The path to publication of my memoir has taken a major step forward. After years of hard work and hope, the writing gods have blessed me with an agent!
First, let me spoil the ending: I am thrilled to announce that I am now represented by Carly Watters of PS Literary Agency!
Now, as to how it happened…
For the last several years, I’ve been researching literary agents, with a focus on those who could represent both my current project (memoir) and projects I have in my mind-hopper for the future (mystery and crime fiction). I’ve also been studying the process of obtaining representation, especially when it comes to writing and sending out query letters. And along the way, I’ve been writing and rewriting and editing and tweaking my own query letter for my memoir, so that when the time came to send it out, I’d be ready with the most polished and effective version I could create.
In the last year or so, as part of my research, I began listening to a podcast called The Shit No One Tells You About Writing, which is hosted by author Bianca Marais and features her agent, CeCe Lyra, and the aforementioned Carly Watters—who, it so happens, was at the top of my agent wish list. It’s a terrific podcast, and one of its exceptionally valuable segments is called “Book with Hooks,” where CeCe and Carly read and critique author-submitted query letters and sample pages, providing direct feedback to make the submissions better and offer helpful advice to the authors.
This fall, I attended an event in Milwaukee where Bianca was signing her latest book, “The Witches of Moonshyne Manor,” to meet her in person and let her know how much I liked the podcast. As we chatted, she asked about my memoir and I let her know I was interested in querying Carly. Bianca suggested I submit my query for critique on the podcast. She emailed me shortly afterwards and invited me to be ON the podcast and have my query letter and sample pages critiqued in real time by Carly!
I’ll give you one guess at my answer. (Hint: It wasn’t “no.”)
Going in, I laid out for myself the worst-case and best-case scenarios. Worst case: Carly would tear apart my query letter and sample pages, and I’d walk away with terrific advice that would improve my chances of success later on. Best case: Carly would be intrigued enough to ask to read the whole manuscript.
You know those rare times when you allow yourself to entertain the hope that the best-case scenario happens, tempering your expectations but also thinking, “That would really be amazing!”… and then that scenario does, in fact, happen, and you’re left speechless? This was one of those. (You can listen to my podcast appearance here.)
When the recording session ended, I pulled my heart off the ceiling, got to work on some last-minute edits to the manuscript, and sent it off to Carly that afternoon. She read it that night and emailed me to set up “the call”—which is the conversation an agent has with an author when deciding whether to offer representation.
On the call, we got to know each other better. We talked about her career and PS Literary Agency, as well as my memoir and ideas for future projects. (Since she had just read my memoir, she obviously knew more about me than I did about her.) Then it happened: She told me she was interested in representing me and offered contact information for two of her current clients, so I could get some author feedback about her work before deciding to cement the deal.
My due diligence confirmed the sense I’d already gotten from our conversations: That she’s really good at what she does and terrific to work with. So, when we had our follow-up call the next week, I gladly accepted her offer to represent me.
My husband jokes that my feet haven’t touched the Earth since.
My work is not over, certainly. In fact, it resumed in earnest rather immediately, with me getting busy editing my manuscript and adding new material per Carly’s notes and suggestions, with a goal of shopping the manuscript to publishers after the holidays.
But I’ve passed an important hurdle to publication. And I can see the path widening into a road on the other side. If you’d like to follow my path-to-publication travelogue, simply sign up for my newsletter.
In the meantime, congratulate me! I got my dream agent!
Congratulations! That is most excellent.
We met in the chat room on the Crime Writer’s Week break-out room. I wish you best of luck.
Stewart Goodwin
StewartGoodwin@live.com