Agent Quest

In which I tell readers and aspiring writers how I got an agent(s)...

Agent Quest

Hello, dear Readers/Subscribers!

Are you interesting in the business of writing? If you are, read on to learn about how I got an agent.

Or two.

Or three.

Waaay back when I started my journey toward publication, I knew one thing: you had to have an agent to get published. (Not really true, and even less now, but it was an accepted axiom.)

It was also said to be harder to get an agent than a publishing deal, and rightly so. It ain’t easy, and I did get published before I got a (good) agent.

First things first: a bad agent is worse than no agent at all. And I know this because of my…

First Agent:

I don’t remember her name. Maybe I’ve blocked it. I had a contemporary romance that I wanted her to pitch to Harlequin, so she did. And though they said pleasant things about it, which should have been encouraging, they weren’t enthusiastic enough to offer for it.

So my agent quit agenting.

Seriously.

My agent quit agenting after one rejection.

Second Agent:

So my sister helped me pitch a Regency romance to Zebra Kensington and they bought it. Lord St. Claire’s Angel was coming out in December of 1999. On the strength of that sale I had something to take to agents and attained one through the Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency. I had a great agent, Michael Psaltis, who I still admire. Awesome guy.

At a certain point, though, Ethan Ellenberg was downsizing (IIRC) and Michael was moving on to form his own agency. I had to choose between going with Michael or staying with Ethan Ellenberg. It was not a tough decision. When you find someone you work with well, you stick with them. I went with Michael and we were happy.

But then… I really wanted to start pitching for mysteries, my true love in writing. It wasn’t Michael’s thing, and I knew it. So I had two choices: I could have started looking around for a new agent behind his back, or I could talk to him. The choice was obvious. I talked to him and we sorted it out. I’d stay with him while looking for a new agent more suited to my ambitions.

I explored, tried a few agents. No nibbles. But then… then I found the agent of my dreams, Jessica Faust of BookEnds Literary. She was everything I wanted in an agent and more. Her expertise was in exactly the area I was aiming for.

I submitted.

And got a rejection. It wasn’t quite what she was looking for. Toodles. She was going on mat leave.

Determined, and hearing the creak of the door closing on my dreams, I asked her for advice; what could I do to sell her on me? She said, read a bunch of first books in cozy mystery series and then write a new proposal.

So I did. I read quite a few and because I am a big old sponge, I absorbed the ideas, the rhythm and the tone of the books. I needed to anchor the series in a sustainable world, a place I could feel comfortable, and with a main character whose interests reflected my own.

That’s how Jaymie Leighton, Queensville and the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries idea came to me. Jaymie is a gal who loves and collects vintage kitchen gadgets, bowls, and cookbooks. She has a little dog and a cat. She loves her family. The first book features the Hoosier cabinet that sits in my kitchen still, filled with vintage collectibles and cookbooks.

I wrote down when Jessica would be accepting proposals again and spent the interim refined my proposal, honing it to a fine edge. My query letter would remind her of our past correspondence, thank her for her advice and pitch the book/series. The minute she was ready to accept again I…

Waited a few days. There was going to be a deluge in her inbox and I didn’t want to get lost in the flood.

But then I sent her my proposal and… she took me on as a client.

It was the heyday of cozy mysteries with Berkley, so I sold quickly and easily, and then a second series (Merry Muffin Mysteries) and then a work-for-hire series (The Teapot Collector Mysteries).

It was glorious, and working with Jessica has been a thrill. It has been a lesson to me in the necessity of staying true to what I wanted and working toward it, never giving up. It was a first for me and a revelation.

So… if you’ve ever been curious about how authors get an agent, that’s my story!

Ta for now!

With love,

Victoria Hamilton