• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Reading
    • Blog
    • On Writing
    • Interviews
    • Famous Authors
    • Stories
    • Poetry
  • Writing
    • Writing Tips
    • Writing Inspiration
    • Playground
    • Writing Prompts
  • Publishing
    • Publishing Tips
    • Literary Magazines
    • Book Publishers
  • Promotions
    • Book Promotions
    • Promoting Tips
    • Classifieds
    • Newsletter
  • Submit
    • Submit
    • Privacy Policy

EveryWriter

A New Community of Writers

How I Signed With A 6-Figure Literary Agent

December 9, 2019 by Desideria Mesa Leave a Comment

Berkley. Harlequin. Entangled. A six-figure book deal with Feiwel and Friends. An incredible sales record on any literary agent’s résumé. Feel that rush? My thoughts exactly when I signed the dotted line with my dream agent. I’ve fought in the query trenches and lost more battles than I care to admit, but I more than survived. Like Katniss Everdeen, my time in the arena wasn’t without heartache and a good measure of cement around my feelings. The benefit to making nearly every rookie mistake in the unwritten rules is that I now kinda know what I’m doing. My journey to signing with my amazing agent might look different than others and, in fact, should in a business this subjective. That being said, there are a few things that, had I known them at the beginning of my journey, might have spared me some literary scars.

  1. Beta That Query: No one would give a second thought to having their novel read by at least three test readers before those final edits, but it’s alarming how many of us wing our pitch ability, a detrimental mistake that could keep those agents from even looking at our brilliant writing chops. A pitch-length synopsis is a very different animal from a novel, and, just because it’s short, doesn’t make it easy. Narrowing down 100k words to a 250-word summary with a solid hook is harder than it sounds and deserves a few eyes before sending it off with all of our hopes and dreams.
  2. Research & Research Again: Top agents continually refer in their tweets to the hopeful souls who have received a rejection for simply being unable to follow query instructions. Anything from being unaware of expectations for debut authors on word count to submitting in the right format can mean the difference between a rejection and a request. The big offender: wrong genre. Yes, it takes time. And, yes, agents shift their tastes from time to time, but do yourself a favor and read those bios to at least decide if an agent and their agency are a good fit for your novel. While you’re at it, go ahead and check those sales records and online reviews. It’s worth the preparation and really helps in personalizing the pitch.
  3. Create Several Drafts: All of the advice I received said to send out my queries in small batches of ten, taking feedback and testing hooks as I did so. But my first book (not the one that’s currently represented) was remarkable, destined to impress each agent that received it. They were sure to be fighting over me within days. So, I sent about fifty of my dream agents my own version of a query, disregarding nearly every piece of advice out there. I wanted to stand out, and I’m sure I did… right before they hit the reject button. By the time I reentered the trenches with my newest novel and query nine months later, I’d learned my lesson.
  4. Test That Opening Scene: Don’t be afraid to rewrite the entire first scene if you’re not getting any bites. Some agents will send feedback in their rejections, some don’t. It depends on how much they enjoyed the concept and, of course, how busy they are. I’ve scratched prologues and rewritten openers until I finally started getting requests on two different manuscripts. Yes, I had betas look at the newest versions each time. It’s a dance. Learn the steps.
  5. Narrow It Down: Practice writing your pitch for Twitter or, even more challenging, in one sentence. That’s your hook, and it needs to do just that. Decide what your story is really about, and make that your opening statement. What’s the conflict? What’s your main character’s goal? If you don’t know what the main point of your story is, no one else will either.

It took me a year and a half and two manuscripts to really narrow down how to work the pitching process, honing my writing skills all the while. If you’re willing to learn, you’re destined to grow, and if you’re still moving forward, it’s impossible to fail. The very best advice I received was to take each rejection as an opportunity. Take the compliments. Hold onto them. Take the criticism. Make your work better. If you start feeling the heat, take a step back and remember that one very annoying but true tagline in every form rejection: This is a subjective business. Just wait. It could all change tomorrow. We’ll be ready for that, too.
[wp-post-author]

Filed Under: Publishing Your Writing

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Buy Our Print Magazine


Buy the issue!

Sign up and get a FREE digital copy of our magazines!

Ad




Contest Winners!

We apologize for the long wait on our print magazine. We’ve had numerous issues with publishing and our site over the last few month. We are canceling our Halloween issue this year, sadly. Our science fiction June issue is still in the works.

Get ready to unleash your inner horror maestro in the spine-tingling 2023 Eat Your Soul 50 Word Halloween Contest!  Share your most blood-curdling, hair-raising 50-word horror stories below, and brace yourself for the terror-fueled showdown of the year. 

Search

Writing Prompt

science fiction writing prompt

50 Fantastic Science Fiction Writing Prompts Here are 50 fantastic writing prompts that will get you writing sci-fi. If you use one of prompts to write a story, we’d love to read it! Send it to us.  In a future society where humans have achieved immortality, a rebel group arises seeking the right to die. […]

Contests

2023 Souls of Darkness 50 Word Halloween Story Contest!

Get ready to unleash your inner horror maestro in the spine-tingling 2023 Eat Your Soul 50 Word Halloween Contest!  Share your most blood-curdling, hair-raising 50-word horror stories below, and brace yourself for the terror-fueled showdown of the year. 

Winners of our Q2 2023 Contests!

Here are the winners of our Q2 2023 contests! Congratulations to all of you. We have picked places 1,2,3, and some other entries. We’ve marked our top 3 winners, but anyone listed here will be in our upcoming print magazine.

Menu

  • Home
  • Publishing
    • Indy Book Publishers
    • Literary Magazines
  • Writing Lab
    • Articles On Writing
    • Writing Prompts
  • About Us
    • About Us
  • Submissions
  • Social
    • Activity
    • Profile
    • Notifications
    • Messages
    • Forums
    • Settings
    • Log Out
    • Log In
    • Register

Playground

2023 Souls of Darkness 50 Word Halloween Story Contest!

September 13, 2023 By admin 9 Comments

Get ready to unleash your inner horror maestro in the spine-tingling 2023 Eat Your Soul 50 Word Halloween Contest!  Share your most blood-curdling, hair-raising 50-word horror stories below, and brace yourself for the terror-fueled showdown of the year. 

Winners of our Q2 2023 Contests!

July 3, 2023 By admin 6 Comments

Here are the winners of our Q2 2023 contests! Congratulations to all of you. We have picked places 1,2,3, and some other entries. We’ve marked our top 3 winners, but anyone listed here will be in our upcoming print magazine.

 2023 50-Word Science Fiction Story Contest

March 17, 2023 By admin 31 Comments

Join our 2023 50-Word Science Fiction Story Get in Our Issues Contest!

2023 50 Word Horror Story We Miss Halloween Contest

January 15, 2023 By admin 36 Comments

  Welcome to our 2023 50 Word Horror Story We Miss Halloween Contest. Everyone wishes they had 2 Halloweens, but no one will listen. Being that I’m missing Halloween, I need horror stories and lots of them. So post your 50-word horror stories in the comments below. The winner gets free promos on our site, […]

More Posts from this Category

Our Blog

2023 Souls of Darkness 50 Word Halloween Story Contest!

September 13, 2023 By admin 9 Comments

Get ready to unleash your inner horror maestro in the spine-tingling 2023 Eat Your Soul 50 Word Halloween Contest!  Share your most blood-curdling, hair-raising 50-word horror stories below, and brace yourself for the terror-fueled showdown of the year. 

Winners of our Q2 2023 Contests!

July 3, 2023 By admin 6 Comments

Here are the winners of our Q2 2023 contests! Congratulations to all of you. We have picked places 1,2,3, and some other entries. We’ve marked our top 3 winners, but anyone listed here will be in our upcoming print magazine.

Top 11 Science Fiction Short Stories Everyone Should Read

April 27, 2023 By admin 2 Comments

Below are the top 11 science fiction short stories everyone should read, but here are a few things to remember about this list before I get hate mail. First,

Top 10 Science Fiction Movies (by Script)

Top 10 Science Fiction Movies (by Script)

April 16, 2023 By admin 2 Comments

So here is my list of the Top 10 Science Fiction Movies by Script. There are a lot of amazing Science Fiction movies out there.

Should You Self-publish Your Book

Should I Self Publish My Book?

April 8, 2023 By admin 3 Comments

Should I Self Publish My Book? If you are thinking about self-publishing vs. traditional publishing, we have another article

Nine Ways to Cure Writer’s Book for Novelist

Nine Ways to Cure Writer’s Book for Novelists

April 7, 2023 By admin 3 Comments

when I’m facing a severe spell of writer’s block. Here are Nine Ways to Cure Writer’s Book for Novelists

how to publish a book

How to Publish a Book: A complete guide

April 7, 2023 By admin 9 Comments

How to Publish a book: In today’s world, choice is everything. If a publisher’s door closes, a publishing window will open, but there are vast differences in publishing options in the 21st century.

10 Words Editors Hate

10 Words Editors Hate: Do not use!

April 7, 2023 By admin 14 Comments

Yes some overused loaded words turn editors off, and I think these are 10 Words Editors Hate. We are talking about literary writing here. Generally,

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
SAVE & ACCEPT