GRAND News from my Agent!

My agent sent me an email the other day that totally made my day. No, it wasn't a six-figure offer. It wasn't even a request for my full manuscript. He wrote to let me know that he passed Mind over Madi on to his all-time favorite first reader for some feedback and she was loving it so far! It's always awesome to hear that someone loves your work!

Oh - and I might mention that the first reader happens to be my agent's 97-year-old mother. Yes, I said NINETY-SEVEN.

Which is why it totally made my day!

Not only do I think it's a hoot that a senior citizen is enjoying a book that two years ago would have been labeled "Mom Lit," with references to boobs and tramps and other potentially iffy topics in Christian fiction, I LOVE the fact that she reads books for her agent son in order to offer her feedback.

Mind you, she was only just past the 200-page mark, which, at 24-pt. arial font is probably not all that far into the book. But just hearing that she is enjoying the story put a mega-smile on my face. AND it inspired me to make a large-print copy of my manuscript, put it in a 3-ring portfolio and give it to my grandmother tomorrow for her birthday. She turns 95!

I'll admit, I'm a little nervous. My grandma is one hip old lady, but she's pretty conservative, so I'm not sure what she'll think of the content or the tone. Then again, Grandma has been known to read some pretty racy romance novels, so I'm thinking nothing would probably shock her. Besides, my grandma worked for Zondervan and Baker Book House for many years and if there's one thing she knows, it's books.

Anyway, I just want to say thanks to my wonderful agent for passing along my book to Mom. Can't wait to hear her final thoughts!

Practicing What I Preach

You may remember a few blog posts ago, I talked about Rejection Misconceptions. (If you haven't read it, feel free to wander away for a moment to do so). Anyway, I had an interesting thing happen to me the other day. I received a rejection.

GASP!

When I saw the email from my agent come through with a publishing house name in the subject line, my heart quickened. Would it be a request for the full manuscript or a "Thanks, but no thanks."

And because I've already told you that I received a rejection, you know which one it was.

Sigh...

I am a little embarrassed to admit that after allowing myself a couple of minutes to whine to God about this disappointment, my first thought was, "My manuscript stinks. What can I do to improve it?"

OK...back up. Let's read a portion of my previous blog post:

Her question is one I've heard a thousand times from other writers. And it reminded me of a common misconception writers have. The misconception is:

There is one perfect way to write my article in order for it to be accepted, and I need to figure out what it is.

This is so not true.

Hello. (Insert eye roll)

So I had to consciously remind myself that just because my ms isn't right for this house, does not mean it's bad. It doesn't mean I need to scrap the whole thing and start from scratch. It just means this particular editor doesn't know a good thing when she sees it. Just kidding (sort of). What it really means is that either the timing was bad or it wasn't a good fit.

As my oh-so-wise agent noted: "Every rejection is one step closer to finding the right house."

Whatever the reason for the rejection, I now have a choice. I can either wallow, drowning my sorrow by eating endless gallons of ice cream OR I can put a band-aid on the sting and focus on something else. I choose the band-aid.

And maybe one gallon of ice cream.

Secret Agent? Are You Kidding Me?

I'm pretty good at keeping secrets, even if it is extremely difficult sometimes. But this is something I just can't keep to myself. And even if I could, I definitely wouldn't want to. This is news I just have to share. If I don't, I think I'll burst. And that, folks, would not be pretty.

So.... deep breath...here goes...

I HAVE AN AGENT!

Yes, it's true. I am now represented by Terry Burns of Hartline Literary Agency.

I saw Terry at the ACFW conference but never officially met him - just said hi as we passed. I know of his wonderful reputation because a couple authors I know are represented by Terry and have attested to his greatness.

Upon returning from the conference in September, I sent Terry a full proposal of my manuscript, Mind over Madi. About a month later, he requested the full. Actually, that request came on December 6 - the day we celebrated Christmas with my side of the family. So Terry has had my full manuscript for almost two months.

Honestly, every day that passed, I was more convinced I would be rejected. I mean, please. Mind over Madi is the first manuscript I've ever submitted. I needed a few rejections under my belt to toughen me up, right? (Did I actually type that out loud?). I was mentally preparing myself for rejection (working on that self-confidence thing).

So when I saw the email from Terry come through on Saturday, I sat and stared at the computer for about two full minutes. I wanted to open it, but I didn't want to open it. I was in the middle of cleaning my house for an open house we had on Sunday and was in no mood for rejection.

I finally gathered the nerve, closed my eyes, and clicked on the email. When I opened my eyes and they actually focused on the words, I sat in shock.

He really loved the story and wanted to represent it. Represent ME.

WOW.

My sweet and observant daughter took note of my dazed and delirious state and she immediately called my husband in to share the news.

I have yet to sign the contract, but it all looks good so I expect it'll be official sometime this week.

Talk about humbly bowing before the Lord. God is so good and has opened more doors for me than I deserve. His grace, love, and favor never cease to amaze me.

I'm sure I have much work ahead of me but I am thrilled, honored, and slightly petrified, to be one step closer to my dream of becoming a published author.

A Fire Under My Fanny

Remember the other day when I laughed at the thought of finishing my novel in a month?

Well, that moment came back to bite me in the butt.

A couple days after that post, I received a phone call from the coordinator of the "Get Your Stiletto in the Door" contest and she informed me that although the final scores are not in yet, she did receive the scores from one of the judges - a literary agent - and that she requested my full manuscript.

Okay...humor me here...WOO-HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!YEE-HAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!YIPEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry about that. I'm just a tad excited.

Anyway, after picking my jaw up off the floor and getting my breathing under control, I told the coordinator that my manuscript isn't, um, finished.

Alrighty then.

Well, she checked with the agent about whether I should send a partial or if she wanted to wait for the finished MS. The agent told her to have me pass along the full when it's ready.

Whew!

Now it's time, folks. Time for me to light the match and sit on it. Time for me to warm up my fingers for hours of keyboard pounding. Time to tap into my creativity and unleash 30,000 more words of brilliance. Time to lock my Distraction Diva and Procrastination Princess in a tower and throw away the key. Time to post the Pizza Hut and Chinese Take-out numbers on the wall next to my computer. Time to become a hermit (and my husband thinks I am one already - ha!)

It's time to work.

My goal is to have a finished manuscript - ready to be sent - by the end of the year.

Think I can do it?

Stay tuned...