The Journey to Getting a Literary Agent Pt. 2

I was in Cambodia with my family at the most magical hotel that looked like it was plucked from the pages of a fantasy novel. We were having breakfast by the pool, drinking cappuccinos, when I checked my email.

A full request from one of my favorite agents.

I didn’t have my computer on me so I emailed her the document from my phone. She wrote back with confirmation that she’d received the file.

And then I waited. Because I don’t know if you know this, but part of the publishing process is the waiting game.

Sometimes you’ll query an agent and hear back in ten minutes. Other times you’ll hear back in six months or longer. And that’s just for the first phase. They request a partial or full of your manuscript, you send it to them, and then you wait. It all depends on how many queries they receive, how many other things the agent has on their plate, etc. etc.

So - I waited. We got back from our Southeast Asia trip and were home for a couple months then headed to the Cayman Islands. It was there I got the email that said - “I’d love to work with you on this but I have a lot of thoughts for revision.” She wanted to hop on a phone call and discuss editorial thoughts to make sure our visions aligned. I was ecstatic. BUT. I was almost 100% positive it wasn’t going to be an offer of representation.

I got back home and set up a call with her, absolutely expecting to be offered and R&R (revise and resubmit). So we’re chatting about our visions for the book and I agree with every single thing she’s saying and LOVE the direction she has for it. And i’m just waiting. Waiting for her to say, “Okay well work one those things then send it back to me when you’re done.”

But then she says, “I’d love to offer you representation.”

And I was absolutely speechless. I started silently bawling. I’d been working toward this for SEVEN YEARS at this point. Because my goal was always to get a literary agent. That was the dream. That, to me, meant I could conquer whatever came next because an agent believed in me enough to sign me.

Even though I’d made up my mind to accept, I did the traditional 10 days and let the other agents know who had a partial or full. I had two intriguing talks with other agents but ultimately, our editorial visions did not align. And so with GREAT EXCITEMENT AND GRATITUDE, I signed with Natalie Lakosil of Bradford Literary Agency!!

I’ll never forget that feeling of signing the agency agreement. Even now, over a year later, and I’m still overwhelmed with gratitude that she saw the vision, believed in it and in me, and that we get to go on this journey together!