What I Wish I’d Known While Querying
Like many writers, my debut novel is not the first completed novel I’ve written. In fact, I secured representation with an agent for the second book project I queried. She called me on a bright December morning. I will never forget her voice on the other end of the phone: “I’m in love with this! I am still four chapters from the end but I would love to offer your representation.”
I couldn’t believe it! A major agent at a well-known house loved my book! While on submission to editors with that project, I did what everyone suggests you do: write the next thing. My next thing featured a prickly entomologist who liked bugs more than people. When her brother has a health emergency, she has to remake the family ties she had broken, including with her mother and her brother’s fiancee.
Eventually, the book I secured representation with failed to sell. I was heartbroken, but during that process had become even more passionate about “the bug book,” as I thought of it. I sent the draft along to my agent, heart pounding, and waited.
She liked it– kind of. There was no gushing phone call. Originally, my novel was written in three perspectives: Greta, the entomologist; her twin, Danny; and his fiancee, Meg. “Find the heart of the story,” was her advice. The heart was Greta, and her journey was the most important here.
Part of me wanted to argue: but the love story of Danny and fiancee! But but but–
But she was right. Completely. I took the three-perspective novel and rewrote every scene to completely focus on Greta’s point of view. In doing so, I found more depth in each of the characters. Not only did I get to develop Greta’s interiority, but I also enjoyed the challenge of writing a love story (Danny and Meg’s) from an outsider’s perspective.
When I sent her the new version, I felt confident and proud of the several monthslong revision I had accomplished. It felt like reconstructing a pristine snowman from melted slush. After a few weeks I received my agent’s reply: she wasn’t passionate enough about it to submit.
So what to do? I understood that not every book is for every person, but when that person is your business partner, it hurts. I skimmed through my file of future book ideas, wondering if I would draft those only to find that she hadn’t enjoyed them either. What if the book she had signed me on was the only project she considered viable– and it wasn’t even viable? I chose, after much thought, to believe in the new book I had written. I decided to end my representation contract.
Many writers end their agent relationships at some point in their career, but few choose to talk about it. Some believe there is a stigma in admitting that one particular partnership didn’t work out, but I am so grateful I had the experience with my first agent. Not only did she give the initial feedback that helped shape my debut, but also that relationship gave me much more insight into the industry and an understanding of the kind of partnership I wanted in the future.
When I signed with my new agent, Veronica Park, I did so because of three primary things. First, her emphasis was on career building, rather than a single book project. I know I want to build a profession from publishing and that this isn’t the only book I can offer. Second, her communication style was responsive and made me feel less anxious in the naturally anxiety-producing field. After all, what is publishing but asking someone to judge and buy the words of your heart? Finally, she encouraged me to reach out to her current clients to chat before I signed with her to get a sense of her style. Since signing, I have been reached out to by multiple people, and every time I have been so happy to gush about the supportive working relationship that we have.
My new agent homed that “bug book” with an editor who understood Greta’s grouchiness as well as anyone could. Through the editing process, I’ve only become more proud to call THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT my debut. I am indebted to both agents: the one who diagnosed what the book needed and the one who knew where it belonged.
Some general takeaways to the querying crowd: First, not all feedback needs to be taken, but be open to what resonates. Secondly, trust your instinct and find the partner who believes in you. It is better to have no agent than the wrong one (for you). Finally, and most importantly, keep working on that next thing. You never know what project will eventually become your debut.
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Rachel Mans McKenny is a writer from the Midwest and a member of WFWA, recently published in The New York Times, Electric Literature, McSweeney’s and other outlets, and forthcoming in The Washington Post and Catapult. The Butterfly Effect is her debut novel. You can find more information about her on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or on her personal website.
THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT
“A warm, winning debut from a talented new Midwestern voice.” –J. Ryan Stradal, New York Times bestselling author of Kitchens of the Great MidwestA Man Called Ove meets The Rosie Project in this “delightfully off-kilter” (Rachel Yoder, Nightbitch) tale of a grumpy introvert, her astonishing lack of social skills and empirical data-driven approach to people and relationships.Is there such a thing as an anti-social butterfly? If there were, Greta Oto would know about it–and totally relate. An entomologist, Greta far prefers the company of bugs to humans, and that’s okay, because people don’t seem to like her all that much anyway, with the exception of her twin brother, Danny, though they’ve recently had a falling out. So when she lands a research gig in the rainforest, she leaves it all behind.
But when Greta learns that Danny has suffered an aneurysm and is now hospitalized, she abandons her research and hurries home to the middle of nowhere America to be there for her brother. But there’s only so much she can do, and unfortunately just like insects, humans don’t stay cooped up in their hives either–they buzz about and… socialize. Coming home means confronting all that she left behind, including her lousy soon-to-be sister-in-law, her estranged mother, and her ex-boyfriend Brandon who has conveniently found a new non-lab-exclusive partner with shiny hair, perfect teeth, and can actually remember the names of the people she meets right away. Being that Brandon runs the only butterfly conservatory in town, and her dissertation is now in jeopardy, taking that job, being back home, it’s all creating chaos of Greta’s perfectly catalogued and compartmentalized world. But real life is messy, and Greta will have to ask herself if she has the courage to open up for the people she loves, and for those who want to love her.
The Butterfly Effect is an unconventional tale of self-discovery, navigating relationships, and how sometimes it takes stepping outside of our comfort zone to find what we need the most.
Category: How To and Tips
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