Tuesday, February 19, 2013

I Have an Agent!


Although I never posted anything on my blog, my friends know I lost my agent last year when she quit the business for personal reasons. I had enough respect for her to trust she was making the right decision for herself, but I'm not going to lie, it was rough. My novel was still on submission with our first round of editors, and the feedback we'd received so far was positive. I felt certain we were close to selling. So when my agent quit without warning, it seemed like all the hard work and momentum I'd been building came to a screeching halt. After a couple days of bleary-eyed staring at the wall, I decided to get over myself and get back to work. My mom reminded me it's those who don't give up who succeed. I dove back into the last stretch of drafting my new novel and started querying my previously agented novel.

I'm going to back up and tell you I got my first agent without querying. When my first novel was polished and ready, I pitched it to her at a writers' conference, and she requested my full manuscript. Within a few days, she enthusiastically offered. I never queried anyone else. So when I queried for the first time after I'd lost my agent, and the interest in my novel wasn't dynamic, I worried. Was I really as talented as I thought? Was it a total fluke that I got an agent in the first place? In the meantime, my husband was still searching for adequate work after being laid off his job at the beginning of summer, and our perfect credit went down the drain as we could no longer afford renting out our home in Florida for less than the mortgage payment. We tried to sell it for what we owed, but no bites; pursuing a short sale was the next best option. My husband, our three children, and I were living in my in-laws' basement for what we'd originally thought would be a few short months, but now it seemed a never-ending prospect.

It took a lot of willpower, perseverance and courage to believe everything would turn out all right. It took a lot of faith to push through finishing my story, to let go of my own reality long enough to get lost in a world of my own imagining--but where my heroine also wrestled with loss of control over many aspects of her life, and where she worked to find creative ways to move forward and not be a victim to circumstance.

Sometimes my strength would crumble. I had my share of sob fests and moments of despair. But I refused to linger in that state of mind. Again and again, I'd pick myself up and get busy writing. At the end of January, I was ready to query my new novel. I took a deep breath and sent it out into the world. And this time I did see dynamic interest. Within a week, my full manuscript was out with several respectable agents. I tried not to get too excited, but I did allow myself to hope. I often hear people say, "Don't have any expectations." I see the logic behind that, but shouldn't we have faith? Shouldn't we believe in ourselves and our work? It's the more painful route when things don't work out, but I still believe we should dream. Sometimes it takes all the bravery in the world to cling to that hope. It often takes every last ounce of faith. It's hard, but I find it--that belief in me and my stories.

Josh Adams
My good friend Sara B. Larson read my manuscript and fell head-over-heels in love with it--so much so that she volunteered to recommend it to her agent, Josh Adams. He was sick with chickenpox (poor guy!), so she waited until he was better to mention me and THE LOVELY INVISIBLE, my YA fantasy, a retelling of the Greek myth, "Cupid & Psyche." Within a few short days, I got an email from him saying he wanted to call about a "possible offer of representation." Cue butterflies of anticipation and random fits of giggling. And then, as luck would have it, I caught a terrible cold and lost my voice. I emailed Josh a picture of myself, asking him to envision what I really looked like when we spoke, and not an 80-year-old smoker. He later told me when he got that email, he busted up laughing and knew right then and there he'd love working with me. He thought it was so "cute" (aww) that I was worried enough about my voice to feel compelled to do that. And telling me that endeared me to him. (He likes my weird personality! I can be myself with him! We're going to get on great!) That's how I felt during our entire phone conversation--so at ease, but also like I was in the hands of a pro, a business-savvy, personable power agent--WHO LOVES MY NOVEL. Does it get any better? Nope.

So, yes, this story has a happy ending. I am ECSTATIC, OVER THE MOON, WISH-I-COULD-SCREAM-IF-I-HAD-A-VOICE HAPPY to announce I'm now represented by the fantastic, one-of-a-kind Josh Adams of Adams Literary. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world and am beyond grateful for the opportunity to partner with someone so amazing for my publishing career.

I believe in good things to come.

31 comments:

  1. WOOHOO!!! Hail the conquering hero!!! You know how insanely happy I am for you - and now we're agent sisters! Huzzah! And ever other celebratory word you can think of! :-)

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  2. Sooooo fantastic! What a ride... I LOVE stories like this... and I'm sure the lovely Josh Adams will find your book a fabulous home! You're amazing, girl! <3

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  3. So happy for you Katie!!!!!!!!! Josh seems like a great agent for you. Way to keep pushing forward no matter what came your way. You are a rock star, a tough, never give up, rock star. So happy-and hope that voice decides to get better soon so you can do some shouting of your own. :-) #GoPlums

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  4. I'm so glad you found someone you really like, Katie. CONGRATULATIONS! :D

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  5. Katie, you are the best. I am all the happy for you! Big congrats to such a well-deserving writer. I'm so proud of you! <3

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  6. Welcome to the family!
    Wishing you all the best!
    xo
    Kim Liggett - BLOOD AND SALT

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  7. Yay!!!!! So happy for you, Josh is amazing!

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  8. I am so happy for you Kathryn! I was shocked when she quit as well but it didn't affect me the same way it did you. Best of luck to you and Adams! I think you're gonna get that MS sold now. Like NOW now. :) *sending luck-and-talent vibes your way*

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  9. I am so, so, so happy for you, Katie! You deserve this more than ANYONE. *hugs*

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  10. Congratulations! I'm glad you found a home at Adams Lit.

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  11. YAY! Check that out! I knew it wouldn't take long for another agent to pick you up. Adam will not regret it, I'm sure. Good to see you at LTUE, and congratulations! :)

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  12. Katie! This is so AWESOME!! It sounds like you and Josh will work well together and if the editors love TLI as much as I do, then it'll sell real soon!!

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  13. This was a lovely story. Congratulations!

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  14. Many congratulations! I've also lost an agent and then gained another one and I know how gutrenching it is.

    Awesome news.

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  15. HUGE Congrats!!! I'm so happy for you!

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  16. LOVE LOVE LOVE this! We all need a little inspirational story to hear every once in a while! Congrats!!! :D Hope I get to see you more at the next conference!

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  17. I'm so happy you persevered and didn't give up on yourself. Life can surely beat us down if we let it. *hugs* I can't wait to hear when you've got a publisher, too.

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  18. Congratulations! You must feel so ecstatic that perserverance paid off. This path to publication sure isn't easy, and it can be full of disappointments. But moments like this make it worthwhile!

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  19. Congratulations! You must feel so ecstatic that perserverance paid off. This path to publication sure isn't easy, and it can be full of disappointments. But moments like this make it worthwhile!

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  20. So thrilled for you, Katie! :) This story makes me very happy. Hope you and Josh have some new fantastically happy stories to share very soon!

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  21. I am very sincerely happy and thrilled for you! Well done girl!

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  22. Congratulations!! I'm so happy for you! :)

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  23. Wooooo! I'm so excited for you. And I'm excited to read your book! I think we'll see some more good news very soon. :)

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  24. Kathryn, this is an awesome story and so inspiring! I'm so glad you never gave up! Congrats girl!

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  25. That is beyond amazing. Congrats! So wonderful. This gives me hope - truly it does. Never give up. Never lose hope.

    Nice to meet you and your book seems absolutely amazing!!

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  26. Kathryn, I'm so glad your story has a happy ending. I remember my sister (Jenilyn) telling me about your situation with your previous agent. I'm so glad things worked out! I can't wait to read your novel when it finally comes out.

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  27. Congratulations! That's such good news. Can't wait to read your novel :)

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  28. YIPPEE! Way to keep going! I can't wait to hear about your next step to success :)

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  29. Wow, girl...its tough to see such downfall in your life and feel like you can't go on or know what to do. Your also very fortunate to have family that took care of you. Speaks volumes! Thanks for sharing a great motivating story. Cheers to success!!

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