How I Got My Agent: J.A. Bellinger

If you ever wonder if online contests really work for writers, this next author is proof that indeed they do! Today we have the world-traveling J.A. Bellinger here to share her agent story. I met J.A. through Query Kombat, and I was so excited when she made the announcement that she is now agented. Let's hear her story...

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How I Got My Agent

Typing the title for this submission was surreal. I’ve spent hours studying stories of how other writers got their agents, trying to piece together the formula to make that magic happen for myself.

Turns out that while there was a little magic to it, mostly it was hard work.

I’m going to back my story up a bit for those of you who are as green as I was at the beginning of this process—oh, those innocent days before I could distinguish between a query letter and a synopsis or decipher acronyms like TBR and WIP and CP (that’s To Be Read, Work in Progress, and Critique Partner for you newbies!). Because frankly, I never would have gotten an agent if I hadn’t gotten an editor first.

I started writing my first novel, The Art of Almost, over four years ago. I didn’t set out to be a writer, though I’ve written on and off for my whole life. But on the flight home from my brother’s wedding in Arizona, I had an idea that I loved so much, I knew I had to try. As I drove home from the airport in the middle of the night, I left a voicemail for my office that I couldn’t make it in the next morning. I woke up feeling like an idiot, my belief in my writing ability vanished as quickly as it had appeared. But I’d already called in—I think a part of me knew I’d never write that story if I didn’t start immediately—so I made myself sit down and try. And from that moment on, I’ve never stopped.

Early on, I hoped to avoid the daunting process of getting an agent all together. I had a few friends with some vague connections to the industry; surely someone would hear about my brilliant concept and be so dazzled by my writing that I’d never have to write the dreaded query letter.

That’s not quite how it went.

What I got instead turned out to be excellent advice: get an editor. I agreed, and within the week I’d submitted sample pages to several editors. Secretly I thought they’d read my work and tell me there was nothing they could possibly help me improve upon, then hook me up with their publisher friends and my book would become a bestseller . . . and then a movie . . .

Again, that’s not quite how it went.

Turns out I didn’t need just one editor. I needed three.

I also needed Twitter, another recommendation I initially ignored and hoped I was the exception to. Social media? Not for me. I wanted to spend my time writing. But now I know that Twitter is the water cooler for writers, and there’s no more supportive, generous, gracious group of people than writers. Through Twitter I found out about the Query Kombat contest. At one point the name would have intimidated me—damn the query letter! —but by then I’d gotten tons of feedback on my query letter (and I’d queried before, in a wildly unsuccessful fashion). I was ready for Kombat.

Through the contest, I got in touch with the agents who had requested more pages after reading my query letter and first 250 words (250 words?! How much can someone possibly judge your brilliant story in 250 words?!). One of the agents, the wonderful Whitley Abell of Inklings Literary Agency, wrote back within a week asking for a full. My hopes were sky high. A few months went by, and then Whitley’s email popped up in my inbox (not that I was checking obsessively or anything)—the absolute best way to wake up on a Saturday! We talked the next day, and it was the most validating conversation of my life. She understood what I was trying to say and got my characters in a way no one else had. I knew immediately from Whitley’s enthusiasm that she’d be an amazing agent. We’re wrapping up editing now and will hopefully be submitting soon!

Hang in there, my fellow writers. It takes time to get there, but keep at it and one day the lovely Kristin Smith will be asking you how you got your agent!

J. A. Bellinger lives in her hometown of Indianapolis, a sweet city whose appeal only occurred to her after she had lived in six other places. Brisbane, Australia, where she spent a semester during college, provides the setting for her first novel, The Art of Almost. Bellinger still loves to travel, despite having once awoken to a cockroach scuttling across her cheek and having lived for months in a thinly walled mountain cabin, where a wood-burning stove provided both heat and a lovely substitute for TV. It was huddled by that stove that she met her husband, whom she wooed with the dozens of CDs crammed into her backpack. Bellinger is fascinated by why people make the choices they do and by what happens when regret creeps in, when the what ifs take over. In The Art of Almost, she gives readers the chance to live out those possibilities through the protagonist, Anna Marin.

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?