The Call: Before

The amazing Tonya Kuper came up with the idea for a Seymour Agency Blog hop, about The Call.

This is a Blog Hop, so be sure to hit up Tonya's blog, and then check out the rest of my agency sisters' blogs for their stories!

For those of you who aren't as obsessed saturated with writerly vocabulary, The Call is that moment when an Agent, or Editor, phones you to discuss your manuscript. This call is sometimes a formality before the Agent offers representation. Usually, it's for you to get a feel for each other, and to weed out the crazies.

(I slipped by! MWAH HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAA)

*ahem*

It's an amazing moment, either way, and I hope you get YOUR Call soon!

But my call story will be in a couple days. This post is about before the call.

I'm a librarian for the town I live in. Best. Job. Ever. I'd written a few manuscripts before MOONDREAMER, the one I was querying (and got me Marisa, My agent). Manuscript 1 was adult urban fantasy, and like the first pancake; okay, but better that no one consumes that one.

Manuscript 2 was adult commercial fiction, though technically New Adult. I queried that one for a LONG time, with no bites. I knew the query was solid, as I'd beaten The Query Shark herself with that one. Then a few agents told me that while they liked the idea, in their experience, adult fiction about musicians just doesn't sell well.

I'd known that there wasn't a lot on the shelves about it, but written it anyways. I had to shelve that manuscript and move on to my next project.

My next project was a New Adult contemporary about a librarian with synaesthesia - a condition I have. During this time I met my first ever Critique Partner, The AMAZING Jessa Russo

Then came a life changing moment.I showed her the 10k I'd written of MOONDREAMER, curious as to what she thought. It was based on a dream I'd had, and thought - hey that might be a cool book idea. But I wasn't sure. See, I hadn't really read any YA. Jessa pretty much ONLY reads YA. She read it.

And told me I HAD to write THIS story, because it was different than anything she'd read.

So I did. I drafted the rest in a whirlwind 3 week period. Then revised. Then queried. Then wrote a new beginning - two new chapters that made the Manuscript SO MUCH better. I got an R&R from a Big Agent, and his revisions made MOONDREAMER SO much better.

And I read a metric SHIT-TON of YA books in the meantime. I firmly believe you should read the category you write in, if only to see what else is out there. Every book you read should make you a better writer - even if you're only learning what DOESN'T work.

And then came Pitchmas.

I don't know if fate exists. But if one thing had gone differently, I wouldn't have my agent - Marisa Cleveland - one of the Pitchmas judges.

Pitchmas was Jessa's idea. If she hadn't said, 'I want to do a pitch contest, and I want to do it with you,' I wouldn't have connected with Marisa.

I SO wanted to enter Pitchmas but entering your own contest is TACKY AS HELL! But I was SO tempted, that I asked my friend/ CP Tristina Wright to write me a new pitch - just to see what she'd do with my MS. It's ALWAYS interesting to see what another person thinks are the key moments of the MS. If she hadn't come up with such an AMAZING pitch, I wouldn't have caught Marisa's attention.

Her pitch was so amazing, I lamented to CP Laura AKA Mittens Morgul that I couldn't use it. And SHE said, 'Well. Entering might be tacky, but you could use your pitch as the example for everyone to see how to format their pitches.' O.O

It was just so crazy it might work!

So, I deleted the one I'd made - a Princess Bride example. And I slipped mine in there, still feeling a bit douchy, but knowing I wasn't taking anybody's place.

But if Laura hadn't been so diabolically clever, my pitch wouldn't have been there at all.

So. Three things that if hadn't aligned perfectly, may very well have been the different between successfully finding my agent, and still being stuck in the query trenches.

THEN PITCHMAS HAPPENED! O.O

Seriously. Throwing a contest is just as nerve wracking as entering one. We were so afraid of ALL THE THINGS that could potentially go wrong. No one would want to be a judge, we'd get judges but no one would enter, people would enter, but no one would get requests.

We were wrong. With over 108 requests from the blog alone, I'd say it was a resounding success.

WEDNESDAY: Jessa and I were trying to live tweet when agents were on the blog. And caught up in FEELINGS, I tweeted, 'I just really want everyone to get at least 1 request.'

Marisa Cleveland responded to my tweet, asking if I'd gotten any requests, because she thought my pitch sounded awesome.

I said no, as I hadn't technically entered the contest.

She told me to send her the FULL that Wednesday night.

Thursday I was back at work, and unable to be there for much of the Twitter Pitch day.  I was wrecked, having stayed up late Tuesday night, then gotten up early Wednesday morning for the contest. And the stress of the friggin entry window which we will NOT EVER be doing that way again. *sidles up to random draw, lust in her eyes*

So when I got home, and saw this tweet from Marisa: 'Excuse me @FeakySnucker. You know how my wish list states voice is key for me? Well, have you got it and I want it! Let's make this happen.' NATURALLY I thought I was hallucinating.

I wasn't sure what she meant - it had been LESS THAN 24 HOURS since she'd requested my full.

I replied asking if I was hallucinating this tweet as it had been a wild few days. She told me she always means what she says, and to check my email.

So I did.

And what I found, was this: 'I am interested, and I am meeting with my senior mentor agent tomorrow.
If all goes as planned (my plan, of course!), I have your phone number (from your manuscript), and I intend to use it. *fair warning*'

And more things that made my little heart pound.

I just couldn't believe it! She'd basically offered me OVER TWITTER! WHERE PEOPLE COULD SEE! She wasn't playing it cool at all, and it was heady stuff. I swooned, and freaked out in emails to friends who were squeeing with me, asking if I'd seen her tweets! I even asked Marisa if she'd read the whole thing yet haha. I'm such a LOSER! :D

Then a little later on twitter,  Marisa Tweeted this: 'the moment I realize I can't stop reading a manuscript and I rush to my bookshelves and find exactly where it would fit... that moment.'

And a tiny part of me was like, 'OMG! Is that about MEEEEEEEEEEEE?! No! Wow Little Miss Ego, rein that shit in. Not every tweet is about YOU!'

And then Marisa Tweeted again: 'That last "moment" tweet was for @feakysnucker... and yes, read it in 3 hours, loved it halfway through Pg.1. #Pitchmas'

At which point my CP's and I pretty much LOST OUR TINY LITTLE MINDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So FRIDAY came. I waited for The Call - but it never came. Marisa sent me an email, saying her meeting had been rescheduled, so she'd call me on Monday instead. BUT I emailed the other agents who still had my Full, and agreed to give them time.

:(

I was a bit disappointed, but it had all happened so fast, it was all right, though I wasn't sure how I'd make it through the weekend with my sanity intact. What if she changed her mind?! What if I'd imagined the whole thing?! What if - well. We won't get into the neurotic flailings. Suffice it to say, I had to be peeled off the ceiling a few times.

SATURDAY Morning.

I see Marisa Tweeted this: This manuscript is submission ready! I want to make an offer right now. Must I really wait until Monday? #Pitchmas request. @JessaRusso

Again, a tiny part of me was like - is that about ME?!

I promptly gave that little voice the smack down. NOT EVERY TWEET IS ABOUT YOU, TAM! WALK IT OFF! Holy EGO!

I was bleary eyed, and tired, and impatiently waiting for coffee. I Tweeted this, feeling it was COMPLETELY TRUE: I suspect the coffee pot is sentient, and basks in my attention, so it's brewing the coffee as slowly as it can to savour our time together.

And Marisa responded right away with this: '@feakysnucker oh good you're up is the coffee done brewing???' 

And I'd gone to get a cup of coffee, and read it when I came back. 

And while I wasn't sure she was going to phone me, I RAN upstairs and grabbed the cordless phone just in case. 

Then I RAN back downstairs, and gulped as much coffee as I could JUST IN CASE. Needed the synapses to be firing. 

And then I opened the Word document I'd made, of questions to ask Marisa when we had The Call... JUST IN CASE.

And then the phone rang...

I HAVE AN AGENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Psst!

Hi.




So... I'VE GOT AN AGENT!!!!

I know. No one's more surprised than I am.


Let's hear it for self-confidence!

When Jessa Russo and I organized Pitchmas, we never dreamed anything like this would happen. But one of the agents noticed my pitch in the example, and requested the full. She read it in three hours, and wooed me on twitter the next day.At least, I felt very wooed.

She called me on Saturday, and her enthusiasm bowled me over.

Seriously. I felt like this:

So, after nudging the others who had my full, and thinking long and hard about what I wanted, I made a decision.

With delight, and shock, and awe, it's my PLEASURE to announce I've signed with MARISA CLEVELAND of the SEYMOUR AGENCY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Words can't describe the awesomeness that clings to her. She is just epic, and I love her already. But you can't have her cuz she's all MINE! <--That's how it works, right? I don't have to share? :P Either way, she's my new partner in crime.

It took a lot of caffeine to get me to this point. There was laughter, tears, rending of garments, and gnashing of teeth.

But it was because of my CP's - my critique partners, that I got through it.

Jessa, my first CP ever, who was there from the start, and redirected me from my other WIP, and told me I needed to write Moondreamer. I don't know how we made it 30 years without finding each other. Without her, I wouldn't have even written this book. Okay, maybe eventually I would have, but not for a while. My twin separated at birth. My number one girl. Even though we've never met, we're so close, our husbands worry we're lesbians.I'm not saying we are. But I'm not saying we're not. :D

Laura, whose sharp eyes picked up the embarrassing bonus commas, and other lame shit that others missed. She is incredibly sweet, JEOPARDY smart, and an amazing cheerleader. Seriously one of my favourite people. She made me a bracelet for when the zombie apocalypse hits. She's like Macguyver with a vag. And a credenza.

To the Mistresses of the Written Word: I hope you all know how much you mean to me. Every day you made me strive harder to be better, simply by being amazing in your own ways. *pervy group hug*

Thank you all. For picking me up, and talking me down when I needed it most.
Especially on the days where I felt like, 'I've GOT this!' only to promptly fall short of my goal.

Or the days like this:

 Or where I felt like this:

This too. OH there was a lot of this: 

And some of this:

But I got up, put on my big girl panties and kept writing. Because

...when they want to succeed.




So thank you to everyone who believed in me, and was there for me when I needed it. You know who you are. I hope. Basically, this:

And this:

And possibly (definitely) a little of this too:

Because of you -

Or at least, I feel like I do. :)

Because here's where I'm at now, after writing, query trenches, shelved manuscripts, revisions, PATIENTLY waiting (hysterical laughter) and writing more, then the insanity of Pitchmas: I'm agented with someone who GETS me, and GETS my manuscript, and believes in me. ENTHUSIASM FTW! She fits me like a non-sexual analogy!!! Maybe slightly naughty. But only because she is truly epic.

I feel like this:

Although if you see me, it looks more like this:

And although the journey is FAR from over, I will never forget all the words of encouragement, and those of you who helped me make MOONDREAMER better.<3



To the haters, who thought I'd never do it, and have probably read this blog with THIS expression:

But not really. Because,

PITCHMAS IS LIVE!!!

Pitchmas is now LIVE!


Post your 35 word pitch in the comment section of THIS post!


Submissions should look like this:

Your name: Tamara Mataya
Your email address:
Title: MOONDREAMER
Genre: Upper YA Urban Fantasy

Pitch: After I got off the bus to avoid those two creepy guys sniffing the air, I learned how to fly, met a leprechaun, and slept with an incubus. Best. Bus Stop. Ever.***


Submission window is NOW CLOSED.


 Comments are open for the Editors and Agents! Anyone tries to sneak in an additional pitch will be swiftly deleted. And given the e-stink-eye.No comments on pitches please - if a judge asks you about your MS, you may answer.




***While it's tacky to enter the contest myself, I should mention this would be my pitch if I entered, and I am currently seeking representation ;)