participate and make requests. The great thing is that there are many, many success stories associated with Pitch Wars. 

So, if you're interested, the Pitch Wars submission window opens August 17th. Be ready to submit your query and first chapter of your completed manuscript. 

Good luck!

There's More Than One Way to Get an Agent

Last week Charity gave us an in-depth look at aspects of publishing, marketing, and even how to get that movie out of our heads and onto the paper. It was a week of sharing what she's learned with the rest of us.

Typically, I like to do author interviews, but since I'm in the throes of querying my YA novel right now, I'd like to take this week and share with you what I've learned. Except that my knowledge stems from my place in the publishing process. So, please, bear with me as I try to get these thoughts that have been going through my mind, out into some kind of collective format.

There's no right or wrong way to get an agent.

1) Querying-

Sure, it may be a little harder to stand out in the slush pile, but querying is one of the most common outlets writers use to get the attention of an agent. And many bestselling authors found their agents through the good old-fashioned time-honored tradition of the query trail. And lucky for you, our very own Huntress gives stellar query critiques when she hosts, so be sure to swing by on occasion.

So, if you're trudging along and aren't sure who to query next, here are some great sites to help you find agents to query:

Agent Query

Query Tracker

Writer's Digest

New literary agents are always a hot commodity because they are actively seeking to build their client list. If you are interested in staying informed of new literary agents, Writer's Digest does a great job of spotlighting these agents. Check the Writer's Digest website periodically or subscribe to their newsletter for updates.

2) Contests-

I didn't realize until recently how many online contests there are for writers. Everything from twitter contests to pitching contests, there are many ways to get your work in front of an agent. The key is to perfect your pitch, logline, query, and first 250 words of your manuscript because typically the contests will want one or more of these things.

Here are some great contests that provide wonderful opportunities for writers:

Baker's Dozen: Every year Miss Snark's First Victim hosts the Baker's Dozen where writers send in their logline and first 250 words. Those entries chosen will appear on her website where agents have the opportunity to "bid" on their favorites and request pages. Sounds fun, right? I mean, who wouldn't want a group of agents fighting over their work?


Nightmare on Query Street: Each year in October, bloggers SC, Michael, and Michelle have an online contest. Writers send in their query and first 250. Those chosen to be on the teams will be posted on the blogs where selected agents can make requests. Visit Michelle's blog for more info.

Pitch Wars: Each year Brenda Drake hosts Pitch Wars. "Pitch Wars is a contest where published/agented authors, editors, or industry interns choose one writer each, read their entire manuscript, and offer suggestions to shine it up for agents. The mentors also critique the writer’s pitch to get it ready for the agent round." Stay tuned to Brenda's blog for info on the next Pitch Wars contest.

#PitMad: #PitMad is a pitch party on Twitter where writers tweet a 140 character pitch for their completed manuscripts. For rules and more details, please visit Brenda Drake's website.

Here are the dates for their upcoming quarterly #PitMad events:

September 9, 2014

December 4, 2014

March 11, 2015

June 4, 2015

September 10, 2015

December 4, 2015

#PitMad starts at 8AM and ends at 8PM (EST or EDT, which is New York time).

Query Kombat: Bloggers SC, Michael, and Michelle have teamed up to bring you a Query Kombat tournament. It sounds like fun! Here is the info from last year's Query Kombat held in May. You may want to check the website periodically for info on next year's contest. 

"Query Kombat will host 64 kombatants in a single-elimination, tournament style query-off. Entries will go head to head (one on one) with one another until only ONE entry remains. There will be a total of six rounds in Query Kombat. 64 entries in round one, 32 in round two, 16 in round three, 8 in round four, 4 in round five, and 2 in round six."

3) Conferences-

Let's face it, if you're serious about getting published, you should attend writer's conferences. Some can be as lengthy as several days, while others might be a one-day workshop. Whatever you choose, just make sure you get the most out of it as you can. Does it offer agent pitches? Query critiques? Manuscript critiques? After you register for your conference, check the submissions deadline so you don't miss out on other important classes or critiques offered.

And another bonus is that the agents who attend the conference will give you special instructions on how to submit to them. Your query may even be pushed to the front of their reading pile just because the subject line of your email mentions the conference.

I went to my first SCBWI Carolinas conference in September and it was awesome. I mean, what is better than meeting a whole bunch of people who are as obsessed with writing as you are? And I got to chat with the amazingly talented Carrie Ryan (NYT Bestselling author of the YA novel, Forest of Hands and Teeth, who I hope to interview in the coming months. *keeping fingers crossed*)

Here I am pictured with other fabulous women I met at the conference.

But one of the best parts about writer's conferences is the opportunity to meet and mingle with agents. If you can get up the nerve (and I highly recommend that you do), a conference is a great place to casually pitch to agents.

Now, I don't recommend going up to an agent and immediately plowing into your pitch. Instead, try starting up a conversation, maybe ask a question or two. If they're interested, they will ask what you're working on. THEN you can dive into your pitch, but make sure it doesn't come off as so-rehearsed that you sound robotic. And if you're super nervous about talking to an agent, the lovely Christa Heschke has some awesome advice on her website that really helped ease my fears.

So, in a nutshell, don't think you're limited to querying alone. There are many opportunities for writers trying to find an agent. You just have to find the right one. Good luck!

Questions for our readers: Agented authors-how did you get your agent? Any contests I missed?