Happy Wednesday Everyone! Today, I’m excited to have L.L. Madrid here to share a guest post about life after breaking up with an agent to celebrate the release of her YA novel, My Lips, Her Voice. It sounds like an intriguing mystery, and I’m looking forward to reading it.
Here’s
a blurb from Goodreads:
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Copper
City’s bloody history is steeped in ghost stories and whispers of serial
killers, but three girls have caught the attention of something far more
sinister.
A grandmother tormented by visions tried to warn
the town, but no one listened. Now, a haunted inheritance has passed to her
granddaughters, Audrey and Mara. When Mara’s body is discovered in the old
mine, Audrey fears her grandmother’s premonition is manifesting.
The nightmare begins as Mara’s spirit
returns—lurking under Audrey’s skin, hellbent on vengeance and desperate to
rekindle things with her former girlfriend, Zadie. Willing to hijack Audrey’s
body to get what she wants, Mara drags them both into a deadly pursuit.
When another girl in town goes missing, Audrey,
Mara, and Zadie know the killer has struck again. In a fight to solve Mara’s
death and uncover the mystery of disappearances in Copper City, the girls soon
find themselves at war with each other. How do you survive long enough to hunt
a murderer on the loose if the person inside you might kill you first?
Before I get to L.L.’s guest post, I have my IWSG post:
Posting: The first Wednesday is officially Insecure Writer's Support Group Day.
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
The awesome co-hosts this month are: Tara Tyler, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, Liza, and me!
Optional Question: As a writer, what was one of the coolest gifts you’ve received?
The coolest gift I ever received was my first laptop when I turned 50. My sister and husband bought it for me. We were at a family reunion, and they surprised me with an early birthday present. I had no idea I was getting a laptop. We had a PC, and Rudy had a work laptop. But it made life much easier when I got a laptop to use for my blog and writing.
Now here’s L.L.!
No Longer Repped By: Life After an Agent Breakup
By L.L. Madrid
After completing a book, getting an agent is the first major hurdle on the path to traditional publishing. I queried three different projects for six years while researching agents, reading up on “the call,” and fantasizing about the day I’d get to put “repped by” in my social media bios.
My
agent story is fairly common; they had my full when I got an offer from another
agent. I nudged, had a few more calls, and the person who became my agent
shared my vision for the book and offered valuable insight. Simply signing with
an agent felt like a dream come true.
Then,
while I was deep in revisions, prepping my book for sub, my agent emailed me
that she was leaving agenting for a different career. Reading her words, I felt
hot, as if a fever had struck me. I had no plan for this, and in my naivety, I
never imagined that my agent might leave. It had taken me so long to get
representation, and the idea of going back into the query trenches brought me
to tears.
At the end of the email there was a glimmer of hope. My agent had a colleague who’d read the book and wanted to chat if I was interested. In the time between the email and the call, I scoured the internet for advice on what to do if, suddenly, you no longer had an agent. The lack of information I found was disappointing. There was plenty of discourse on leaving “schmagents,” but I found little reassurance about what to do after you quietly remove the “repped by” from your bio.
Almost four years later, my circle of writer friends has grown tremendously, and I now know that having a “forever agent” isn’t that common. Recently, I met with a group of six writers, and the topic of agents came up. Out of the group, four were on their second or even third agent. We shared our stories, and one thing rang true: when so much emphasis is placed on finding an agent, people aren’t exactly eager to publicly discuss losing theirs.
I was lucky that when I found myself agentless, it was only for a brief stint. The interested colleague ultimately sold my book and is still my brilliant agent, Ellen Goff. It was truly the best-case scenario.
However, that’s often not the case, so if anyone reading this is a writer panicking because, for whatever reason, things aren’t working out with their agent, I wanted to offer more, so I asked my friend A.J. Van Belle if they could share some of their knowledge. A.J.’s thoughts on the subject are particularly valuable as they experienced an agent breakup as a writer and A.J. is now an agent themself.
Leigh (L.L.): Why did you part ways with your agent?
A.J.: In early 2021, due to pandemic financial losses, my then-agent’s agency abruptly told her to let most of her clients go. She seemed as surprised as I was. Not long afterward, she left agenting entirely.
Leigh: It took you 15 months to gain new representation. Did your former agent offer any support in the transition?
A.J.: She did offer to have a phone call for emotional support, but she didn’t have any practical recommendations or assistance.
Leigh: If you could have a conversation with your past self about the situation, what advice would you give?
A.J.: I would remind myself that this change made way for a partnership with a different agent who’s a much better fit for me. I would also tell myself not to worry so much about the optics of the situation. At the time, I was very concerned that if I let people know what happened, most people would jump straight to the conclusion that the agent had dropped me because she lacked confidence in my work. Now-me would very much like to reassure then-me that everyone in the publishing industry knows that changes of representation happen regularly, and they’re rarely a reason to look down on the writer. I would tell myself I didn’t have to feel so alone and didn’t need to be ashamed of having to seek new representation.
Leigh: From an agent’s perspective, what is the first thing (after wallowing) that a writer should do after parting ways with their agent?
A.J.: First, evaluate whether you’re in a place to query again with the manuscript your previous agent represented. If your newest and best manuscript has already been on sub, or if it already thoroughly made the querying rounds before you signed with your now-former agent, the next thing to do is to focus on writing a brilliant new book. If you do have a book ready for querying right away, the next thing to do is to reach out to writer friends and ask which agents they recommend querying. Do your research as to who might be a good fit. New agents may have come on the scene since you last queried; get a sense for their wish lists and put them on your query list. Take your time refining your query, asking beta readers for feedback and strengthening your pitch.
Leigh: Should writers mention they were formerly agented in their query letter? If so, how do you recommend they word it?
A.J.: It’s absolutely fine to mention it. You could say something like, “My previous agent and I parted amicably because [he/she/they] [retired/no longer reps my genre].” Note: you don’t have to provide a reason, especially if it feels too complicated to state in just a few words. So, for example, you might say, “After parting amicably with my former agent, I’m querying [TITLE], which has never been submitted to publishers.”
Leigh: Say a writer gets a call with a new agent. What can they expect to discuss regarding their agented past?
A.J.: If you’ve been previously agented, this will probably come up in the offer call. At that point, you can keep it fairly simple, similar to what I’ve suggested for wording that could be included in the query letter; but it also allows for slightly more nuanced comments on the previous relationship and why it ended. However, there’s still no reason to go into great detail. The offering agent will mainly want to know (1) that the manuscript they’re interested in has not already made the rounds with publishers and (2) a brief mention of what the reason for parting was. That doesn’t mean the new agent needs to hear every detail, but there’s no reason to feel you have to hide anything.
Leigh: One of my fears about losing my first agent was that there might be a bias against writers who’d parted ways with their agents, or that it might be viewed as a red flag. What are your thoughts?
A.J.: Speaking from my own perspective, I actually perk up when I see a previously agented writer in my inbox. Because their work is strong enough that it has already gained representation, a previously agented author is likely to continue producing professional manuscripts with the potential for publication.
Leigh: If a colleague left publishing, would you consider taking on any of their clients?
A.J.: I would strongly consider it, since I wouldn’t want to see their clients “orphaned.” However, I would only take them on if I felt we were truly a good fit, because every writer deserves an agent who’s passionate about their work.
Leigh: Thank you, A.J.! Check here to see A.J.’s query status.
Every writer’s path to publication is full of plot twists, and losing an agent is a common trope. Traditional publishing is a business. People have different work styles and goals, and sometimes they change careers. Parting ways with an agent isn’t the end of the world or the end of your writing career; it’s simply a revision.
Thanks for sharing all your advice, L.L.! You can find L.L. at:
Social Media Links:
Website:
www.llmadridwrites.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/llmadridwrites/
Bluesky:
https://bsky.app/profile/llmadridwrites.bsky.social
Buy Links:
https://creaturehorror.com/books/my-lips-her-voice
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-lips-her-voice-l-l-madrid/1147027986?ean=9781951971342
AJ’s query
status link (hyperlinked earlier): https://www.thebookeralbertagency.com/aj-van-belle.html
Giveaway Details
L.L. is generously offering a paperback of My Lips, Her Voice for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by December 13th. If I do not have your email (I can no longer get it from your Google Profile), you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.
If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media sites and/or follow me on Twitter or Bluesky or follow L.L. on her social media sites, mention this in the comments, and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This book giveaway is U.S.
Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops
Monday, December 7th, I have an interview with Sarvenaz Tash and a giveaway of The Treasure of Ocean Parkway
Wednesday, December 10th, I have an agent spotlight interview with Andie Smith and a query critique giveaway
Monday, December 15th, I’m participating in the Dashing December Giveaway Hop
Wednesday, December 17th, I have an agent spotlight interview with Marissa Cleveland and a query critique giveaway
I hope to see you on Monday!
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