Blogger: Rachel Kent
A story of an agent reaching out to an author.
I was shot down today in an email! Actually, I’m making it sound more dramatic than it was, but I needed a hook for my story.
I met an author at a couple of conferences a few years back. He was writing fiction at the time, and while I liked his ideas–I read a manuscript and two proposals–I didn’t think they were quite ready for the market. It’s so hard to place a debut novelist, and the genre he was writing in is especially competitive. I’ve been noticing his name all over the internet now, and it turns out that he’s writing nonfiction and has a book contract with a great publishing house. I’m thrilled for him! I decided to reach out to him via email to see if he has an agent. It turns out that he does; so my query was rejected. I’m sure some of you have a bit of experience with rejected queries, right? 🙂 Thankfully, he let me down nicely.
I’m not telling this story to guilt that author or anything–it’s obvious that God has a plan for his writing career, and his current agent is part of that. I just want to use it as an illustration for each of you. Know that even if years have passed, a good connection with a writer at a conference or via email is often remembered by the agent. Even though the projects this writer pitched to me at the time weren’t the right fit, I was still very interested in him and would have been happy to receive a note asking if I might be interested in his move to nonfiction.
If you felt that you connected with an agent on a personal level, even if your project wasn’t the right fit, know that that agent might be open to future ideas from you. Sending an email query for a new book idea is a good idea! If the agent chooses not to take a look at your new project, there’s still no harm done.
Also, keep in mind that an interested agent could be watching you online right now. Knowing that, is there anything you should be doing differently? Your blog posts, tweets, Facebook page, or website could all lead to an agent reaching out to you. Sometimes an author-agent relationship is formed through the agent contacting the author. It’s not always the other way around.
For those of you who have agents, who made the connection, you or your agent?
For the writers out there who are currently unagented, what do you see as your “best feature”? What is going to make an agent seek you out, and how can you highlight that attribute through your online presence?
Tweetables:
Agents get rejected too! A story of an agent reaching out to an author. Via @rachellkent Click to tweet.
Literary Agent @rachellkent shows that agents might seek out authors. It’s not always the other way around. Click to tweet.
What’s your best feature? What will make lit. agents seek you out, and how can you highlight it online? @rachellkent Click to tweet.
Good morning Rachel.
I read this and the first thought was, of course,a ‘Mom’ thought. “Well, that boy had better know YOU were the best thing ever for him and play nice when he sees you again!”
Then came the Christian thought “Well, obviously, God had different plans for him, and you.”
And yes, that was JUST from reading up to the smiley face.
Watching online??? This goes for anyone, but as a parent and a believer out in the world, I am VERY careful about what I put on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and my blog. This is an age where every word one speaks into an electronic format is permanent. There is no longer any such thing as ‘burning the evidence’.
Whatever we say is traceable. And while none of us are spies (well, none of *you* anyway 😉 ) our words are out there. Therefore, we need to act like polite grown-ups at all times. Which is sometimes really really hard for someone who has fairly good comic timing and is never without something to say. Think ‘2 edged sword’. And once my name is up in bright Times New Roman and people recognize me at Walmart in the toilet paper aisle, I had better know how to be professional and gracious. I’m getting there, trust me. Although, NO ONE will ever think “Devotional? Sure, get Jennifer Major to write one, she’s just like Beth Moore only she says ‘aboot’.”
My ‘best feature/s’ right now? Being diligent about learning everything I can and willingly admitting when I need help. Which is NOT in my DNA. I have a passion for my story subject that drives me, yes, drives me, to get the story out there and into the minds of people who are willing to show grace and love.
If it takes alot out of me? True refining only comes with fire.
“Being diligent about learning everything I can”–wow, how I wish I could get my students to catch that from you! Willing admitting when you need help is a tremendous attribute and shows both character and maturity. I love your sense of humor, Jennifer, but the two attributes you mentioned speak volumes about you–all good.
Have a great weekend! 🙂
Rachel, First, great reminder that what we post on blogs, Facebook, and Twitter is going out to the whole world–including agents and editors. I’m amazed at the lack of discretion showed by some writers.
I gained representation by agent Rachelle Gardner through persistence and good fortune. I met her when she was an editor (and rejected my work–quite correctly, I might add), but continued to follow her blog when she became an agent. After literally deciding to quit writing, on a whim I submitted an entry to her “best first line” contest and won. The prize was a critique of the first chapter of a book. I sent one, she replied, “Send me something that needs editing,” and eventually she came to represent me. The lesson? Persistence, I suppose…and God’s timing.
What a great story, Richard. I love how God makes connections between people. 🙂
My story of connecting with my agent, Wendy, is similar, Richard. When Wendy and I first met in person at Mount Hermon, my manuscript wasn’t quite ready for her to consider, but I thought she would be a good fit for me and my writing. A few months later some of her authors held a first chapter contest. My entry came in first place. The prize was getting it onto Wendy’s desk. She eventually agreed to represent me. Twenty years of writing, a season of giving up, renewed hope and purpose, and a lot of persistence is what it took. And, I agree with you wholeheartedly about it being God’s timing.
“Rachel, First, great reminder that what we post on blogs, Facebook, and Twitter is going out to the whole world–including agents and editors. I’m amazed at the lack of discretion showed by some writers.”
Indeed! Recently, some fairly high-up guy at Microsoft lost his job due to some really brutal Tweets he wrote.
On his jobs’ official Twitter handle of all things.
It’s one thing to make a few offhand remarks, but it is another to seemingly make it the official position of ones’ employer!
It always thrills my heart to see and hear of stories such as this where God’s timing is best! It’s such a good reminder that it is His purpose and His timing that really matters.
This is a great story! It shows that not all representation stories are black and white. There’s often a lot of back and forth and little connections before representation is offered.
Thanks for sharing!
For me, this is very encouraging. Thanks for sharing the story Rachel 🙂 I hope persistence and being open to keep learning. I am amazed at how present God has been in my journey. Opening doors and providing access I didn’t know would be possible. It has been slow and required patience, but I love how it unfolds. My fiction is very much intertwined with my social work/ministry background and I’ve been amazed at how many opportunities have come to me by intertwining the two.
I’m really thankful for this blog, I direct everyone I know that wants to write to it. It seriously has been my biggest learning tool and forum to make writer connections.
I love that writing has brought you closer to God, Lisa. I feel the exact same way!
Ditto what Jill said. 🙂 God’s teaching me to depend on Him in ways I never considered. 🙂
I feel the same way too.
As my MC’s story is developing and the lie is revealed I find that God is speaking to my heart about the same issues. We just think we’re “writing” the story. It’s His pen. 🙂
It does seem that God uses our talents to teach us! He is amazing!
It’s so good to hear writers should keep querying agents who have passed on their previous work. I’ve always advised friends to not take a “no” as a closed door. 🙂
Plus, it’s nice to hear the man you reached out to continued in his writing journey and found success. Hooray!
My agent experience? It was all God. Prayers led me to you, and He must have opened your heart to me too. I’m so thankful I have you as an agent, Rachel. 🙂
I’m thankful to be working with you!
Loved your hook, Rachel. Conflict and suspense. Thank you for the reminder that agents and editors may see something we put online. It’s so easy to feel small and think that just my blog readers see me online, but there are a lot of people reading that never make themselves known. I like Richard’s comment about persistence. I think/hope my online presence also communicates commitment, consistency, and consideration. Happy Friday! 🙂
“….but there are a lot of people reading that never make themselves known.”
Now that you mention it, I wonder how many “lurkers” there are here?
Peeps who learn alot from reading the blog and the comments, but might not feel like they have anything to add to the discussion, or just prefer the blog as a way to learn more about the industry and craft of writing and not necessarily want to discuss it.
I guess I’m one of those peeper. This email comes to me later in the afternoon, usually after 40+ comments have already been made. I agree with most comments and that leaves little more for me to add to the subject.
I think many of us are ‘willing to learn’ and ‘waiting for the voice’ that will lead us not only to the agent, but perhaps to the publisher that will put our words into print and then into the hands of those we hope will read and be inspired, encouraged or in my case, just entertained.
I’m a lurker. I work during the day as an elementary school librarian, so I usually catch up on this blog in the evening or the weekend when most of the discussion has died down.
I’m just trying to soak in all the information I can. 🙂
“It’s so easy to feel small and think that just my blog readers see me online, but there are a lot of people reading that never make themselves known.”
Google Analytics can tell you more about your website activities than you can glean with direct feedback from those who manually respond to your blogs.
The word is that most people read blogs, FB posts, Twitter tweets, and browse through Pinterest boards without commenting or making themselves known for some reason or another.
Sometimes it’s technical — they don’t have the setup to comment. For example, on my blog, you need an FB account to comment. So people w/o FB accounts or haven’t got it turned on will not be able to respond.
So I’m OK with the stats. Most people read your blog but won’t let you know directly. Which leads back to what Rachel said… Uh oh, I better spellcheck more, copyedit more, proofread more…
🙂
Rachel, I like hearing agent stories. I’m so glad you shared this. It’s encouraging as a yet-to-be-agented writer to read. One of my best features right now is that I am teachable. I seek to learn more, to put my writing out there (with trustworthy people) for others to read and give me feedback. I’m diligent.
The more I am on social media, the more I realize the importance of “speaking” words of grace. Thanks for the reminder that others are watching how I behave online too. Besides the fact that people (including agents and editors) watch, it’s even more important for me to remember my words and actions reflect God in me–one way or the other.
I love this, speaking words of grace are so important. You do a great job of this.
I love the reminder that “not right now” does not necessarily mean “never.” That’s very encouraging! Like Jeanne, I want one of my best features to be teachability. I also try my best to be vulnerable and real, something I hope others relate to whether they are writers or readers or what have you.
Rachel, as one of Mary Keeley’s “flock,” I have to add that turning down an agent is a difficult thing to do. When Mary and I agreed to our writer/agent relationship, I had to decline representation from two other well-known and well-respected agents. One handled himself/herself (no clues!) graciously, while the second was surprisingly combative, defensive, and unprofessional. I was very glad I didn’t make the mistake of choosing the person “behind door number three.” Grace in this situation cuts both ways, and the agent’s reaction was a good reminder early on that publishing is a small industry, and bad behavior isn’t easily forgotten.
“Sending an email query for a new book idea is a good idea!”
That’s something I’ve thought about: there was some interest in my first novel, and thus maybe those who were interested might consider a new book idea more favorably.
However, I must wonder, would anything be different submitting a new book idea? Would it still be the same routine experienced when seeking publication for the first one?
“For the writers out there who are currently unagented, what do you see as your “best feature”?
My writing. If it weren’t, why be a writer?
“How can you highlight that attribute through your online presence?”
Finish my website, I guess. 🙂
If I HAD to pick a “best feature” I’d have to say it’s my touch of quirkiness. This will not win me friends everywhere, but for those who like that little spice, I’m your gal!
What is my “best feature”?
Hmm…I have to think about this for a minute.
I know that God has called me to tell His story through my books. Therefore, I am excited to tell others of the stories He has led me to write and do what I can to promote other authors sharing in this call as well.
I think my best feature would be my dedication to following God’s plan and my devotion to writing a story filled with meticulous historical research, a compelling storyline and His truth. I also am a very optimistic person, a hard worker and a bit of a idea machine (as my crit partner calls me).
I’ve learned a lot from this blog and others about craft and publication as well as marketing ideas. I hope to put more of my many marketing ideas into action one day.
I also have learned that being a published author takes extreme hard work and optimism as well as working well with others and being sensitive to God’s leading. I feel like these are attributes that God has grown within me.
And I suppose it’s important to mention that I think my writing is quite good and my novel has a unique premise – exploring the world of a young American Nazi in Germany during WWII while intertwining a modern-day storyline. 🙂
What is going to make an agent seek you out and how can you highlight that attribute through your online presence?
Right now, I am so excited about the continued positive response to my blog (www.pensonaworldmap.com). It exists as a community for travelers, writers and readers to share our hearts for the Lord at the same time as writing of the places He has allowed us to travel and the books He has laid on our hearts to write.
I also have my website linked to my blog and vice versa, so I hope an agent will see the vision behind my writing and my plans for the future through interaction with other readers and writers on my blog, which goes right along with my author branding, “Historical Fiction That Travels.”
Thanks for the important insight in the agenting world, Rachel! Have a great weekend!
This post was so timely. Thank you for sharing about the rejection side of things for agents as well. It reminds me that we are all human, and all hopefully seeking to do the best job that God has given us. We must continue to keep our eyes on Him, and He will direct our paths. Yet, even as Jesus directed Peter’s path to get out of the safety of his boat in the storm, it was not necessarily an easy path. But as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, he was safe. It was when he took his eyes off the goal that Jesus had set before him that he began to sink. Even though rejections are painful, I believe God can use them to teach us what we need to know for other situations.
Thank you, Rachel. Your post is encouraging. My most recent agent quest was the 2nd time around for me. I had an agent (It took me 5 years to find her.) and we had a very successful partnership. She retired, and, when I decided to write for the CBA market (after years in the ABA) I had to start all over again – new genre, new agent. I was fortunate to find Rachelle Gardner through my query, but the quest was not easy, and I have much yet to learn about writing in my “new” genre. It’s an exciting life to be a writer!
I approached my amazing agent, but she didn’t sign me right away. I think it was a year or two later. 🙂
And the comment about being cautious about your on-line presence is so true! My editor recently told a class at a writers conference that after scrutinizing my book proposal, she immediately went to the internet and checked my Facebook page, my blog, and Googled me to make sure I didn’t have any skeletons in my cyber-closet. I had some friends in the class who came back and told me what she’d said. It made me very thankful that I’ve led a fairly quiet life!
Well done, Karen! Clean living has paid off. teehee. I have also been told the pub board will look up authors in meetings to see what they think. So yes your online life can sway decisions all over the place.
“Also, keep in mind that an interested agent could be watching you online right now. Knowing that, is there anything you should be doing differently? Your blog posts, tweets, Facebook page, or website could all lead to an agent reaching out to you.”
Thank you for the reminder, Rachel. This makes me nervous! I’m working on overcoming my lifelong stage fright, so knowing there are candid cameras could go either way.
I think the way I’m determined to go is to write better, self-edit better, spellcheck more, and generally upgrade my level of writing overall. Even if nobody sees what I write, God sees. And well, I would do my best for Him.
On a technical level, I think it’s to writers’ benefit to comport themselves well on social media. The more we practice writing better, the better we write. I think it’s a win-win.
In any case, Rachel, is it less painful for agents to be rejected by authors than for authors to be rejected by agents? I turned down a publisher who contacted me the other day who was in the same writer’s forum I was in — because my novel is not ready, and it was the truth, but it was painful for me to tell her I wouldn’t dare submit anything less than my very best work to anyone, whether agent or publisher. I felt the pain for a few days.
🙂
Rachel, special thanks to you for this sentence: “If you felt that you connected with an agent on a personal level, even if your project wasn’t the right fit, know that that agent might be open to future ideas from you.”
I’m sure countless writers assume that busy agents would never recall them a couple of years (and possibly thousands of pitches) later. No doubt, you have encouraged many with this comment!
I’m sorry to hear that you were rejected, Rachel. That’s never fun even when it’s technically “just business.” I’m glad the author was respectful in his response.
I wish I could say that my best attributes are that I’m delightfully funny and that my comments are consistently articulate and insightful, but that’s not true. My best attributes, I believe, are that I am compassion, respectful and genuine. Will they encourage an agent to reach out to me? No, at least not on their own. The only thing I can hope is that, if I can win an agent over with my query and manuscript that, even if the story comes at the wrong time, the agent might think I’d be a good person to work with and keep me and the story in mind when the market changes. Regardless, I’m going to continue to be genuine, respectful and compassionate because it’s just who I am and who I want to be.
Have a great weekend, Rachel.
Writing is a third career for me, following teaching and ministry leadership. It’s taken a while to get my footing and find my voice. I’m still working on the craft. As my social media presence becomes larger in the future, I’m hopeful that any agents viewing me online will see me as a solid professional with a positive attitude and a teachable spirit. And as I say this, I realize I’ve got to get back to work. Thanks for the nudge.
Thanks for letting us see the other side of the coin! Question for you that other new authors and I have pondered – is it ok to email an agent with questions about a proposal that is in the works? Several of us made good connections at conferences in the past but are not yet signed with a particular agent. As we hone our projects and refine, questions arise. I’m a rule follower – is it appropriate to reach out to an agent who has already expressed interest in seeing my proposal with questions that I can’t get answered anywhere else?
What an interesting post – I had never really considered that an agent would seek out someone without celebrity status. 🙂 While that still seems like a dream, it’s a neat one to think about!
Best feature? Hmmm. Interesting question. In terms of benefiting the working relationship, I would say my ability to take feedback and really “get” how to implement it with minimal direction. But that isn’t something an agent can “see” via my online presence. From a visibility perspective, I would say I have demonstrated a strong ability to generate a relatively sizable platform (about 5,000 Facebook fans and email subscribers combined in 18 months of blogging). I’m also a marketing professional, so I’m very comfortable with that aspect of author responsibility.
Funny! You were my very first rejection, so I had to click on the link when I saw this tweeted. I can still remember how my hands were shaking when I opened the envelope, even though I KNEW it was a rejection. (I might even have it saved somewhere.) You were very nice about it, though. You liked the story, but it would be hard to sell.
Four years later: I’m published as of 2012, RT nominee for best debut in a series, currently under a multi-book contract. I had an agent but we just didn’t click.
Maybe I’ll start querying again…
Or maybe not. I haven’t decided.
Anyway, this was a cute story. thanks for sharing it!
Hi Rachel:
donnie tells me all the time – when something goes bad, he says: “Doodle just put it behind you and move on.”
It is such good advice because just last week, I lost my favorite tennis ball and I was in a real slump but then I remembered what he said and I cheered up.
Guess what – today – donnie bought me two new tennis balls. I am so lucky to have him as a friend.
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