Happy Wednesday Everyone! Today I’m excited to
have debut author Claire Winn and her agent Cortney Radocaj here with a guest
post to share about how it works for an agent to submit an author’s manuscript
to celebrate the release of Claire’s YA fantasy City of Shattered Light. It
sounds like an action-packed story.
Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:
As
darkness closes in on the city of shattered light, an heiress and an outlaw
must decide whether to fend for themselves or fight for each other.
As heiress to a powerful tech empire,
seventeen-year-old Asa Almeida strives to prove she's more than her
manipulative father's shadow. But when he uploads her rebellious sister’s mind
to an experimental brain, Asa will do anything to save her sister from
reprogramming—including fleeing her predetermined future with her sister’s
digitized mind in tow. With a bounty on her head and a rogue A.I. hunting her,
Asa’s getaway ship crash-lands in the worst possible place: the neon-drenched
outlaw paradise, Requiem.
Gun-slinging smuggler Riven Hawthorne is
determined to claw her way up Requiem’s underworld hierarchy. A runaway rich
girl is exactly the bounty Riven needs—until a nasty computer virus spreads in
Asa’s wake, causing a citywide blackout and tech quarantine. To get the payout
for Asa and save Requiem from the monster in its circuits, Riven must team up
with her captive.
Riven breaks skulls the way Asa breaks circuits,
but their opponent is unlike anything they’ve ever seen. The A.I. exploits the
girls’ darkest memories and deepest secrets, threatening to shatter the fragile
alliance they’re both depending on. As one of Requiem’s 154-hour nights grows
darker, the girls must decide whether to fend for themselves or fight for each
other before Riven’s city and Asa’s sister are snuffed out forever.
Before I
get to my guest post with Claire and Cortney, I have my IWSG Post.
Posting: The first Wednesday is officially Insecure Writer's Support
Group Day.
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns
without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire
can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of
all kinds!
The
awesome co-hosts with me this month are PJ Colando, Diane Burton, Louise – Fundy Blue, Jacqui Murray!
Optional Question: In your writing,
what stresses you the most? What delights you?
The thing that stresses me the most is that I’m a slow
writer. It makes me afraid to ever try to get published because I worry that I’ll
be too stressed out writing on a deadline for a publisher. I’ve been writing four
to five days a week for over a year now, and I am learning to write faster and
get a chapter done in a few days to a week. But, I’m still nervous being a slow
writer.
I do enjoy the process of writing. I also have been happy to
see the quality of my writing improve. Even critique partners are commenting on
it.
What stresses you and what do you enjoy about writing?
Guest Post by Claire Winn and Cortney Radocaj
Submission is the terrifying (and
exciting!) stage after you’ve signed with an agent, who then sends your book
into editors’ hands. But what happens, exactly, during that time? How is it
different from querying?
●
Querying
vs Submission
Claire: Overall,
I found the submission process less painful than querying.
Working with an agent means you
have someone with insider knowledge of what’s selling, and who can vet future
projects before you even finish them. You also get to skip the long, uncertain
abyss of querying, which means fewer hoops to jump through for subsequent
books.This can enable more creative freedom.
I also think the “bottleneck” is a
little less extreme during submission. There are many more individuals querying
books in your genre than there are authors on submission. Because many
publishers only take submissions from agents, most editors have smaller slush
piles to wade through than agents do. This means editors often spend a bit more
time considering each submission, and you’re more likely to get thoughtful and
positive feedback with rejections. However, it does not mean you’ll necessarily have faster response times—especially
with the industry backed up after 2020.
Cortney:
Definitely not on faster response times! A lot of agents can get back to you
within a few weeks (at least on the initial request or decline); with editors,
it’s not uncommon, particularly after the pandemic started, to have to wait
months to hear back. This is partly because of workload, but also partly
because of what editors are
receiving—generally, submissions to editors are going to look a lot more
polished and stronger than what agents see in their query box (that extra set
of professional eyes really helps!). Editors have far fewer submissions, but
the submissions they do receive are generally around the same caliber, which
can make them more difficult to sort through quickly.
Claire:
Submission also requires a few extra approvals before you’re offered a
contract. Instead of a single agent falling in love with your book and deciding
to rep it, an editor will likely need second reads and approval from an
acquisitions committee before you get the book deal. Compared to querying,
submission has its own complications, but I still think landing an agent is the
toughest part of the process.
Cortney: Also on
the author side, as something to be aware of, there also seems to be a lot more
anxiety and feeling isolated from your peers. Something to watch for in
yourself as you navigate submission!
●
What does
the submission process look like?
Cortney:
Generally, submission looks fairly similar to querying—though there are some
differences! The major one being you, as the author, don’t have to do most of
the work; your agent is the one who will be building submission lists, emailing
editors, nudging, etc. (though I do always ask my clients if they have any
editors/presses/imprints they’ve had their eye on, and always make sure they’re
happy with the finalized list). I always make sure we have everything prepared
before sending off that first email, namely:
-
Full, polished manuscript, formatted to
industry standard
-
Partial manuscript (~3 chapters, around
30-50 pages generally)
-
Pitch
-
Synopsis
-
Series synopsis/outline (if the manuscript
is the first in a series/potential series)
-
Content warnings
Once we’re both happy with all of
these, the submission process can officially begin!
I always start by building the
submission list; they’re typically split into three separate “rounds”,
depending on who we think might be the best fit and where each editor is at.
Once we’re ready, I’ll send out the first round of emails!
….And then the waiting begins.
I nudge about every 3 months. When
we get a rejection, I assess from there if we need to do any work on the
manuscript, or if it just wasn’t the right fit and we can send to the next.
Some agents will stick to individual rounds of editors; I prefer to keep the
number of submissions we have out at any given time pretty steady, so when we
get a rejection, I look to the next viable editor on our list.
Once you’ve gotten interest (i.e.
an editor falls in love with your manuscript and wants to move forward), there
are a few more steps that can happen, which Claire briefly mentioned earlier:
-
Second reads; the editor will have a
couple other members of their team read the book and decide if they also think
it should be picked up. If they agree, the book will move forward (Note: not
every publisher has a second reads stage, though many do)
-
Executive approval; after the second
reads, the manuscript can be sent to the executive editor, who will then decide
if the book should move on to acquisitions or not (Note: not every publisher
needs approval from the executive editor specifically, but a few do)
-
Acquisitions; this looks different from
press to press, but can consist of the editorial team, marketing, sales, etc.
The editor will pitch the book to them, and the team will decide whether to
offer a contract. Sometimes there are multiple acquisitions meetings; sometimes
the meetings with editorial and sales/marketing are separate.
At any point, the rest of the team
can decide they don’t want to take the book on, for a variety of reasons (don’t
think the writing is strong enough, won’t navigate the market well, etc.).
There are many people a book has to go through to be sold—but be extremely
proud of yourself, no matter where in the process you end up!
If your book makes it through
acquisitions, the editor will extend an offer, and your agent will notify other
editors you have an offer on the table (unless, of course, the offer is a
pre-empt, where you take that offer only, and pull your book from consideration
from other editors). Once you’ve decided if you want to take the offer, or
choose another if you get one, your agent will move into contract negotiations
with the publisher. This process can take a LONG time, sometimes months, which
is why deals can be slow to be announced. But once negotiations are complete
and the contract is signed, that’s when you’ll be able to announce the good
news and dive into revisions with your editor!
●
Advice for
authors on sub
Claire: Pick a
day—weekly or biweekly—for your agent to send you any rejections that have come
in. This way, you don’t need to worry about getting rejection letters on
vacation or during stressful times.
Cortney: Also
decide if you want to see the rejection letters at all; you’re free to decide
how much of a buffer you want your agent to be between you and those
rejections. Some authors need to see the actual emails to feel closure, while
others do better either just knowing the answer was no or getting a summary.
(And you can always change your mind at any point in the process!)
Claire: Be
flexible and willing to change anything that isn’t working. Just like querying,
you might see trends in rejections that indicate more revision is needed.
And, though it might seem
impossible, try to work on your next project. It’s hard to pull yourself out of
the headspace of a story you’ve just polished—one with all the potential in the
world—but sometimes the only way to avoid rejection heartbreak is to keep
moving forward.
Cortney: And in
the vein of avoiding rejection heartbreak—hold your author friends close.
Submission can often feel more isolating than querying, for a variety of
reasons (fewer resources to know what you’re getting into ahead of time, fewer
authors to connect with, increased feelings of competition, increased feelings
of failure if it doesn’t get picked up, etc.). Actively work against this when
you can, and stay active in any writer communities you’re a part of. Getting
positive feedback on something new can absolutely help reduce anxiety and
disappointment when rejections come in!
●
What
happens if a book doesn’t get picked up?
Cortney: This is
a very real possibility for every book that goes out on submission—and a very normal occurrence. If you exhaust
your list of editors with no success, that’s okay! It happens, and at that
point you’ll discuss with your agent if it’s time to shelve the manuscript, if
there are a couple other editors you could try, or if there are any revisions
that could allow you to keep trying for this manuscript (i.e. if your book
straddles age categories, like YA and adult, and you pitched as YA, you can
discuss tweaking the book and sending out as adult).
But ultimately, if you shelve the
book, you move on to the next. You’ll work with your agent on your next book,
make it submission ready, and start the process again with a fresh manuscript.
Shelving a book doesn’t mean it will never
sell; sometimes books are better pitched once an author has a couple titles
under their belt and the publisher sees it as less of a risk, since readers now
know the author’s work. Sometimes the market just wasn’t quite right, and years
down the line it might be. Sometimes the right editor wasn’t even taking
acquisitions at the time, and now is. One book not selling absolutely does NOT
mean another won’t, and it’s okay (and very normal!) for the book you sign with
your agent to not be the one that sells first.
Claire: I
haven’t had this happen on submission (yet), but the first book I wrote and
queried is trunked for now. I’ve also grown as a writer since putting it aside,
so it’s possible that those characters and concepts will be repurposed and sent
on submission in the future. But it’s important to remember that you’ll always
have more stories in you.
●
What
should you expect of your agent during the sub process?
Claire: It’s
important that your agent keeps you in the loop and is willing to strategize
with you frequently about next steps—editors for next submission rounds,
whether revisions are required, etc. An agent who also checks in on your
well-being is a godsend, and Cortney is amazing in that regard.
Cortney: (<3
<3 thanks Claire!)
To expand on what Claire mentioned:-
Updates on what’s going on. How often and
what you hear will vary, mostly on what YOU personally would like (i.e. some
authors like updates as they come in, want the emails from editors forwarded to
them, etc. and others prefer to use their agent as more of a buffer), but you
should be aware of what’s happening with your book, and should always be able
to get answers when you ask for them!
-
Nudging editors. Again, the exact details
of this will vary from agent to agent, but you should expect your agent to
nudge editors throughout the process. Not hearing from editors happens, and
your agent can’t prevent that, but your agent should be doing what they can to
get the response (within the bounds of publishing etiquette, of course).
-
Support. Subbing is scary! It’s a big
unknown and can feel a lot more anxiety-inducing and isolating than querying
for a lot of authors. Every author’s needs will be different and every agent’s
approach to supporting their authors different as well, but if you have
questions or concerns about what’s going on during sub, you should feel
comfortable doing so, and your agent should be able to answer to the best of
their abilities. There are a lot of things both agent and author won’t have
control over during this process, but we understand that in itself causes
anxiety in a lot of authors, and we’re here to support you and be your champion
throughout! Be aware of and respect your agent’s personal boundaries (i.e. we
can’t be therapists, for our own mental health), but if you’re concerned or
need a little reassurance that you’re doing everything you can, ask!
●
Conclusion
Overall, the mechanics of query and
the submission process are extremely similar—but the nitty gritty of them are
vastly different. Submission can feel overwhelming and terrifying, as a lot of
the information on individual editors isn’t widely available for anyone to see
(which is why agents connect with editors often!)—but having a good agent in
your corner is a gamechanger, and they’ll get you through the process as
smoothly as possible.
LINKS:
Claire Winn (Author, City of
Shattered Light)
Twitter: @Atomic_Pixie
Website: www.clairewinn.com
Instagram: @clairewinnauthor
TikTok: @clairewinnauthor
Cortney Radocaj (Agent, Belcastro
Agency)
Twitter: @CortneyRadocaj
Website: www.cortneyradocaj.com
Agency site: www.belcastroagency.com
Query: QueryMe.Online/CortneyRadocaj
Giveaway Details
Claire has generously offered a paperback of City of Shattered Life
and Cortney has offered a query critique for a giveaway. To enter, all you need
to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or
bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by December 18th.
If you do not want to be
included in the critique giveaway, please let me know in the comments. If
your e-mail is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to
enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.
If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog
and/or follow me on Twitter, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an
extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. The book
giveaway is U.S. and the query critique giveaway is International.
Upcoming Interviews and Giveaways
Monday,
December 6th I have a guest post by debut author Karen Pokras and a giveaway of
her MG historical The Backyard Secrets of Danny Wexler
Monday,
December 13th I have an agent spotlight interview with Jemma Cooper and a query
critique giveaway
Wednesday,
December 15th I have an agent spotlight interview with Stacey Kondla and a
query critique giveaway
Thursday,
December 16th I’m participating in the Dashing December Giveaway Hop
Hope to see you on Monday!
