Me and My Agent: Christina McDonald and Carly Watters

A few days ago I did an interview and one of the questions was did I think having an agent was crucial in this business. The answer for me was a huge, resounding yes. My agent is Carly Watters at P.S. Literary Agency, and I literally wouldn’t be where I am now without her patient guidance and expertise.

Carly has been my biggest cheerleader and my most honest critic. She is the one I send my first drafts to, and the person I count on for guidance and advice. She explains all the crazy legalese and generally just makes the publishing experience far less stressful. Most importantly, she gets me the best deal possible and she makes sure I’m totally legally protected. I wouldn’t know how to do that on my own, and I trust her implicitly.

I think authors, myself included, tend to fall into the trap of thinking they can rush this business. We want an agent, we want a publisher, and we want our book published, and we want it all now. But publishing, I’ve learned, just doesn’t work that way. Having an agent is a good thing, but having the right agent is the difference between being published and having your manuscript just sit in a pile somewhere gathering dust.

How I Found My Agent

Once I’d completed The Night Olivia Fell and was confident it was as polished as I could possibly make it, I spent literally days researching the exact right agents to represent it. I found Carly on manuscriptwishlist.com, and when I looked her up on Twitter I saw that one of her most recent tweets read something along the lines of: “Being happy for other writers’ success doesn’t mean there will be less happiness for you. Kindness costs nothing and means everything.”

These words meant so much to me. I found her level of optimism and positivity really wonderful, especially in publishing, which is notoriously competitive, and I knew this was a woman I wanted on my side.

Carly was at the top of my list of five perfect agents who I sent query letters to. So when I got an email from Carly’s assistant asking me to send the full manuscript I was really excited; even more so when I had an email from Carly herself asking if we could chat on the phone.

She was as great on the phone as she was in email. I loved how enthusiastic she was about my book and her editorial ideas, as well as ideas for which publishers she would pitch to. I signed with her right away because I just knew in my gut it was right.

Beyond Pitching

Initially the most valuable thing Carly did was take my manuscript and make some really good editorial suggestions. She helped me refine and perfect my manuscript so it was completely ready to hit publishers’ desks. Yes, this took a little longer, but it made submitting to publishers and knowing exactly what they were looking for a whole lot easier. Because once you’ve submitted and been rejected, you can’t go back and have any re-dos.

Once Carly sent the manuscript out to publishers I was basically in hell for a few weeks, but Carly was typically upbeat and uplifting. “It only takes one yes,” she told me, and just like that I felt better. Because it’s true, you know. No matter how many no’s you get, it only takes one yes. In the end we got two yes’s, and I was deliriously happy.

Of course, Carly’s job wasn’t over yet. Truly, it never is. She then negotiated the deal, got me my contract, sorted out advances and contracts, explained and fought for author rights, explained all the legal stuff, told me what I needed to do for tax forms. Every once in a while I get an email from her saying, ‘Hey, do you want to sell rights to X, Y, Z?’ And she’ll explain what it means and why it’s good for me. That’s how I found out she’d sold rights to the UK and Australia, which was really exciting. I would never have been able to do these things on my own.

As soon as I finished my first draft of my second book, the first person I sent it to was Carly. Again, she made some really insightful suggestions for editorial changes that made the book far better. I got a bit stuck on ideas for my third book, pitching one, then another, then circling around in my head and wondering if I could do any of them at all. Carly’s been wonderful along the way, and it’s helped me just keep moving and trust myself. I think that finding someone who can motivate and encourage you is vital to continuing in this business. It’s scary and discouraging to be rejected time after time, worse to feel like you’re competing with yourself and going to lose.

I was always a writer, but Carly’s knowledge and help made me an author. She’s protected me and been on my side every step of the way. I know it’s an agent’s job to do this, to fight for their authors, their work and rights, and remain in the ring even when things get tough, but it’s more than this for Carly. It’s her passion. And as an author, it feels really special to be a part of that.

Christina McDonald

Christina McDonald is an author, journalist, and copywriter, and has worked for companies such as The Sunday Times, Dublin, The Connacht Tribune, Galway, Expedia, USA TODAY, Travelex, and Pearson Publishing. Originally from Seattle, WA, she holds an MA in Journalism from the National University of Ireland Galway, and now lives in London, England.

Follow her on Twitter @Christinamac79

Find out more about her on her website https://christina-mcdonald.com/

The Night Olivia Fell

In the vein of Big Little Lies and Reconstructing Amelia comes an emotionally charged domestic suspense novel about a mother unraveling the truth behind how her daughter became brain dead. And pregnant.

A search for the truth. A lifetime of lies.

In the small hours of the morning, Abi Knight is startled awake by the phone call no mother ever wants to get: her teenage daughter Olivia has fallen off a bridge. Not only is Olivia brain dead, she’s pregnant and must remain on life support to keep her baby alive. And then Abi sees the angry bruises circling Olivia’s wrists.

When the police unexpectedly rule Olivia’s fall an accident, Abi decides to find out what really happened that night. Heartbroken and grieving, she unravels the threads of her daughter’s life. Was Olivia’s fall an accident? Or something far more sinister?

 

Christina McDonald weaves a suspenseful and heartwrenching tale of hidden relationships, devastating lies, and the power of a mother’s love. With flashbacks of Olivia’s own resolve to uncover family secrets, this taut and emotional novel asks: how well do you know your children? And how well do they know you?

 

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Agents, Contemporary Women Writers, On Writing