Finding a Dream Agent

The summer of 2009, I cleaned up loose ends and problems in the story and sent out four query letters to agents. 'Cause that's what you do when you have a manuscript.

I knew my biggest problem: length. In its 2009 form, SPOTD was looooong. Too long for middle grade readers, my primary audience. How long? Probably 350+ book size pages. Now, Harry Potter proved that young readers will cart around and devour lengthy tomes, but not until they are hooked. Typical MG novels on my library shelves tend to be half that length.

I also knew the text needed a good copy edit, but I hoped that an agent would see its potential and that the publishing process would help me perfect the novel.

I sent my letters in June and got lucky fast. Jennifer Flannery, the agent for Minnesota YA author Gary Paulsen, nibbled right away. She asked for a full manuscript. I still remember how thrilling it felt to receive her postcard, even though it wasn't a personal letter. Most authors have horror stories of sending out dozens or hundreds of queries before an agent bites, and here I had caught the attention of my dream agent right out of the gate.

I figured out how to format and print it properly and sent it off. Then I listened to the crickets chirp for the rest of the summer.

Finally, just before school started in the fall, I received another postcard. Jennifer Flannery was passing on my manuscript.

Still.