Celebrate every success - and send that query already! đ
Today's guest is assistant literary agent Ashley Reisinger.
When your end goal is to get your book traditionally published, so much of the process is out of your control.
This is a tough industry that can be so subjective â and even random at times. It can be easy to get wrapped up in trying to perfect your work, and then get bogged down in disappointment when youâre still faced with the inevitable rejections and frustrations. Remember, rejection is a part of the process, and itâs not necessarily a reflection on you or your writing. Perseverance and persistence are the name of the game.
Donât forget to celebrate the little wins along the way.
When you start to feel down about your publishing journey, try to remember that what youâre doing is truly amazing. Itâs something that few other people will ever do, and each step you take is getting you that much closer to your goal. Let go of perfection, and keep taking brave steps forward. Each one is worth celebrating!
In todayâs interview, assistant literary agent Ashley Reisinger goes over the importance of focusing on what you can control, celebrating small successes along your publishing journey, and knowing when to let go of perfection and send that query letter already.
OUR SPECIAL GUEST TODAY ISâŠ
Ashley Reisinger
Assistant Literary Agent at Triada US
Her current #MSWL includes adult romance; YA rom-coms, contemporary, and the odd spec fic; and MG contemporary and fantasy.
What is one thing you wish emerging authors knew about the publishing industry or the traditional publishing process?
This is probably going to be the last thing most emerging authors want to hear, but I think itâs important to know that itâs not unusual for your first book not to sell on submission. Itâs really not unlike querying in a lot of ways, and while you do have an advocate on your side now, you and your agent are still trying to hit a subjective (and often crowded) market, at the right time. That doesnât always translate into a first-time success.
Is that disappointing to hear? Totally. Does that mean your first book out on sub definitely wonât sell? Of course not. But it also doesnât mean youâre some outlier who has done something wrong if you donât land a book deal right away. It doesnât mean your agent doesnât believe in you or didnât try to position your book for success (though, of course, do your research, as there are definitely shmagents out there). And it really doesnât mean youâre a bad writer, or itâs never going to happen, or you missed your chance, or you should give up. It just means itâs a tough industry, and sometimes itâs a little like throwing darts at the wall. Focus on what you can control, writing the best stories you can, and keep at it. Itâll happen!
How can querying authors ensure their sample pages are engaging and intriguing?
The unhelpful answer is voice. Thereâs a sort of ineffable quality to the character and/or writerâs voice that has the potential to draw me into the sample pages immediately, and a strong, engaging voice tends to lend a propulsive quality to the writing thatâs hard to replicate.
That being said, voice is so incredibly subjective, and I feel one of the biggest things you can do to hook agents otherwise is to make sure youâre starting your pages where the story is. I think agents see a lot of similar, often genre-specific openings rehashed over and over, and itâs hard to get a sense of whatâs different and unique about your manuscript if weâre reading our fifth âcharacter is on the train/car/plane to new destinationâ opening of the day. Thatâs not to say you canât put a fresh twist on these well-worn openers, but I think youâre often doing a disservice to your story by starting in a place where any other narrative could start. That doesnât mean you should necessarily open your manuscript in the middle of some splashy action scene, but Iâd like to get some of the flavor of your unique story in the sample pages as this is what I feel is the most engaging to read.
What traits or qualities do you look for in a potential client?
If we can have a mutual trust and respect for each other, then the rest pretty much comes out in the wash, though I do really value open communication and would hope that most of my clients feel the same way. Itâs a lot easier to work as a collaborative partnership if weâre both willing to talk about where weâre at, when weâre having issues, if we have questions, where we might require different accommodations from each other, etc., and I canât implement those things or be the best advocate for you if I donât know what you need.
What is one piece of advice you would give to a writer who aspires to be published?
Celebrate every success. This is a remarkably challenging industry, and thereâs so much thatâs outside of your control, dependent on timing, and luck, andâhere comes our favorite word againâsubjectivity. Thereâs a lot of rejection and disappointment, all throughout the process. Thatâs a difficult place to be, especially for the often years-long process that is traditional publishing. But what you are doing is actually incredible. Most people will never write a book in their entire lives, and youâre here doing it! Most people will never receive beta feedback, write a query, get a full request, land an agent, put a book on submission, etc., etc., etc. Especially when youâre plugged into the writing community, it can feel like these things are so commonplace, and often, like youâre lagging behind, but thatâs simply not true.
Itâs important to remind yourself that every step you take deserves celebration; the final goal of âbeing publishedâ is not the only part worth being proud of. Even the rejections are proof that youâve put yourself out there. It sucks, for sure, closing another door, telling yourself itâs not personal, all the while, still feeling like itâs very personal. But finding ways to celebrate this amazing thing youâre doing I think is the best way to avoid getting trapped beneath the disappointment and the imposter syndrome. Buy yourself something fun, have a nice dinner, tell your friends, throw a party, pop the champagneâwhatever you do, just remember to mark each accomplishment, no matter how small it might feel in the moment.
What tips would you give authors who are trying to determine if their manuscript is agent-ready?
Outside of some of the more obvious things (i.e.: make sure your manuscript is actually finished; put it through some level of revisions; if you can, get beta readers and critique partners to review your work), I donât know that youâll ever really be 100% sure your manuscript is ready. You can reread it a hundred times, check for every typo, have the group chat screaming at you that âitâs time!!!â But I think thereâs always a bit of a leap-of-faith element to sending your work to agents. Itâs vulnerable, itâs nerve wracking, itâs a huge step in the journey, and mentally getting yourself to the place where youâre ready can sometimes be harder than getting your story to the place where itâs ready. I think my biggest tip is that, at some point, youâre just going to have to send the query. If youâre at the stage in your edits where youâve dealt with all the big-picture issues, and now youâre just fussing with wording, looking for typos, moving sentences aroundâitâs probably time.
My encouragement here is that most agents arenât looking for perfection. Youâre likely going to receive editorial notes on your manuscript anyway, even after an offer of representation, so itâs not as though your work has to be absolutely flawless before you can query it. While you want to make sure itâs the best story you can tell so youâre positioning yourself for success as you submit your work to agents, youâre not going to get auto-rejected for a typo, or awkward wording in places, or a missing punctuation mark somewhere. Take a bit of the pressure off, and take a chance. Youâve got this!
Good to remember that the path to publication is not linear, landing an agent does not lead inevitably to selling your manuscript. Appreciate your work, Alyssa, thanks!
This article is so refreshing to read. I especially like the last section about getting the query out. I am currently editing my first book, and to know that it doesn't have to be perfect to get it out to agents is wonderful. It's not an excuse to be sloppy, but it makes the goal seem closer to me. My wife keeps saying I should get it out there. Nice to hear that from an outside source!