Represented!

It worked, it worked, it worked! Oh my gosh, I'm a happy gal! Today was my phone meeting with Anne Hawkins. But perhaps we'll go over the very brief back story.

Remember how I said I crashed and burned with the first batch of query letters I sent out? (There were seven of them, and I sensed my dismal failure, so I didn't send out tons).

This time I made a list of the agents I would like most to represent me, and then I focused on my very favorite few- my "Dream Team," if you will. At the head of that list was Anne Hawkins who is one of four agents at John Hawkins & Associates, LLC.  They represent Joyce Carol Oates, Gregory McGuire, they brokered the first million dollar book deal in the history of publishing, and have quite a few books on the New York Times Best Seller List. Anne was the pie in the sky.

So I wrote to her, and she e-mailed back really quickly (within the week) asking for the first 50 pages. I sent those, and two days later she asked for the full manuscript. Exactly one (excruciating) week later, she e-mailed saying she really liked my book and could we talk on the phone?

Today was that conversation at 3:00, after working a full day with kiddos and using almost all my 15,000 words up. Here's how the conversation went:
I called the number she gave me at exactly 3:00, and it connected with the receptionist at JHALIT who transfered me.
Anne: Liz! Hello!
Me: Hi, Anne! How are you?
A: Great! Did you take your punctuality pill today, or what?
M: Are you kidding? It was all I could do not to call you first thing this morning.

Insert lots of casual banter here. Then she got down to business.
A: Liz, this book has legs.
M: I'm happy to hear you say that.
A: Let me tell you what I see in this book: It's set in a small town, and Americans LOVE that. And it's Southern fiction, which editors are begging for. It's got substance and LOTS to talk about in it.

She went on to say the only thing that needs a little bit of tweaking is pacing here and there. But she assured me these are small fixes and that she's splitting hairs so we won't give any editors a reason to turn us away.

So she's going to read it again this weekend with sticky notes and  red pen and make some notes. Then I'm going to revise it again, and we're going to pitch it to a few editors and publishing houses that she's got an idea will buy this book.

She made some excellent points about the publishing industry that I'd never thought of:
For one thing, she said it's not always better to go with the mega publishing houses. They have all kinds of books out in the market. None of them have to do extremely well for them to stay in business. They can all do quasi-well, and the business will still make money. -So they're not super motivated to take care of their authors or publicize the heck out of their work.

On the other hand, mid sized houses NEED their authors to do well, and they'll go to any length to make sure that happens. They treat their authors really well, give them excellent cover art, good publicity, and great placement on shelves across the country.
And when it comes time to know which houses are which, Anne said, "...And I know where the bodies are buried." To which I responded, "Well that's a good thing, because I don't know where ANY of the bodies are!"

She said she would categorize my book as Up Market Women's Fiction, which apparently roughly 90% of books that sell are sold in this genre. She said it's the perfect book club book, since there is substance and SO much to talk about.

Several times Anne said, "Liz, this is a really, really good book." -But not in the blowing smoke up my ass kind of way. Just in the way one might mention a particularly tasty sandwich or lovely sunset. It's just well done and she said so. -Which I appreciated.

So she sent me some stuff to read about the publishing industry, and I'm going to write down questions.  She'll read my book again this weekend, and next week we'll speak again to compare notes.

I forgot to mention the title, and neither did she. I'm not sure if it will stay or if it is salable. And I'm not sure I love it. But we'll get to that point when we get there. That might be a question for the in-house editor.

When I got off the phone a half an hour later, I was calm and pleased. I felt like I had just spoken with my aunt or old family friend, like I have known Anne forever. I'm sure she has my best interest at heart, and I think we will go far together... for many years.