An Agent Call Story - Mine!

Happy Wednesday MavenLand! I'm thrilled to share that as of last week, I am newly agented! Barbara Collins Rosenberg of The Rosenberg Group is representing Glorious and currently looking at Her Wicked Ways, which I just finished last weekend (double squee!). I met Barbara at the Moonlight and Magnolias Conference in Atlanta, a conference I only attended after I finaled in the Maggie contest. Wow, am I glad I did!

So what words of wisdom can I offer? Uh, probably nothing you haven't heard before, but it's always good to hear it again especially when I'm standing here telling you it can happen! It happened to me!

First, write, write, write. The first year I "seriously" wrote, it turns out I wasn't that serious. Meaning, a month would go by where I'd barely write. Now if a day goes by and I don't do something writing-related it's like I forgot to sleep or eat or go to the bathroom. I have to do it.

Read. Read craft books, research books, books in your genre, books out of your genre. Just read. Reading makes good writing. I promise.

Talk to and if possible, hang out with other writers. There's nothing like the energy you get from spending time with other writers, whether at an RWA meeting, a workshop, or just having coffee. Or heck, even here at the blog or any other virtual meeting place.

Write the best book you can. Once you catch the agent's attention you have to deliver. No, it won't be for everyone, but you're looking for that Love Connection. And your best bet for that connection is to make sure your materials match what you promised in your query or pitch.

Query, query, query, and/or pitch, pitch, pitch. I'm not going to talk about querying because this post can only be so long, but let's talk pitching for a sec. If you can get to a conference, pitch as many people as you can. This is not shameless self-promotion, it's sharing your project, which is soooo exciting, with as many people as you can. My first conference was RWA National in Dallas last summer and people would ask about my book. I totally stumbled all over myself. Pitching forced me to talk about it, and the more I talked about my book, the easier pitching became. I did much better talking about my project in Atlanta in September and even better in Seattle in October. If you've never been to a local conference I can't recommend highly enough that you go. Honestly, I'd spend my money on that instead of National this year, but that's just my opinion. Both Moonlight and Magnolias and Emerald City are fabulous, but there are many, many others and likely not too far away. Heck, I flew across the country from Portland to Atlanta and found an agent! What are you waiting for?

So what's next? I'm working on some changes to Glorious (best book possible, MaveFaves!) and doing a second pass on Her Wicked Ways. I will, of course, keep you posted when we start making the publisher rounds. Thank you everyone for your support. "Seeing" you here every day keeps me inspired, which keeps me writing!

Your turn: Do you like to pitch? Why or why not? Any tips to share?