Deeanne Gist - www.deeannegist.com - Inspirational Romance Author

Friday, July 29, 2005

Cleared the First Hurdle

**Day 5 of "Journey to Publication"**

For those of you just popping in, I am on Day 5 of my "Journey to Publication." For the rest of the story, start with Monday's post "In the Beginning" and work yourselves up to today's.

It is 1997 and after 3 years of intense work, I finally finished manuscript number 2. Instead of sending it directly to the publishers, I sent it to an agent I had met several times at the conferences I had attended (including that very first one where Judith McNaught spoke). Which means ... he had seen my first disastrous novel, yet was still willing to take a look at this second one.

I sent it in and two weeks later he called and said, "Yes. I'd like to represent you." I'd cleared the first hurdle!

This particular agent just happen to be one of the top agents in New York. The list of authors he represented at that time read like a Who's Who in the romance industry. So, his representation accomplished several things for me:

It validated my work. (He never would have taken it on if he didn't think he could sell it.)
It meant that I didn't have to submit it to the publishers. He would do that. He was in New York. He would take them to lunch and say, "I have a manuscript I really want you to read."
It meant my manuscript would not be shoved to the bottom of the pile, but would be placed at the top of the pile because it was coming to them with a recommendation from someone they trusted.

On Monday, the response my agent received.

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posted by Deeanne at 12:12 PM

7 Comments:

Barb said...: Wasn't working with an agent a financial investment? What if that investment hadn't paid off? Or were you determined that it wouldn't?!
Deeanne said...: You only pay an agent once he has sold your book. (You pay him a percentage of what you sell the book for.) No money exchanges hands until the book is sold--at least not when you are working with a reputable agent!
Barb said...: I meant or were you determined to succeed--sorry about the poor wording. So your agent had great confidence in you this time, which must have been exciting! Any idea what percentage agents ultimately agree to represent out of all the manuscripts/work they receive?
Deeanne said...: I'm sure someone, somewhere has run those numbers, but I didn't find anything helpful when I googled your question. All I know is ... it ain't easy to get representation. :-)
Barb said...: Pleeze, next week, if you could, include specific things that you did to hone your craft during those 3 years, as well as why you didn't go into journalism (or writing) in the first place. Thank you!
Jim Thompson said...: Deeanne,

Your rise to representation smacks of an Horatio Alger novel. Your three years' craft-study must have included much direction from mentors. Without pursuing costly options such as conferences and classes, what steps should a struggling writer take to build a portfolio on a fraying shoestring?
Deeanne said...: Jim,

Joining local writing groups is usually fairly affordable and then you have access to their resources (workshop cassette tapes, library, critique groups, mentors, etc.) There are a lot of online writer's groups now also.

Other than that, I would go to the library and read "how-to" books. Two of my particular favorites are Dwight Swain's "Techniques of a Selling Writer" and Christopher Vogler's "The Writer's Journey."

What do you write?