Madyn Rose

Debuting 2023!

I know… this post is long overdue. I announced my vague publishing tweet in March of 2023 and haven’t done my- ‘how I got my publishing post.’ If you have signed up for my newsletters, then already know some of it. But for those who don’t, then this is how I got my publishing deal.

The Query

As all traditionally published writers know, the query is one of the most humbling experiences you can face. If you’re wondering what the query is, you’re not alone. In a nutshell, querying is basically your way of trying to land an agent, editor, and/or publisher. You want an agent to help you land a publishing deal and in some cases, like the big 5 publishers, you can’t even attempt to get your manuscript in their hands without one.

What is the query? It ranges from the official query letter. Kind of like your cover letter before the resume, except the premise is to hook them in with a blurb the synopsis, and usually the first 10 pages of your polished manuscript. Now it differs from agency to agency so you need to really take a look at the requirements right down to the font size. You can/will be rejected for simply not following the rules.

I started to query back in 2022 in small batches and mostly got ignored. I changed my pitch, reworded a few things, and still nothing. I took a break from sending out more to see if anything other than rejections came in. Nope, except one which was a rejection but full of advice. This made me shelve the book and start something new. Not because I lost faith in the book, but because I didn’t know where to go.

Once I finally figured that out (see below for more details.) I decided to start the query process again in Jan 2023. Again, I did small batches sending out 2-5 at a time. I was starting out slow since most places were still closed for the holidays. My game plan changed this time. I was going for the gold and decided to throw it all in and hope for the best.

Rejections!

Man do these suck. If you’ve never felt the harshness of being rejected I am envious. The query trenches are brutal. There is nothing like pouring your heart and soul into a book only to be told ‘It’s not for me.’ Ouch.

Most often the rejections come in ‘form letters’ but every once in a while, you get one back chalked full of advice. I happened to be lucky and got one that gave me some insight on why they were rejecting the story which made me pause and reflect. Maybe the perfect story wasn’t so perfect after all.

Off the original manuscript, I got 2 full requests through pitch events, one from Savvy Authors Pitchfest and one through Twitter both ended in rejection, and both hurt, but they did tell me where I went wrong which was incredibly insightful.

The edits, re-edits, and a re-write.

Getting the feedback was great but it’s all subjective. I had to decide if I wanted to listen to the feedback, change the story, or leave it as is.

In my case, I literally spent more time editing than writing the first draft! Now I don’t just mean the tedious line editing, I mean there were inconsistencies in my story. I was starting at the wrong point, and couldn’t figure out how to make it all come together without being two separate stories. As I learned from my feedback mentioned earlier.

I started listening to writing podcasts. Two of my favorites were The Shit No One Tells You About Writing and The Badass Writers Podcast. Not only did these help me learn how to query and what agents were looking for, but they also helped me figure out where I needed to rework the book. I dove into one final major re-write, I deleted the first few chapters and re-worked the first third of the story to make it all line up, without deleting all the good stuff from the previously deleted portions. And with my fingers crossed I was set to query. I even had my pitch package looked at to make sure I was on the right track which I won through a Twitter critique giveaway. Thank you, Alyssa P for helping me.

The Pitches

I wouldn’t be here today without pitch events! I hadn’t even heard of them until I joined Twitter, now X. The writing community is absolutely the reason I am being published. There is an incredible amount of literary support for all stages of your writing career.

One of the things I learned about was the pitch events. And there are a lot of them. A pitch event is where writers, agents, editors, and publishers all come together, and effectively pitch their book to the masses. If an agent, publisher, or editor likes your pitch it’s a direct in to send them your query package and in some cases the full manuscript.

Last fall, I joined two pitch events. One on Twitter and one through Savvy Authors, both got requests! My favorite event is #moodpitch. It’s specific to mood boards! The visuals were incredible! As luck would have it, I got a couple requests with my newly updated boards and pitch lines. However, nerves got the best of me and I held off sending anything through the holidays and decided to start the new year with the query.

One reason I love the pitch events is that you really need to hone down your MS into one great tagline and maybe a few small details because you only have 140 characters to hook them into wanting more.

It’s happening

Now the good part… One of the publishers, Parcel and Page, liked my pitch during #moodpitch but had closed for the holidays. In late January/early February, I messaged them asking if they were still interested in the manuscript and thankfully they were! As nervous as I was, I sent them my query package. An hour later, they requested the full! My package had them hooked and they wanted to read the whole thing. I was beyond shocked. My FIRST full request after my rewrite!!!

Despite my hopes, I knew things take time and to not get my hopes up. The general turnaround time is 4-6 weeks. Imagine my surprise to wake up to an email with an offer to publish! I about died. I must have just sat blinking at my phone for a good 5 minutes trying to process that it was real. Lara’s enthusiasm for the story had me jumping up and down. Talk about validation.

I got the offer- Now what?

I was in the middle of querying, so I took a moment to regroup and send out my nudges and notifications that I now had an offer. I must say the timing was crazy because I had an agent like my post the day before and sent them my letter so I could only imagine how weird it looked- that between sending the query last night and this morning… I got an offer to publish! I guess that’s how it goes in this business.

Here’s the thing about nudging which I was ultimately warned at… Most agents are swamped so to ask them to ‘drop everything and read this immediately’ as I was on a deadline probably wasn’t going to go well. They were right. Although some agents did express interest ultimately they passed due to time constraints, which is 100% understandable. I did have one other publisher ask for the full and managed to read it in time, but it ended up in rejection. This was okay because during this time I did my research. I asked questions, talked with other authors at Parcel and Page, talked to the founder and even found a lawyer to look over the contract. I was happy with everything I heard so I held my breath signed! voilá I was going to be published!!!

MY STATS-In total for 2022 & 20223, I queried about 40 agents, editors, and a handful of small publishers. Not all of them are listed through Query Tracker so I didn’t keep great numbers through there, but I ended up with 4 full requests and 1 offer of publication.

What’s Next?

So far things are moving along at lightning speed! I finished my edits with my editor and we are now working on the final review. My cover is designed and my blurb is done. I’m so excited for you all to see it!!

I have my tentative schedule and my release date which has actually just been moved up to fall 2023! Next is going to be building an ARC team, working on socials and I think I am going to change my logo. It’s something I have been thinking about for a while, but I think now is the time to do it.

I have to say that working with a small digital publisher has been amazing! They really take into account my vision and feedback, which I feel I have been incredibly picky about when it comes to my cover, the blurb, etc. I really have to thank Lara for being so patient with me.

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