How I Met (and Got) My Agent

To those who know her, it is no surprise that Rachelle Gardner received the ACFW’s 2011 Agent of the Year Award. Rachelle is smart, hi-energy, and much sought-after among writers.

For the record, I have never met Rachelle in person. (I’m hoping that will change next year as I’m planning on attending the ACFW conference in Colorado.) Since she agreed to represent me (April 2010), we speak regularly on the phone, exchange text messages, emails, etc. Suffice to say, Rachelle has been a great source of wisdom and encouragement.

I am one of those old school writers who still believes that agents matter. As such, when I began pursuing publication I followed the conventional steps, one of which was: After you complete your manuscript, begin querying agents. Rachelle was NOT one of those I queried. In fact, how we met is rather unconventional. Which is what I wanted to talk about here.

I began querying agents back in 2006. (I had completed what would later be titled  The Resurrection.) It was a slow process, fraught with letdowns. I cast my net far and wide, which meant a lot of rejections. Finally, in September 2006, I signed a contract with an exceptional, well-known CBA agent. She shopped my novel throughout the CBA. There was marginal interest. After we made the CBA rounds, our options became limited. We reached a high point when, after a BEA convention, an editor at Random House took interest in the book. Long story short, they passed. Shortly thereafter, my first agent and I agreed to part ways.

I know, that stuff happens all the time. Writers sign with agents, something doesn’t click, and the partnership is ended. Nevertheless, I was really bummed out. Here I was, back at square one. Completed manuscript, and no one to champion me. It took me several weeks to regain my sea legs. When I did, I began querying agents again. Once again, Rachelle was NOT one of them.

So how did we “meet,” much less agree to representation?

The answer is pretty simple: Rachelle had been following my blog for years. In fact, as far back as May 2007 Rachelle Gardner was commenting on my blog (HERE‘s that comment. And ANOTHER, and ANOTHER). Please note, Rachelle was NOT an agent at the time. She was an editor. But, like a good “aspiring agent,” she was trolling the web, interacting with writers.

Anyway, that relationship continued even after she became an agent. We mutually followed each others blogs, commented here and there, and corresponded via email once in a while. And then something happened.

Between querying agents and working on my second novel, I had begun shopping my first book around. Strang Publications (now Charisma House) was one of the publishers my first agent hadn’t queried. Coincidentally, they accepted unsolicited manuscripts. I submitted the book and, lo and behold, they appeared interested.

So maybe I didn’t need an agent after all, hmm?

Call me a doofus, but I thought just the opposite. If I was going to get anywhere near contractual discussions with a publisher, I wanted a professional to assist in the navigation.

Somewhere around that time, Rachelle and I had exchanged emails regarding the CBA and the Speculative Fiction genre (a subject we have talked about in detail before). At the time, Rachelle was not representing spec-fic. However, being that (1) My novel was being considered for publication, (2) I was not agented, (3) Would like to be agented, and (4) Seemed to already have a decent relationship with a pretty darned good agent, I figured I would just float the suggestion to her.

We spoke over the phone for the first time. I was nervous.

Within a month, Rachelle agreed to represent me, and Strang offered me a two-book contract. Years of hard work, disappointment, and second-guessing just tumbled into place. It was really quite a whirlwind.

So what’s the takeaway from all this? I suppose you could say persistence, perseverance. Indeed. But something larger looms in my mind. Before the possibility of being agented by Rachelle Gardner ever existed, we were, unbeknownst to us, laying the groundwork for that relationship. Chalk it up to Rachelle’s savvy, her interaction with writerfolk, or her commitment to a web presence. Or was it MY commitment to a web presence, my platform, my blogging that created the bridge? Or was it both?

Maybe the moral is: Just keep getting your stuff out there. Keep working hard, striving for excellence, plodding forward. Someone is watching. You never know what relationships you cultivate now, which may significantly influence your career in the future.