Celebrate Debra's Launch of MILA 2.0!

Today we're celebrating the launch of one of our new League member's books: Debra Driza's MILA 2.0!

Debra is an awesome lady--funny and fun, with a career that's shooting off. And MILA 2.0 is a fantastic debut. I'm so glad people are getting the chance to read this epic novel!

MILA 2.0 is an epic science fiction in which a teenage girl, Mila, discovers she's far different from other girls. It's action-packed and a whirlwind of a ride. Of course, one thing I like about books is when they are both entertaining and have a philosophical undertone. And MILA 2.0 does just that--it makes the reader question what it means to be human, but also what it means to be a part of a family, where love comes from, and more.

Find out more about MILA 2.0 here!

Can we take a moment to talk about this cover? Because guys. Guys. This cover is perfect. I think it brilliantly illustrates the novel. The book is very much about looking underneath the skin of someone and examining what makes them a person. In addition to that, Mila also breaks apart both physically and emotionally--all of which is portrayed in the cover. 

And, not only do you get to read MILA 2.0 tomorrow, you can start the adventure today by reading Debra's exclusive origin prequel, available as an e-book--for FREE! This prequel story explores the world of MILA 2.0, and give insight to events that happened before the store. 

Find out more about MILA 2.0, ORIGINS: THE FIRE here!

And if you haven't, you must check out the MILA 2.0 trailer. I love that they bring to life an actual scene from the book, as well as include some of the deeper themes of the novel.



Here on the League, we're giving away a signed copy of MILA 2.0 to celebrate it's launch! The book officially comes out tomorrow, but you can enter to win today and every day this week.

Make sure to enter the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win a signed copy of MILA 2.0!

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hundreds of Queries Later...

Okay, so it's been a great theme week here at The League. We've been sharing stories of how we got our agents. I'm up today, and while I think my story is pretty fantastic, it was not-so-fantastic as I was living through it.

That said, I hope it'll inspire just one person to take the next step in their creative endeavor, whatever that may be. Writing, photography, painting, dance, etc.

So let's do a little flashback in time.

2007: Elana begins writing. Everything is awesome! Every word well-chosen and perfectly placed.

2008: Elana queries her first novel. Everything is not awesome. Every word is wrong, and every sentence awkwardly constructed.

I learned in 2008 that the first book I queried was not good enough. I sent nearly 150 query letters, and everyone told me no, either on the query or on the submission.

While I did not find a literary agent with this book, I did discover how to write a query letter. I even went so far as to put together a guide on how to write a query letter. It's free, and you can download it here (scroll down to the bottom to find the link).

I learned that I love writing query letters, and I still write them to this day, either for myself or for others (go to my blog to see what I mean!).

During the rejection-hell-of-2008, I wrote Possession. I was querying The Other Novel, though, so I set it aside. In November, 2008, when I realized The Other Novel wasn't going to be The One, I quit querying it, and I looked at what I'd written to decide what I should polish up and send out next.

Quitting wasn't an option.

2009: I polish up my next novel in preparation to query it. I begin sending letters in April. I get a lot of good feedback. Partials are being upgraded to fulls. Fulls are requested from the query letter--which sometimes was only 2 sentences long.

Oh yeah, I was feeling good. I felt like Possession was The One.

Yet months passed. I queried. I sent submissions. Yes, I got rejections. A lot of rejections.

In June, I queried my agent, Michelle Andelman. She asked for the full, and two weeks later she asked for anything else I'd written. It was a good sign--but it was summer.

Things moved slowly. I revised for another agent. I talked to two other agents on the phone.

No offers of representation.

In September, after a summer that felt eternal and like nothing was happening, I get brave. Actually, what I did was "Go George" according to that Seinfeld episode where George Constanza does everything the exact opposite of what he's always done.

I emailed Michelle and basically said, "I know you like Possession. I can revise it if you want. Can we talk about it on the phone?"

And she said yes, and a call was set up!

She still didn't offer, but gave me some suggestions for revisions and we set a deadline in October when I would get them back to her.

So I did the revisions without the promise of an offer, and I turned them in on time. Two weeks later, on Veterans Day in 2009, the real call came. I had representation!

Finally.

I queried Possession for 8 months. I sent 189 query letters, and 54 submissions (either partials or fulls). I only got one offer of representation, but it only takes one. 

We went on to sell Possession in a short time, and every time I email or talk with Michelle, I'm reminded how she's the perfect agent for me and my work.

So there you have it! Between my two books, I queried for a combined total of 16 months and sent hundreds of query letters. That's how I got my agent.

Are you currently in the midst of something hard? Don't give up! The Thing You Need could be just around the corner.

How I got my agent (and a few tips)

Lee Child once said, “Getting an agent is procedural.” What he meant was there was no mystery to it, no magic. It’s just a process, you follow the steps. And he’s absolutely right about that.

Of course, the assumption is that you have a darn good manuscript suitable for today’s market. I realize the problem with most writers at this stage is that they’re not sure how good it is, but hopefully you’ve gotten honest feedback from your writing group.

The thing to remember about getting an agent, like others have said, is that it’s a lot like getting married. A bad agent is worse than no agent at all.

So how did I do it? Once my manuscript had gotten the approval of my very discerning writing group, I started by subscribing to Publisher’s Marketplace. I used their powerful research function to find agents that carried YA authors I’d admired. I didn’t stop there. I googled the list of agents I’d created and read every interview they’d given and any news articles written about them. I probably spent a month doing this.

I narrowed my list to a few choice agents when I remembered one agent I had been introduced to in a social setting a couple of years prior. We didn’t talk business at the time, but I recalled liking her personality. But I thought she didn’t handle YA, only adult fiction. Then I stumbled on a list of top YA agents while doing my research, and there was her name. I knew many of her clients, but didn’t want to ask them for a recommendation. Not because I was shy but because I knew that it’s much more important to learn if the agent is attracted to the manuscript on its own merits.

All the agents responded quickly and soon spoke to me on the phone. Then it was a matter of seeing what they envisioned for the manuscript in terms of rewrites as well as the selling plan. I was also looking for what kind of chemistry existed between us, as I’m sure they were with me. This is the stage to ask your questions and I did. In the end, they were all great, highly professional, top agents. But I went with the one that I had met. She had said that it would end up being a gut decision and yes, it was.

Which is ultimately how you decide who to marry, right?

How I found my agent

Most people get their agent, go on submission, and then sell their book. Nope, not me. I’m not good at doing things the “conventional” way. I sold the book first—which I thought would make finding an agent a cinch. Not so much, but more on that later.

First, the book deal. I sold Memento Nora after submitting to several editors who were on a panel at the SCBWI Mid-Atlantic conference in Arlington. (Best $100+ I ever spent.) I got nibbles from two of the editors, but after a revision I sold the book to Marshall Cavendish. Then I scrambled to find an agent.

And like I said, I thought having a book deal in hand would make finding the agent easy or at least easier. I started querying agents, including one who’d been at the same conference, and they’ll all passed or didn’t even reply. (All equals about six or seven.)

Discouraged, I turned to the SCBWI bulletin board with hopes of finding out if this was unusual. Instead, I found a couple of agents who were specifically looking for SCBWI members. So I queried them, and Tina Wexler (ICM) thankfully requested a full manuscript and agreed to get back to me over the weekend.

Meanwhile, I met another agent through a work connection, and she also requested a full manuscript and agreed to get back to me over the same weekend.

So I was prepared not to hear from either of them until that Monday. However, Friday night, Tina emailed that she’d devoured Memento Nora at her desk that day and had to sneak into the bathroom at another author’s book launch to let me know. Come Monday, the other agent also offered representation, but I really had to go with Tina’s enthusiasm. I knew she was the one who really believed in my work—and that’s crucial to have on your side.

How I Found My Agent

At the end of April 2011 WriteOnCon hosted a live query event.  I knew I wanted to participate, but I didn't have a good query yet. I sat down with my husband and read him all the queries I had written.  And he was...nonplussed.  So he took my computer and started fiddling around; an hour later he handed me back a very experimental query.  It wasn't quite there, but there was something about it that actually sounded like the voice of my novel.  I spent another couple hours with it and then posted it to the website, hoping it wasn't too different from traditional query form.

But it wouldn't let me add it to the thread.  I tried several times and I kept getting a message that it would have to be approved by a mod.  I texted my critique partner: Did you have to wait for your query to post?  She replied that she hadn't.  I waited a couple hours the next morning to see if it would show up, but it didn't and more and more queries were grabbing the last few spots.  I finally broke down and messaged a mod.  She found it in the spam filter and, lucky for me, posted it in the spot it would have if I hadn't waited for approval.

I spent the weekend nervous, but excited for feedback.  I was more scared she wouldn't get to my query than of hearing what she had to say.  The Monday night of the event, I wanted to puke.  I knew it was time to start querying, but I was dragging my feet.  

Long story short: she liked it.  She asked for more, and I gleefully sent it off.  The next morning there was a request for the full manuscript in my inbox.  I cried (I did that a lot back then.  Now I'm more emotionally numb), and feeling encouraged and because my critique partners strong-armed me, I sent off more queries.  The next two responses asked for fulls, too.  I was beginning to feel like I was dreaming.  Then a form rejection put me back in my place.

On Sunday of that week, I got my first email requesting a call.  I cried (yes again).  My husband said I was scary (note to significant others: not the thing to say).  The next morning I woke up excited, scared, asking if agents ever called to tell you that you suck.  Before the call, I got two more full manuscript requests.  I was beginning to feel overwhelmed in a wonderful way.

I spoke with the agent, and she loved the book.  She offered rep and I told her I had other fulls out, she advised me to send email nudges to everyone, including the ones I hadn't heard from, since it had been less than a week.  I did and by that night I was up to ten full requests.

Then I got another call from an agent who read the sample pages and wanted to chat to see how serious I was and ask me to send the full.  Three hours later, she asked for a phone call the next morning.  Then another agent asked for one in the afternoon.  I felt anxious and happy and overwhelmed and hopeful and uncertain all at the same time.  Both agents offered.  That night an agent called at 8:45 to talk and offer rep.  I was up to four offers!

The second agent, Mollie Glick, then asked to fly out to meet me.

At the time I was a stay-at-home mom in the midwest.  These things didn't happen to me, but the next day I went on my first business lunch with Mollie.  I got us lost like ten freaking times, because I rarely went into the city back then (Mollie was good under pressure).  And I'm sure she was super-jealous of my awesome gold mini-van, but it was very cool and showed me just how serious she was about the book.  Also I got to eat crab cakes.

By that evening, three more agents asked to speak on the phone.  That Thursday, I spent over five hours on the phone.  My poor husband dragged my kids all over town.

In the end I had seven offers of representation, and all because I attended a WriteOnCon query event.  That's how those fabulous authors from WOC changed my life in less than a week.  I can't stress enough to get out there and take chances!  Yes, it's scary and stomach-turning, but it could change your life!  Having an agent see my query there put me on their radar in a way the slush pile could not.  I will be eternally grateful to the WOC girls.

I struggled with my decision.  I really loved all the agents I spoke with, but I sensed Mollie provided a certain business acumen I lacked (I'd much rather be writing pretend conversations).  If you are ever in that situation, my best advice is to take the time you need to make the decision, ask to speak with some of the agent's clients, and try to listen to your gut.

Now people have told me this is a bit of a Cinderella story, and I certainly felt like I was living in a fairytale while it was happening.  But while that story is fun to share, because it could happen to you, it doesn't tell you about the months leading up to that magical week.  While my querying experience was short and sweet, there was lots of planning that went into it.  Here are some of the things I did to prepare myself for querying.  I hope they help.

1.  I joined Querytracker.net.  (If you can swing it, get the premium membership.  Worth it!) I spent about four months researching agents, building a tiered list of who to query, and making notes on the individual agents' pages.  

2.  I became an active member of the QT forums.  Reading and offering feedback on other queries made it much easier to start writing my own.  It also prepared me for what to expect and gave me a supportive community to lean on when I was struggling with writing.  They were the first people to give me a thumbs up on the query that snagged my agent.

3.  I participated in pitch contests.  I did every blog/twitter pitch contest I could find.  I never even made it to the final round of any of them, but it helped me perfect my blurb line.

4.  I researched agents during the day when I couldn't focus enough to work on the novel.  I had two very small kids at home (3 years-old and less than 1 year-old at the time), and my out of the house writing time had to be that: writing time.

5.  I read Queryshark religiously.  Actually it was my friend Josin McQuein's query for Premeditated on Queryshark that gave me the guts to use a more experimental query for Crewel.

6.  I treated it like my job.  I was organized and methodical about it (probably more organized than I've ever been.)

So if you're joining the trenches, I salute you and leave you with some of the best advice I ever got from pinterest:
from pinterest:

Source: fab.com viaGenn on Pinterest

How I got my agent

This week we’re telling our “How I got my agent” story. Actually, for me there would be two stories to tell, because my current agent (Jill Grinberg – she’s awesome!) wasn’t my first agent and she didn’t sell my first book The Other Life. 

But today I’m only going to tell the story of how I found her, since my first time in the query trenches was pretty uneventful: I had no pub credentials, I wrote a book, I queried, I got rejected, I got an offer, I accepted said offer, my first agent sold The Other Life – end of story. 

Or not really. 

A relationship with an agent is a bit like marriage; sometimes it takes you a while to realize that you aren’t meant to be, that you have different goals or different tastes, and then you part ways. That’s what happened to me (not marriage-wise, thank God!).

So suddenly I found myself in a position that I didn’t ever want to be in again: I had to query. Maybe you think that shouldn’t be a problem. Maybe you think I just needed to send out a couple of letters explaining my situation and telling possible agents about as-of-yet unwritten books I was dreaming of. After all, I had already sold a book.

But this round in query hell wasn’t all that different from the first round. I wasn’t a big fish in the query waters. It didn’t matter that I had a book coming out soon. All that mattered was the book I was querying – my YA thriller IMPOSTOR – which was complete and revised. It came down to one simple thing: Did the agent love my book enough to offer?

And let me tell you one thing: for me the second time was even worse. Because what if nobody wanted IMPOSTOR? What would people think if I didn’t even find an agent with my new book, though I had a book coming out? I drove myself crazy.

Luckily it didn’t come to that. Though I got rejections, I also got an offer from a lovely agent, and then – unlike last time – I was clever enough to give the other agents I had queried time to consider my manuscript. And I got another offer, and another offer, and then a couple of hours before I wanted to make my decision I got the offer I would accept. I talked to all the agents on the phone and after that last phone call with my now agent, I took my time to consider my four offers, though I was already pretty sure about my decision. But this time I wanted to be absolutely certain before I said yes. 

I drove my husband crazy. I drove myself crazy. I even drove our dog crazy with my pacing. But eventually, shortly before midnight (German time) I sent the email to Jill, accepting her offer. 

And that was the right decision. A few months later she sold IMPOSTOR to Razorbill/Penguin, and I couldn’t be happier! 

A Day in the Life of (Extraordinarily Random) Author Debra Driza

Hello, everyone! I’m so excited to be a new contributor to the League of Extraordinary Writers, WOOT!  (although, I’m not totally convinced that I don’t fit in better with the League of Extraordinarily Disorganized Writers, or perhaps, the League of Ordinary Writers with Delusions of Grandeur. But since I wasn’t invited to participate in either of those groups, here I am!

*waves*

I thought I’d introduce myself by giving you a little peak at my super glamorous and exciting daily life (um….pretty sure this is where I sign up with the League of Extraordinary Fibbers)

Each day, I do a little of this:

Some of this:

A little of this:

Entirely too much of this:

 Some of this (okay, no, not really--I save THIS for special occasions):

And, since my book MILA 2.0 debuts in less than two weeks (HOLY CRAP!), maybe just a teensy bit of this: