On Mental Illness, Baking, & Never Giving Up

I am beyond thrilled to be sharing debut author Amy Watson and her inimitable novel CLOSER TO OKAY, which releases October 11th, 2022 from Penguin Random House.

Amy minored in creative writing in college but only wrote poetry. "My writing journey started with a challenge from my therapist to pick a project that was just for me since self-care is the first thing to go away when my depression gets bad," Amy shared. "I went home that night and told my husband I was going to do NaNoWriMo. And I did. Then it took me another year and some change to actually finish the book. I also completely revised it three or four times before I started querying." (NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month where the goal is to complete a book in the month of November.)

Today we're going to be focusing on Amy's querying journey with the goal of providing hope for aspiring and querying authors. (Read to the end for a peek at what Closer to Okay is all about!)

It took her one year of querying and 49 rejections before she got an offer of representation. Let's dive in!

Were there any times you felt like giving up?

"Every time I got a rejection. I don’t know that you can prepare yourself for how hard it is to be told no so often and so consistently. The query that eventually got me an agent was my 50th and I had told myself that it was the last one before I took a break. The thing that kept me going was the desire to tell my story. There isn’t enough representation of mental illness and I knew I could find a champion for the book eventually."

Did you use any resources during your querying journey like QueryTracker, Publishers Marketplace, etc?

"I used QueryTracker to keep track of what I had outstanding. I also had a spreadsheet of potential agents and the research I’d done on them. For example, I’d list the name, agency, anything on their MSWL, books and/or authors they repped that I liked or could be used as comps."

Is there a particular rejection that stands out to you?

"Not really. I had two full requests that came back with what were basically form rejections. Those stung a little more, but when it came down to it they all sucked pretty bad."

Did you ever receive and R&R?

"Yep. The full request that ended up as an offer was an R&R. The email gave me a ton of feedback. He basically said that my book wasn’t ready, but if I was willing to change A, B, and C, then he’d love to see it again. I don’t know what it was exactly but I could tell that he got it and trusted that if I made the revisions he asked for, then he would be the best and biggest ally for my work. And I was right. He’s the BEST!"

What’s the best advice you could give someone that’s in the querying trenches?

"Don’t give up. Even if you need to take a break, get back to it. You only need one yes. Accept help from beta readers, fellow authors, critique partners. I used Scribophile and joined a novel writing group. Two of my partners from that group are still in touch and we help each other out whenever it’s needed. Be open to criticism. If an agent takes the time to point out a problem, then it’s worth at least some consideration."

So, what's Closer to Okay all about?

Weaving culinary delights with an honest, appraising look at how we deal with the world when it becomes too much, Closer to Okay is the comfort food we all need in these, well, crazy times.

When professional baker Kyle Davies lands in an inpatient mental health facility after a suicide attempt, she adds a new to-do item to her routine; stare out her window at the coffee shop across the street and its hot owner, Jackson. But when Dr. Booth (who may or may not be a hack) lets her out of Hope House for two hours a day, she discovers Jackson is a jerk with a heart of gold. And at a time when Kyle is barely managing her own problems, she finds herself suddenly thrown into the deep end of someone else's. Dr. Booth may have been right after all: falling in love may be the thing that sends Kyle into a backslide she might never be able to crawl out of. Is Jackson too much for her to handle? Does love come at the cost of sanity?

Thank you, Amy, for your bravery in not giving up on querying this gem of a novel. You're absolutely right that we need more representation of mental illness in books!

Don't forget to pre-order Closer to Okay and if you're in the querying trenches; DON'T GIVE UP!