They Like Me, They Really, Really, Like Me!
I'm no longer feral and unagented—just feral!
Over the past six weeks, I launched my third book, went on tour, and accepted an offer of representation for my fourth book1.
There are so many things about that sentence I can’t believe!
For a little background on how I got to my fourth book and only now have an agent, you can read some of my past articles (some may be behind a paywall, or not, IDK I’m bad at Substack):
First book (Highlight Real):
Second book (Hey, Hun):
Third Book (The Revenge Party):
Here’s how it went down:
My final book tour event for The Revenge Party was at Bedford Books2 with Katie Sise. I held an event there because the Chief Marketing Officer of Rise Literary (my publisher for The Revenge Party) lives in the Bedford area and has a great relationship with Katie and the owner, Fran, who are both absolutely delightful.
Full disclosure: I almost didn't do this event. June events are so tough — vacations, graduations, blah blah blah. I'd already canceled the Boston leg of my trip because of scheduling conflicts, so I thought, should I really go all the way to NY for one event? And then I remembered that I love being away in a hotel, and I could see a show and meet up with friends. So the thought of bailing, while very fleeting, was still a thought.
I’m so glad I went because the event was wonderful. Afterward, Katie and I were chatting; I told her I was back in the query trenches, and she couldn’t believe I wasn’t already represented. I sent her my new manuscript, and she sent it to her agent. Two days later, he offered representation. I may have screamed.3
Once I had an offer, I did the customary thing and went back to all the agents who had the partial or full manuscript to let them know. This triggered an overwhelming number of calls. Like, so overwhelming I ended up withdrawing the manuscript from any agents who hadn't yet had a chance to respond, because my brain was on complete overload. I gave everyone the standard deadline of two weeks, but only five days later, I already had eleven offers of representation, with multiple phone calls still scheduled and fulls being read4.
The entire time, I compared every agent against the first agent who offered. His vision for the manuscript, ideas on my broader career, and his general, I don’t know…vibe?…were exactly what I'd been wanting to hear my whole freaking writing career. And I knew I didn’t need to wait another nine days to solidify the decision. It felt right.
So I (kindly!) canceled the rest of the phone calls and withdrew the manuscript from everyone else, which I didn’t love doing. It kinda sucks, actually, letting people down gently. Then one of my dear writing friends reminded me, NO, DUMMY, THIS IS THE POINT, AGENTS REJECT PEOPLE ALL DAY LONG, THEY WILL BE FINE, AND ALSO, YOU SHOULD WORK WITH WHO YOU WANT TO WORK WITH. It’s wild because when you’re in the query trenches, you’re at the complete mercy of agents and their tall slush piles, so it felt strange for the dynamic to shift to being the one in charge of the conversation.5
Interestingly enough, many of the agents who offered representation for this novel had previously rejected The Revenge Party, and some had also rejected Hey, Hun. Two had rejected BOTH! It just goes to show that sometimes you need the right project, timing, and hook.
Almost every single agent was incredibly gracious, kind, and understanding.6
Anyway, I’d like to introduce my new representation: Dan Mandel at Sanford J. Greenburger!
So that’s the latest! Fingers crossed for book news on book number 4 soon!7
xoxo Emily
People often ask, “How did you write a book so fast?” But publishing is SO slow. I’d been working on this one while I was querying The Revenge Party and in between edits, etc. By the time a book is out in the world, many authors are well into another. Believe it or not, I’m well into my fifth.
The. Cutest. Bookstore. Ever.
Ok, I did.
I assumed this manuscript had legs because in the few weeks I’d been querying, I’d already received several full requests, which was NOT my experience with any of my other books!
Strange in a very good way, to be clear.
One was not, which…bullet dodged, I guess?
Also, some fun updates coming on The Revenge Party and Hey, Hun!