Encouragement for Writers: An Agent Success Story With Kathleen M. Reilly

I'm happy to introduce yet another member of my critique group, Kathleen M. Reilly. who recently signed with Marcy Posner of Folio Literary Magangement.

Kate has graciously answered some of my questions about her journey to finding an agent.

But first, a little about Kate. She's one of the most dedicated, focused and hard-working writers that I know.

Kate's features appear in publications such as:

Parents Better Homes & Gardens Family Circle American Baby FamilyFun Woman's Day Ladies' Home Journal

She's also the author of eight books (two of which are those award-winners).

Prior to launching a successful freelance career, Kate edited telecommunications and veterinary medical newsletters, website copy, and technical documentation.

Kate develops, writes, edits, and designs a wide range of business materials, both in print and online, including brochures, newsletters, press releases, corporate identity pieces, marketing "give-aways," and website copy.

And now, (drum roll please) Kate's interview about how she found her agent:

What type of writing do you do and how long have you been writing?

I’m a freelancer, so most of my work is writing for magazines. I’ve been doing that for about nine years. A few years ago, I started writing non-fiction children’s books for Nomad Press, an indy publisher in Vermont. I’ve done about seven books for them now.

How long had you worked on the manuscript that landed your agent? How many revisions?
when did you seek an agent for the first time, and how/why did you know it was time to look for one?

At the beginning of 2011, I decided it was well past time for me to do what I’ve always wanted – write fiction! So, in January, I began tossing plot ideas around in my head. I started writing in earnest in February. I finished the first draft a couple months later (I write fast!), and I must have done about three major revisions. I started looking for an agent in August. I knew I was ready because I felt like I’d taken the revisions as far as I could go. I was ready for some input from someone who does fiction day in and day out – someone who really knew this side of the business well.

How did you find your agent and then come to the conclusion that she was “the one?”

I did a lot of research to find an agent. I ran searches on different “find an agent!” sites, putting in my key points – I needed someone who did middle grade, who was interested in “boy books,” and who took submissions via email! When this agent responded to my query, she was very polite, professional, and seemed genuinely excited about my manuscript. And when I found out we’d gone to the same university, I figured it was fate!

What encouragement given to you did you hold onto while you were searching for an agent?

As a freelancer, I’m used to rejection. It’s just part of the business. Nothing personal at all – there are so many variables that come into play. Do they already have something similar in the works? Does that particular editor just not like that particular spin on the idea? Is she just having a plain old bad day? Maybe they already ran a story too close to that topic. In any case, I didn’t take rejection hard when an agent said, “No, not for me.” I liked my story; I have a fantastic writing group who supported me; and I knew I’d eventually place it somewhere. Sometimes you just gotta kiss a lot of frogs!

What encouragement or advice do you have to give to those who are searching for an agent?

I regularly go mountain biking with my tween- and teen-aged sons. Trust me, you’ve gotta work hard to keep up with these guys! But it turns out, it’s actually pretty fun to really push myself. Same goes for the whole writing process and looking for an agent. Just like in mountain biking, you’ve got to expect some setbacks – and possibly even some wipeouts! Yeah, those pitfalls are more emotional than physical in the writing biz, but you’ve still got to pick yourself back up and keep pushing. Old advice, but it’s really the truth!

Thank you, Kate, for sharing your success story with us. You are an inspiration! All of a sudden I have the urge to go mountain biking. . . . .

Encouragement for Writers: An Agent Success Story with Jenny Murray

Visit Jenny Murray at www.jennymurray.net

I'm especially happy to bring you this week's ENCOURAGEMENT FOR WRITERS section because today's guest is one of my critique group buddies. Jenny Murray is a dedicated and talented writer that hasn't let our economy discourage her from writing a great book. Jenny recently signed with Danielle Chiotti at Upstart Crowe Agency. Her dedication to the craft of writing inspires me. Now you can read on and get inspired too!

What type of writing do you do and how long have you been writing?

I write novels for middle grade readers. I have been writing all of my life, though it’s only been since 2003 that I’ve been seriously working toward a goal of publication.

How long had you worked on the manuscript that landed your agent?

I started this project almost four years ago, and I worked on it exclusively for about a year and a half. Then I thought it was ready to go out into the world, and I started the submission process while beginning another project. It wasn’t ready, though. After receiving mixed feedback, I pulled it back out for another full revision. This latest revision took about six months.

How many revisions?

Nineteen and counting!

When did you seek an agent for the first time, and how/why did you know it was time to look for one?

I have to admit that I submitted this book too early. It wasn’t ready. I think I thought it was done because I wasn’t sure what else to do with it or where to get more feedback. Then I received a few personal rejections. They were gifts because they helped me see the hard work that still needed to be done. They gave me direction.

How did you find your agent and then come to the conclusion that she was the one?

My final path to representation did not follow the normal querying process. The first time I queried agents, I received several comments about the characters and setting of the novel. They both needed to be strengthened. I listened and took the comments to heart, working for a solid six months to bring the novel to its current form. I felt good about my work, but didn’t want to make the mistake of querying agents too soon again.

Luckily, the Carolinas SCBWI conference was just around the corner. I signed up for a critique, hoping to get some positive feedback, but also hoping to know if my changes were working. I was assigned an editor from a major publishing house for my individual critique session. She was wonderful, saying that she loved the pages and that I could say she was interested in the project in my queries to agents.

I talked with a few authors at the conference. They were tremendously helpful, and when I returned home I began my query process. While I was researching agents, Danielle Chiotti of Upstart Crow Literary contacted me. One of her clients, whom I had met at the conference, told her about my project. Danielle queried me asking to see my manuscript. Completely flattered, I sent it to her.

Within two weeks, I had two offers for representation. I spoke with both agents on the phone, and I was immediately drawn to Danielle’s professionalism and enthusiasm. I finalized my contract with Danielle one week later.

What encouragement given to you did you hold on to while you were searching for an agent?

I remember reading that even in this tough economic climate, there is, and always will be, a place for great books. This comment stuck with me as I worked on my book. I listened to feedback even when I wanted to ignore it and say I was done. It was a struggle and sometimes discouraging, but I always knew that I had to work to write the very best book I can write.

What encouragement or advice would you give others who are searching for an agent?

Keep writing. Revise, revise, and revise and then revise again. It’ll happen.

Anything else you’d like to add?

I’m still revising! I’m working on Danielle’s editorial letter (seven, single spaced pages) and I am thrilled because her comments are spot-on and making me ask hard questions about my book. I still struggle with impatience, but I know, in the end, my book will be better for the work. And that’s the goal. I want to write the best book I can because what we do is too important to rush. We’re building the reading lives of young people. They deserve the very best books we can write.

Thank you for joining us and sharing your journey to representation, Jenny.

Words of encouragement for authors and writers, from one of my favorite authors . . . Kathleen Duey

This interview of Encouragement is especially meaningful to me because one of my favorite authors, Kathleen Duey, has given us her personal insights into handling discouragement as a writer. Kathleen is the author of over 70 b00ks for ages k-YA. This is a gal who has faced the dragons of defeat and fought them head on! She's my hero!!!!

Here, exclusively at Christy's Creative Space, she gives encouragement to writers both published and unpublished based on her years of experience. I hope you get as much out of her words of wisdom as I have. Since I've been researching Unicorns recently, I thought Kathleen would be a great person to interview since she has written a popular series about Unicorns, starting with "Moonsilver" which I will review in the near future.

1. Do you have a favorite saying, quote, or poem that inspires you during times of discouragement?
​Quotes , wise sayings, and favorite poems make me smile, laugh, cry, and often touch me deeply, but they don’t help me write when I am discouraged. I have learned to go outside and do something physically exhausting instead of staring at the screen. I put a digital recorder in my pocket when I pick up my garden shovel because once I get out of my head and into my body, ideas always come, characters always talk, and when the chores are done (or sooner, if the ideas are breathless and urgent) I can always write. On bad weather days, I dance to loud music, indoors.

2. Do you have a story about discouragement in your own writing career?
​It seems to me that discouragement is a common resting state for most writers. If we work hard, don’t quit, and get lucky, it alternates with wild and glorious writing-fever, joy when a book is acquired, praised…then we start over. Do I have a personal story of discouragement? No. I have a gazillion. So let’s talk about a story in progress:
​One of my current works is the third version of something an editor I love is interested in. I was SO sure I had nailed it in both versions one and two. The editor was kind enough to give me some phone time. Talking to her, I finally realized that the parts of the project that tickled her were sidelights for me—and the core inspiration/heart of the thing for me was the “too introspective, less broad-appeal/less commercial” part for her. She wants MUCH more humor. She had said that very clearly, both times. I just wasn’t listening very well. Her last words (via an email) were: “Remember: have fun!”
​
So.
Start over………????
Day one: Loop tape in my head: Am I capable of writing the kind of humor she wants?
Day two: Loop tape in my head: Seriously. Am I capable of writing anything anyone would want?
Day three: I loved the original version, inspired by immigrant kids I know. That was the heart/mind grounding of the story. The spark. And it had a lot of humor in it. Or so I thought. Can I even TELL what’s funny?
Day four: Maybe the truth is I really can’t write humor very well.
Day five: Maybe the truth is I can’t write humor AT ALL.
Night five: Maybe I didn’t do my homework? Wouldn’t be the first time.
Day six: I reread several very funny books for the age group that have done well in the marketplace. I suddenly saw my revisions as the flimsy compromise/ hybrids/ they were. I had added token humor to please the editor, not the child-reader—or me.
Day seven: The discouragement began to lift because I had identified the problem. It was a HUGE one, but at least I saw it clearly. I used Amazon to read the available pages of a few dozen more best-selling funny books for the age group.
Day eight: I wrote a big, multi colored sticky note that summarized what I had learned: “Self-absorbed characters are usually funnier. If they aren’t inappropriately confident, kind of oblivious, and impervious to real growth, we can’t laugh without guilt.”
Day nine: I began to write down concepts for the next version.
Day ten: I began to hope that I really can nail it this time.
Day eleven onward: I am working on it as much as I can while writing another book. I THINK it is really funny now.


3) What words of encouragement do you have for people who have yet to publish their first manuscript?
​Almost nothing is fun until you get good at it and that takes time. Writing is an art, like painting, like playing the violin. Expect a long learning curve and know that it is typical. We all struggle with the elements of writing. We all wrestle words into place, fight with a tough scene for days. We all stare at blank screens, blank paper, the blank face in the mirror and know, beyond all doubt, that we can’t write, then three days later we give ourselves goose bumps writing a scene that resonates in our hearts. Persistence and Patience are your best friends, talk to them often, stay in touch.


4) What words of encouragement do you have for those who are published yet are seeking further publication?
​Every writer is seeking further publication, I think. I certainly am. Learning to deal with the gaps and occasional failures and the W. A. I. T. I. N. G…… is just part of the job description. I am not saying it’s easy, I’m saying it’s inescapable and that you will get better at it with practice. Try to always be expanding your skills, experimenting, fiddling with ideas and techniques.

​For me, the very best cure for discouragement is to write, to re-discover the exhilaration and of the art and craft itself, to remember how wondrous it is to take thin air and weave a story from it. On my worst days I remind myself that I am part of an ancient, disorganized guild of artists, a scattered and various tribe of people who have always bared their hearts, and by doing so, bared everyone’s hearts. We do something basic, pivotal, essentially human, something that is both loved and needed by everyone. Most days, remembering that is enough to help me nudge discouragement aside and get back to work.


Thank you so much, Kathleen, for taking this time to give us words of encouragement. I love that you find inspiration in living life and dancing. It's also great to know that even the "GREATS" like you, question themselves. It give me hope! :0)

Beth Revis Gives Encouragement to Writers

Happy Birthday
Across the Universe!

That's right. Today is the long anticipated birth of Beth Revis' brain child, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

Congratulations Beth! I know the world is going to go gaga over your book.

I also thought this would be a good opportunity to start a new segment on my blog called "Encouragement for Writers from Authors, Editors and Agents." Who better to be my first Encouragement Interview than Beth!

So, Thank you Beth for sharing some words of encouragement for writers on your very special day.

Beth, Do you have a favorite saying, quote or poem that inspires you during times of discouragement?
I love Winston Churchill's quote: "Never never never never never give up."

Do you have a brief story about discouragement in your own writing career that you would like to share with us?
The truth of the matter is that I was rejected for ten years before I got a single acceptance. That sucked. There's no other way to put it. I was ready to give up, and very nearly did, but decided to give it one last shot...and that ended up being ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, the book that changed everything.

What words of encouragement do you have for people who have yet to publish their fist manuscript?
Keep writing. By this, I mean: write each novel like it's The One--revise it, edit it, work on it, and submit it--but if it doesn't work out, write the next novel. Don't let yourself stagnate. Keep writing.

What words of encouragement do you have for those who are published yet are seeking further publication?
Keep writing. The same principle applies to the published author as to the unpublished one. Keep working, keep striving, and never never never never never give up.

Anything else to add?
If you haven't read it, check out Paolo Coelho's novel, THE ALCHEMIST. It's a wonderful book about seeking and striving towards your dreams, and I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to try to become something more.

Thanks for your encouraging words, Beth. You are an inspiration! Also, thanks for rec. the Alchemist. I'll have to check that out, but before I do, I HAVE to read Across the Universe first! I can't wait to get my hands on a copy.