Recently, Karen Sargent, debut author of WAITING FOR BUTTERFLIES, shared an article with me written by Jane Friedman, editorial director at writersdigest.com entitled, "Inside the Agent-Author Relationship." (You can read the entire article here.)
In her article, Jane shared the journey to connecting with her own agent. Then, she shared several authors' path to publication. One of these testaments was by Karen Sargent.
Karen's story, as well as Jane's and the other authors who shared their own paths to publication, reiterates one of my mantras: Never Give Up! Just because one agent or publisher tells you your story is not right for them, it doesn't mean it's not right for someone.
Below is Karen's journey to publication:
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I was surviving the query process, barely. My collection of requests for chapters or the full manuscript was slowly growing but not as quickly as my pile of rejections. Then the unexpected happened. My phone rang with a cheerful voice on the other end responding to a cold query I had emailed the evening before. The agent quickly put me to task revising Chapters 1–3. I knew this was “the test.” Was I teachable? Was I easy to work with? I was determined to ace this. The agent taught me about deep point of view and helped me identify crutch words and eliminate unnecessary words. She improved my craft. But during the process, a feeling settled in that I couldn’t shake. In conversations, she was all over the place, and I often ended a phone call wondering what we had just talked about. A question nagged at me, and I didn’t like the answer. Was this the person I wanted to represent my manuscript? Were her conversations with editors as chaotic as some of our conversations? As much as I wanted an agent—needed an agent—doubt grew heavy. So, I shifted to Plan B . . . just in case.
I registered for my first writing conference and scheduled agent appointments. I needed to be ready to pitch. I discovered a writing guild was offering a class, so I attended for the first time, wrote and work-shopped my pitch, and practiced with my group. At the end of the session, the instructor asked volunteers to pitch so she could critique. I didn’t volunteer until the very end when my group members insisted. So I did—in a shaky, monotone voice I’d never heard before, certain I would never attract an agent. When my 30 seconds of torture ended, the instructor asked if my manuscript was complete. I nodded. She asked me to stay after the workshop. Little did I know, I had just pitched to acquisitions editor Donna Essner from Amphorae Publishing Group, who within weeks offered me a publishing contract. One year later, my April 2017 debut, Waiting for Butterflies, is in Barnes & Noble stores and available online.
My path to publishing didn’t go as I had envisioned. It happened serendipitously in a room full of strangers, one of whom just happened to be a perfect fit for my manuscript—and for me.
—Karen Sargent, author of Waiting for Butterflies
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So, part of your publishing path is not to just write your story. Part of your path to publication is to take a chance--even in a room full of strangers--because one never knows what possibility might just be sitting next to us.