Guys. I have crazy news. I have an agent!
For those of you who are just going to scroll through the post to find who I signed with, I give you the news now.
I am represented by the fabulous Nicole Resciniti of The Seymour Agency!
For those curious about how I signed with my agent, keep reading.
I have two contests to thank for landing me my agent: Pitch Wars and PitchMAS. I know first hand that contests can be frustrating, bring out all your insecurities about your work, and make very sane people slightly neurotic. They can also be incredibly exciting and rewarding.
I was querying my manuscript, BROKEN, when news of Pitch Wars broke. I was so strung out on contests by this point, I wasn’t sure I wanted to put myself through another one. And I certainly didn’t want to enter with BROKEN, the manuscript that had run its course in contests already. It didn’t help that one of my top mentor picks had already beta’d BROKEN for me. Granted, it had changed based off her earlier suggestions, but I knew my chances of getting picked would be slim.
Then it occurred to me that I had another shiny new manuscript that had never been in a contest and I had never queried. A contest would be a perfect way to gauge interest in my concept and the overall potential of the story before I started sending off queries. I set to work writing a query, completing edits, and polishing those first five pages. On the first day of submissions, I sent it off to my top three mentors.
More waiting. This waiting was excruciating because I stalked the Twitter feed and followed along with all the vague tweets from mentors. This was how I heard of another contest, PitchMAS, and while I had no intentions of entering because Pitch Wars fried my brain, I checked out the blog posts for entry requirements out of curiosity.
By the time PitchMAS rolled around, I was pretty sure there was no way I would get picked for Pitch Wars. I couldn’t stand to look at Twitter anymore as the mentors made their picks. I didn’t want to enter anymore contests because I didn’t think I could take it. I still had requests and queries out with BROKEN. I would just wait and see where those went and maybe query THE HIT LIST a few months later when I’d recovered from Pitch Wars. And then my friend and wise beyond her years CP, Kate, told me this: If you don’t enter PitchMAS, you won’t get any requests. If you do enter PitchMAS, the worst that can happen is you don’t get any requests. But you’ll probably get requests.
Who am I to argue with that logic?
Two hours before the contest opened to submissions, I wrote my pitch. I submitted my entry the second the contest window opened and I went to bed, knowing agents could start requesting the next morning and that I would be at work, unable to stalk. I was on pins and needles all the next day while my CPs texted me updates. When I got home from work, I saw the aftermath. I didn’t get one request. I got six.
Nicole was one of the agents who requested my partial from PitchMAS. Within a week, she had upgraded to a full and was then emailing me to ask if I would be interested in doing some edits. A freaking R&R. I was ecstatic. So was my CP, Lizzy, who happened to be at the coffee shop with me when I got the email. We both screamed. People looked at us like we were crazy. It was great.
I was already deep into edits when the Pitch Wars mentees were announced a week or so later. I was picked as an alternate by two amazing mentors: Dahlia Adler and Monica B.W. It couldn’t have come at a better time. Dahlia offered to beta THE HIT LIST and I gladly accepted. With my CP’s and Dahlia’s feedback, I finally finished my R&R and sent it off. In the meantime, my Pitch Wars entry went up on one of the alternate blogs and I got a request. I did the Pitch Wars Twitter Pitch and got a couple more requests. I sent out a handful of queries to get THE HIT LIST out into the world and landed a few requests there too.
A month of no news passed before an email landed in my inbox that ended in a small press offer.
I couldn’t believe it. Someone wanted to buy my book. It was an amazing feeling. I nudged all the agents who had requests. In the end, I accepted representation from Nicole and I couldn’t be happier.
None of this would have happened without my awesome writer friends and this amazing community. But a few deserve some extra thanks for helping me out along the way. Without Kate, Lizzy, Delia, Amanda, and Brandi, my writing wouldn’t be nearly as strong as it is. Kate and Lizzy: you’ve both kept me sane through this entire process and I love you both for it. Without contests, I might not have found the perfect agent for me. I owe a lot to Brenda Drake for organizing Pitch Wars (and countless other contests I’ve met writers through or learned from) and to Jessa Russo and Tamara Mataya for organizing PitchMAS and connecting me with Nicole. And to my awesome mentor Dahlia for picking me out of the slush pile and making THE HIT LIST better in the process. I’ve come a long way in the last year and I couldn’t be more excited to see where the next year takes me.
And for those of you who love stats, I’ve included mine below for THE HIT LIST.
Queries sent: 12
Partials: 6 (6 from contests)
Fulls: 6 (4 from contests)
R&Rs: 1
Thank you to everyone who has helped me on this journey. I hope you stick around to see what comes next. I love you all!
I can’t like this post enough times!! So proud of you. Can’t wait to see The Hit List on shelves. 🙂
Thanks Kate! You have seriously played a huge part in this. Probably more than you will ever know 🙂
Congratulations! What a wonderful story 😀
Thanks Kat!
YAY YAY YAY!! I’m so happy about this announcement! 😀
I’m so happy I get to announce it! Thank you so much for everything you’ve helped me with 🙂
I loved that title the very first time I read it! Wishing you the best on the next leg of the journey 🙂
Thanks Melanie!
So inspiring to hear stories from writers getting some of the hard-earned success that we’re all working for. Congratulations! And good luck with your next steps…!
Thanks so much!
So I can’t even put into words how happy I am for you! I knew this day would come soon. THE HIT LIST is going to look sooo good on my book shelf. I can’t wait to get my hands on it again.
Thanks Amanda! I can’t wait for it to BE on your bookshelf 🙂
This has got to be one of the biggest thrills of your life! Congratulations, and way to keep after it despite the set backs. Thanks for sharing your exciting news so this aspiring author gets a glimmer of hope.
Wow! Congratulations! A true contest success story. Though your stats are so impressive I have no doubt you would have found someone in no time through traditional querying channels. Good luck with your submissions!
Best story ever! I’m so freaking happy that you found success with PitchMAS and Pitch Wars. Would you mind if I shared this post on our PitchMAS blog? I can just post this exact post, or you could write another post specifically for the PitchMAS blog. I’m fine either way, I would just love to share the success story! Please let me know! ❤
Thanks so much Jessa! You are more than welcome to share my story on the PitchMAS blog. I will be plugging you guys big time for your next contest 🙂
Congrats!! Nicole is such an amazing agent–you’re just going to adore her. Read synopsis of THE HIT LIST and can’t wait to read the whole thing. What an awesome idea!
*big hugs from you agency sister*
Thanks Chersti! So happy to be part of an amazing agency and have an agency sister!
congrats! Sounds like a great story to signing with your agent. The writing community is such a great support. excited for you!
Niki!!!! That’s AWESOME!! I’m so proud of you! 🙂 I had the feeling you’d snag an agent soon! I’m glad to know I wasn’t mistaken! CONGRATS!! *jumps up and down*
So exciting! Huge congrats!
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