What to Expect After Landing an Agent by Agent/Author Marlo Berliner and Charity Alyse and Other Side of the Tracks and Query Critique Giveaway and IWSG Post

Happy Wednesday Everyone! I’m excited to have debut author Charity Alyse and her agent Marlo Berliner here to share about what to expect after landing an agent to celebrate the release of Charity’s YA contemporary Other Side of the Tracks. From reading the blurb, I know I’m going to like this book. Can’t wait to read it.

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:

This lilting and riveting young adult debut novel about three teens entangled by secret love, open hatred, and the invisible societal constraints wrapped around people both Black and white is perfect for readers of All American Boys and The Hate U Give.

There is an unspoken agreement between the racially divided towns of Bayside and Hamilton: no one steps over the train tracks that divide them. Or else.

Not until Zach Whitman anyway, a white boy who moves in from Philly and who dreams of music. When he follows his dream across the tracks to meet his idol, the famous jazz musician who owns The Sunlight Record Shop in Hamilton, he’s flung into Capri Collins’s path.

Capri has big plans: she wants to follow her late mother’s famous footsteps, dancing her way onto Broadway, and leaving this town for good, just like her older brother, Justin, is planning to do when he goes off to college next year. As sparks fly, Zach and Capri realize that they can help each other turn hope into a reality, even if it means crossing the tracks to do it.

But one tragic night changes everything. When Justin’s friend, the star of Hamilton’s football team, is murdered by a white Bayside police officer, the long-standing feud between Bayside and Hamilton becomes an all-out war. And Capri, Justin, and Zach are right in the middle of it.

 

Before I get to Charity and Marlo’s guest post, 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 this month are Diedre Knight, Douglas Thomas Greening, Nick Wilford, and Diane Burton!

Optional Question: November is National Novel Writing Month. Have you ever participated? If not, why not?

I’m going to keep my answer short because I have something else to share. No, I’ve never participated because I’m too busy with work and other obligations. However, these last few years I’ve been trying to spend more time writing in November, and I’m planning to do the same thing this month.

I could use your help in promoting a play I’m producing for PTD Productions, a community theater group in Ypsilanti, Michigan. I’m producing The Sweet Delilah Swim Club, by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten, a comic and poignant story of five Southern women who became friends on a college swim team. You get to meet them over four different weekends while they are in their 40's 50's and 70's. It is being directed by Karrie Waarala, who is also the Director of the Saline District Library. You can find out more information about the play at PTD Productions’ website and Facebook page.

If you live in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti or Metro Detroit areas, I’m inviting you to come to see the show. And please share about the play on your social media sites. Thanks so much!  

Now here’s Charity and Marlo!

What to Expect after Landing an Agent:

Charity:

My journey to publication was far from glamorous. From the very beginning, it’s been themed with rejection. 

I was in kindergarten the first time I heard that my dream of being an author would never come to pass. My teacher said it with a grimace, releasing the first of many rejections that I’d experienced. 

I put away my paper and pen after that—for a long time. Until I finished my first novel, “The Life and Times of Darby Brown,” which was loosely based on my own experience with bullying. As if thirteen-year-old Charity had lived a life soaked in so much time, it still makes me laugh to this day. Still, I knew this needed to be in the hands of little girls everywhere. After a ton of internet research, I discovered how my favorite published authors got their books on the shelves of bookstores and into my hand. It took a fairy godmother of sorts, someone willing to take their paperback dreams and turn them into reality. Next to Jesus, they to me were the key to making my greatest want a reality. 

“A literary agent.” Just the job title sent my heart fluttering. 

I queried by book to one agent and never got a response. Again, my little heart was crushed. It wasn’t until my junior year of college that I jumped into the pool of querying again. I’d completed a ten-page story for my creative writing class. My professor suggested I’d turn it into a novel for publication. Nine months later, I finished and she helped me create a query letter. I was positive that this time it would be easier than before. I had what I believed to be a great story. Surely I’d get a yes right away? Right? Wrong. 234 rejections passed before I received the “yes” we all look for! Finally, I thought. I’d gotten my own Literary Fairy Godmother: Marlo Berliner.

I thought after landing an agent, I assumed things would be easy. Life after signing with Marlo wasn’t all glitter, magical pumpkin carriages, and glass heels. Perhaps you’re at the stage where I resided for so long. Maybe you’ve finished your novel and you’re looking for representation. Maybe you are drowning in rejection or just started querying. Maybe you’ve gotten invited to speak on the phone with an agent (or multiple agents) and you’re curious about how life will look after the clock strikes midnight and you sign that contract. 

Fear not! Marlo and I have partnered together to present you with some things to expect after landing an agent. Here are three myths that I believed and the truths that set me free:

 1.  “I got an agent! Time to go on submission!”

Charity: When Marlo officially became my agent, I thought we’d immediately go on submission because she loved it so much. I was so very wrong. Even before partnering with Marlo, I’d had an editorial interest in Other Side of the Tracks because of a mutual connection. I thought we’d immediately submit and get the book deal but Marlo wanted to make sure that the manuscript was the best that it could be, even with the interest from an editor. She read through Other Side of the Tracks so quickly and we went through a few rounds of edits. I’m not a very patient person, but the agent and author partnership really taught me the importance of patience. Every step of the process to publication is about to drive, determination, and most importantly—patience. After signing with your dream agent, you most likely won’t go on submission right away. Your agent will probably have some suggestions that will strengthen your manuscript. Don’t despise this! Revisiting your manuscript a few times before going on submission is really important and heightens your chance of getting that deal! Think about it, you’re going to want your book to be in top shape. There are so many other polished books on the same editor’s desk you submitted to. Trust the process. I promise it will pay off. 

How do I know? The polished manuscript was sent to auction about two months after submission!

Marlo: Let me first start out by saying that Other Side of the Tracks blew me away! The emotionally gripping story and Charity’s lyrical prose had me hooked from page one and kept me spellbound all the way through to the very last page. I read it in nearly one sitting and knew immediately that I had a special book on my hands. But even though that was the case, I never send a manuscript out without doing a ‘big picture’ edit, and then putting a final polish on it with a line edit. When all is said and done, I go through multiple edits with my clients to be sure each book is the best it can be before it goes out on submission. At times it can be tough to be patient, when both author and agent are itching to get a book out on submission, but in the end, it is worth the wait!

2.     “After I sign my book deal, I don’t need my agent anymore!”

Charity: This is a common myth, but far from the truth. Your agent will be the person who advocates for you through the entire publication process. With a wave of their magic wand (emails and phone calls), they’ll magically transform your stress into peace so that you can focus on your writing. It’s not just the agent's job to get you the deal, they also speak with your editor about the things you might be too uncomfortable talking about. Not feeling your cover draft? Let your agent know. Also, if you retained your foreign, audio, or film rights your agency will be in charge of shopping them around. Keep your agent close! They will be with you every step of the way!

Marlo: Charity is spot on! Your agent’s job continues long after we negotiate that great deal for you. Along with your publisher, we help shepherd your book through to publication and beyond. We answer any questions you have along the way. As Charity mentioned, we shop whatever rights weren’t snapped up by your publisher. We’re the liaison between you and your editor and publisher, stepping in if you need an advocate. We make sure you get paid by your publisher according to your contract, and explain those complicated royalty statements to you. We advise you on what to write next and then help you sell your next book. Throughout your author career, we help motivate, support, and guide you.

3.     Remember, to say, “thank you!”

Charity: Agents work really hard. They do a lot of behind-the-scenes work for a very little percentage of your advance and book sales. They’re also working with a lot of other clients at the same time. Not to mention the fact that publishing can be stressful and ever-changing. Remember to appreciate your agent verbally. Tell them thank you and mean it. I included a big thank you on the acknowledgment page for Other Side of the Tracks! So much stuff (and tears) go on behind the scenes and Marlo has been there for it all. She’s super encouraging and always there to calm my ever-floundering worries. 

An agent-author relationship is so powerful. It involves mutual cooperation, understanding, and communication. It also involves so much fun. Being on submission is a wild ride and it doesn’t just stop at the book deal. Cherish every step of the way.

Marlo: Agents and authors both work very hard! Which is why the agent-author relationship is a partnership. I agree whole-heartedly that mutual cooperation, understanding, and communication are so important! As is a solid foundation of respect, trust, and patience between the agent and client. Your agent is your number one fan and your biggest supporter, so we’re truly grateful when our clients realize that. It’s been an honor to work with Charity and I cherish our partnership!

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Charity and Marlo. You can find them at:

Charity:

TikTok:@charityalyse

Instagram: @charity_alyse 

Twitter: @charity_alyse

Marlo:

Instagram:@marloberliner

Twitter: @MarloBerliner

Giveaway Details

Charity has generously offered a signed hardback of Other Side of the Tracks and Marlo 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 November 22nd. 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 or Charity or Marlo on their social media sites, 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 Canada and the query critique giveaways is International.

Upcoming Interviews and Guest Posts

Monday, November 7 I have an interview with debut author Elaine Kachala and a giveaway of her MG nonfiction book Superpower? The Wearable-Tech Revolution

Tuesday, November 8 I’m participating in the Super Stocking Stuffer Giveaway Hop

Monday, November 14 I have an agent spotlight interview with Adria Goetz and a query critique giveaway

Wednesday, November 16 I’m participating in the In All Things Give Thanks Giveaway Hop

Monday, November 23 I have a guest post by author Jessica Vitalis and a giveaway of her MG fantasy The Rabbit’s Gift

Tuesday, December 6 I’m participating in the Winter Is Coming Giveaway Hop

Wednesday, December 7 I have a guest post by debut author Deeba Zargarpur and a giveaway of her YA contemporary House of Yesterday and my IWSG post

Monday, December 12 I have an agent spotlight interview with Kelly Dyksterhouse and a query critique giveaway

Friday, December 16 I’m participating in the Dashing December Giveaway Hop

Monday, December 19 I have an agent spotlight interview with Savannah Brooks and a query critique giveaway

Hope to see you on Monday!