querying – Cannons to Cruising

I’ve been waiting a decade to make this post. I HAVE A LITERARY AGENT! I am loudly and proudly screaming it from the rooftops—Taylor Hobbs is represented by Michaela Whatnall of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret Literary Agency.

It all started with a cold query in early October. I found Michaela’s Manuscript Wish List page and hoped my book, What I Would Do for You, might be a good fit. The bio stated that they have a soft spot for heartfelt contemporary YA fiction, sibling stories, and diverse voices. However, QueryTracker (the site that everyone uses to submit queries/track data) did not help my confidence—this agent requests additional material from about 2% of their queries. My sister was like, “Oh, the Harvard of literary agents.” Thanks, Calley. I figured I’d be part of the 98% rejection stats, but I might as well start the query process of my 7th book with getting rejections from my dream agents, right?

To my shock, Michaela requested the full manuscript ten days later. My thought was, “At least I know my pitch/concept is working!” Not, “They’re going to love it and sign me!” I’ve had many full requests across all my manuscripts over the years. It is a great confidence boost but I know it ultimately doesn’t go anywhere. Honestly, I was just flattered to make it past the form rejection.

I submitted the manuscript and tried not to get my hopes up. I joked with my Pen Parentis writers accountability group that I was going to manifest an agent in 2024. Well, everyone manifested their butts off because ten days into the new year I got the email that Michaela wanted to set up a phone call and chat about the book.

We talked for an hour and half! I knew within ten minutes that Mike was the right agent for me and the book. They get the heart and soul of it, and we just meshed on all the revision ideas. It was like talking to an old friend. I know they are going to push me to be the best writer I can be, for What I Would Do For You and my future books. I am thrilled about this partnership and can’t wait for what’s to come in my career!

I have so much gratitude toward everyone who has been cheering me on all these years. Thank you for continuing to believe in me and talking me off the ledge of self-doubt countless times. Thank you for reading truly terrible first drafts and listening to half-formed plot rambles. Thank you for seeing the value in art and stories and helping me hold onto myself. You know who you are. I love you guys.

Love,

Taylor

This entire summer was a sprint, and now the finish line has come and gone. Was it worth it? YES. Do I have an agent yet? TBD. My pitch got some great feedback at a few workshops, and a lot of people were really excited by my story. I presented myself and my project as well as I possibly could during my in-person pitch session (The bar was low for this; I was just hoping not to burst into tears from being overwhelmed!) I got requests for more material from 3/3 agents (2 partial requests, 1 full manuscript request), but I’ve also sent some email queries this week to cover all my bases. Mostly, I’m just super proud of myself that I set this crazy goal back in June and actually freaking DID IT.

What absolutely floored me, though, was the response this weekend from so many amazing people in my life. I received videos, messages, and phone calls asking for updates and sending me love this entire month. You guys have so much faith in me, and I am beyond lucky to have a support system like this. Writing is an isolating career, one where I keep the door shut most of the time. I am usually stuck in my own head with self-doubt and criticism. A lot of it centers on not feeling ‘good enough’, especially to attend a conference like PNWA where there is so much talent. Your little messages kept me going, and I was able to make a few new writer friends and get the most out of the seminars.

One of the biggest eye-opening courses was the one on turning novels into screenplays. I’d never given much thought to presenting stories through a different medium, but I think this might be a goal of mine for the future. My takeaway from this weekend was that there is no one path to storytelling success, and I should be open to other options besides strictly novels. I had never written a short story before becoming the Pen Parentis Fellow because I always thought I just wanted to write books. Turns out, I didn’t give myself enough credit!

So for the next few weeks, I’m in the waiting phase while agents assess my work. I promised myself I’d take a little break before starting my next project, but I’m already turning ideas around in my brain while doing the school drop off and pick up routine. This next one might need to marinate for a while, but maybe I’ll be ready for NaNoWriMo this year?

Love,

Tay

Tag: querying

How I Got My Agent

PNWA