I HAVE AN AGENT!!!
I am now represented by Jim McCarthy of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management!
Wow, I've waited 2 years to be able to write this, and I seriously can't stop smiling! Here is an extremely cheesy picture of me as I signed my contract last night (Justin chuckled when I asked him to take this):
A recap of events: For an entire year, I've been searching high and low for a literary agent to represent my MG science fiction novel, THE COSMIC CHRONICLES OF DANNY J. SINGER. I started sending out query letters to agents in April 2009, but I received nothing but rejections. (Quite embarassingly, I cried many, many tears during this period.) After I got my 15th rejection or so, I decided to stop querying and revise the hell out of my novel.
Fast forward to November 2009. After working on my book some more (and getting it torn apart at a few conferences), I sent out 20 queries to various agencies. This time, I received a few positive responses from agents who requested to see the whole book. Exciting, right?! I did a little dance. But alas, these agents ended up rejecting my novel anyway. Yep. Ouch.
Fast foward to March 2009. After another major revision (in which I cut 10,000-words from the book), I figured I'd query a few more agents and give up on the novel if nobody wanted it. I started working on a new manuscript in the mean time, which I was pretty excited about.
Fast forward to last week. Eeek! Last Sunday morning, I got an email from an agent who loved my book and offered me representation. Eeek! My whole body went numb. I couldn't believe this was really happening. I was tempted to accept this agent's offer, but I also knew I needed to alert the other agents who had my manuscript. So I shot off a few emails and twiddled my thumbs and lost my appetite.
Fast forward to Monday. Got a call from Jim! I was utterly flabbergasted that he wanted to represent me---completely floored. After our phone conversation, I got all tingly and excited. I just knew that I wanted to work with him. He was The One!
In the end, I received three offers of rep (Eeek!), but I decided that Jim was the best agent for my book and career. He's smart, he's professional, and he wants to represent me! What more can I ask for?
So that is my story in landing my agent! Honestly, I feel excited and happy and humbled and even a little scared. I still can't believe this is happening to me... Wow...
Anyway, the next step is to revise my novel yet again (more revisions!) and then Jim will start subbing my book to editors once he feels it is ready. (This whole process will take months.)
I'll say it again: Eeeeeeekkkkk!
(If you're interested, I've posted a short summary of my book on my new website. Just click on the "Books" tab!)
