This is my second post detailing my most exciting, absolutely exhilarating journey in getting my novel Kill the Gods published. I'm sure you've all been anxiously awaiting my next post, dying to know what I've been doing for the last 34 days since my last update. Well, here I am to tell you... *drum roll*
I'm still waiting to hear back from the agency.
Yes, I know. It's definitely not the most fun news to deliver. I knew going into the publishing process that I'd have to wait a long time for pretty much anything to happen, but if you know me in real life (and most of you do), you know that I am the least patient person in this entire world. For those of you who don't know me, the last month went something like this:
DAY 1
Kelsey: *excitedly opens her email*
Inbox: No new emails
DAY 5
Kelsey: *happily opens her email*
Inbox: No new emails
DAY 20
Kelsey: *opens her email*
Inbox: No new emails
DAY 30
Kelsey: *trembling nervously while she opens her email*
Inbox: No new emails
DAY 34
Kelsey: *hasn't slept in days* *opens her email*
Inbox: You know Google sends you a notification when you get a new email, right? You don't have to keep checking. But also... you have no new emails.
Kelsey: *slams head against keyboard*
I went from...
to...
real fast.
Of course, it's only been five weeks, and the agency told me that it would take 4 - 6 weeks for them to respond (sometimes more depending on the amount of inquiries they were receiving). They also said that if they reject my query, they will not send me any email at all.
So, I'm either waiting for the next two(ish) weeks for really great news or I'm waiting for an email that will never come. Fun times.
Thus, I am brought to the point of this blog post, where I will answer the question: So what will happen when you do/don't hear back?
During my weeks of waiting, I've discovered that the best way to distract myself from checking my inbox is to keep researching more agents. That's right! I have not stopped thinking about literary agents for the past two months. Honestly, I'm having nightmares about literary agents at this point.
There are two outcomes for my situation:
OUTCOME 1: I get an email back saying "Yay! Congratulations Kelsey, we're interested in your book! Send us more pages so we can read them and assess your novel's potential!"
OUTCOME 2: I don't ever get an email.
In the case of outcome 1, the email I receive will not mean that I will immediately get published... or that they'll even be my official literary agent. If you're an author in a similar situation as me—or if you're just a curious reader—here's my advice:
DON'T FORGET THE VALUE OF YOUR WORK
I've learned through other authors' experiences what to do (and what not to do) if you get an email back. Some of those authors' biggest regrets were picking the first agent that was willing to work with them—or choosing a mediocre agent after being rejected by "all the good ones." Don't get frustrated and settle. If you're a writer like me, chances are you poured years of work into your book. It deserves better than an agent who will half-ass getting it published.
When I first heard this from authors, I was terrified. What if I pick an agent who publishes my book poorly? What if it doesn't turn out the best that it could be?
Fear not! The most important thing to remember is—say it with me—DON'T FORGET THE VALUE OF YOUR WORK! You can always say no to an agent if you're unhappy. You can always say no to what they're doing if you think someone else could do better. Besides, finding a good agent isn't as hard as you think, if they check off all the boxes on what I like to call:
The List of Golden Qualities in a Perfect Literary Agent
*crowd oohs and ahhs*
They don't charge reading fees (this will help you avoid scammers!).
Their agency has been running for at least a decade (in other words, don't pick an agency that no one's ever heard of because they just popped up on Google yesterday).
They are interested in books of your genre for the audience you write for (don't try to change the audience/genre of your book just so you can find an agent, and don't let anyone try and change it for you).
The agent is actually open to submissions—this is very important for obvious reasons.
They are willing to provide you with at least 3 real client references that you can contact.
The clients for both your agent and their agency have good things to say.
They have a good vibe. You know what I mean—your gut feeling about them. Are they too good to be true? Is it impossible to find their past clients? These are all possible red flags.
It's important to always do your homework! Research the agency; research the agent; research their clients; reach out to their references; research the publishers they've worked with in the past. It's a lot of work, I know, but in the possible situation where more than one agent is willing to work with you, all this research will become even more useful to you! Picking an agent is strictly business. You want the best agent who will give you the best chance of success. Research a lot and research hard. Don't pick the first agent to give you a flashy smile and a few compliments.
In the case of outcome 2 (where they reject your book, or simply never respond to your email), my advice so far is:
DON'T FORGET THE VALUE OF YOUR WORK!!!
Sounds easy to remember, but trust me, it's not. Always send queries to more than one agent/agency, and even if they all say no, keep trying. Find alternative ways of getting published. Reach out to local authors and see what they did. If you think your book is worth all this effort then it's worth publishing.
The process of getting a book published is filled with lots of waiting. I may not be the most patient person ever, but I know my book deserves the best it can get. If you've waited years to finish your book, then you can wait a little longer to get it published. Even though it's not the most exciting thing ever, I'm going to keep waiting for the best agent possible, because I rather wait forever than publish a book I'm not proud of.
Yours truly,
Kelsey Gatis
***
P.S. While we're on the subject of waiting... I know I promised you all the conclusion to my short story Beautiful Endings and I've gone past my self-made due date. It's coming, I swear! You're just gonna have to wait a little longer *wink wink*...
See what I did there?
Because this blog post is about waiting?
Yeah, I thought it was clever, too. A nice little way to break it to you that you're still gonna have to wait about a month to read the conclusion.
I know, I know, I hate waiting, too. But I'm teaching you patience. This is like a character building exercise for the both of us.
Seriously though, it's almost finished. Give me another month, tops. It'll be worth the wait.
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