how i got my agent
my former agent left the industry at the end of last february, and i immediately jumped back into the querying trenches. i was lucky enough to have completed two novels (a gothic romantasy and a dark romantic fantasy) that had never been on sub, which meant i didn’t really have to wait.
as always, i worked on the next thing.
the first thing i did was reach out for advice, which led to a few referrals, and i’m so, so grateful for having such a strong support system to help me do this again!
i joined group chats and made friends!
then, i made an agent’s guide that, honest to god, changed the trajectory of my querying journey (11 agent likes, 3 dms requesting me to query). the twitter algorithm pushed it forward, and it got a lot of agent interest (reminder that i still offer these for free/on a donate-what-you-can basis!).
this time around i decided to celebrate every victory publicly—i know this is a somewhat controversial choice for some, but the truth is it gave me more visibility with twitter’s algorithm picking up my guide.
i not only created an agent guide but also tried my best to push my work forward on social media.
i started adding the number of full requests to my metadata, sometimes mentioning how long i’d been querying the novel for (i didn’t always do this, though).
i didn’t keep the good news to myself.
i’ll share the query that got me my agent soon! be on the lookout for that :)
the first…offer?
about a week in, i got an email offering to hop on a call. the agent mentioned they’d love to offer, but the book would have to go through substantial edits before going on sub. if i’d rather go through an r&r, they would also be available to call and guide me through the changes it’d require.
they were extremely nice, gave me great feedback, but said they understood if i was looking for an agent who considered my book submission-ready.
ultimately, i thanked them for the feedback, and let them know i’d requery if i went ahead with the r&r, but i wanted to try my luck with the current version of ADH.
i had a clear vision for where i wanted my book to go, and i stuck to it.
march 17, PopUpPit
i decided to pitch both my novels for PopUpPit, though i was only actively querying A DELICATE HUNGER (i don’t have the bandwidth to query two projects at once, nor do i recommend it).
one of those pitch likes turned into an offer.
i joined every pitch event and trend i could!
april 8
i hopped on a call with the offering agent, and it went amazing! Spring Break and Easter were approaching, agents are swamped with queries right now, and the industry is moving slower, so i asked for a month long deadline.
did i agonize the whole time? well, no, i had my moments…but it wasn’t all bad! still, i don’t regret it. two weeks is simply not enough nowadays, in my humble opinion.
i didn’t rush the process. i knew this could take years and multiple projects.
april 30
weeeee, second offer incoming!
oh, reader, i was a goner from the moment i started the call. the agent was extremely complimentary but also raised some edits i agree with. our editorial visions aligned quite well, i asked them a bunch of questions and they always had an answer, they seemed excited about my other projects, and all in all i was quite happy with the offer.
i was asked to extend my deadline for a few more days, and i ended up rejecting that extension due to how certain i was about Lauren. i figured it’d be unfair to waste someone else’s time when i knew i couldn’t be dissuaded to sign with anyone else, even if i got another offer.
so! i know i skipped a lot of things, but i figured most of us have followed similar paths. i’ll say where mine diverges from most, is that i only started writing in english two years ago. hell, i hadn’t even completed a full novel before 2023, to be honest.
in the next few days, i’ll be posting about what i did differently with this book. that post will have more concrete advice and what i personally think helped me get here.
i couldn’t be happier after signing with such a competent, solid agent as Lauren is, and i look forward to what we’ll accomplish together! don’t worry, i’ll bring you along for the journey :)
oh! and look at this beauty! the artwork was created by kaelidem. he’s currently closed for comms, but be sure to get a commission when he opens, if you can. this one is for ALL GODS MUST DIE.
the weird little guy with a thorn crown is Eeden, the villain/Merit’s complicated situationship.
Merit is a healer who’s terrible at socializing and has…a type (she’s a monster f*, that’s it, that’s the type).
and the beautiful, horned dude is my sweet, sweet executioner with a deadly touch, Ryder. one of these days i’ll talk about them some more!
in the meantime, follow your dreams, be confident, and don’t give up without trying ♥
congrats on getting an agent! i'm looking forward to seeing your book in stores someday! <3