Thursday, December 10, 2009

Happy Unofficially Official Agent Appreciation Day!

This unofficial holiday is the brainchild of Kody Keplinger, author of The DUFF which will be published in autumn 2010. (My agent just sold the film rights!)

When it was time to query SECRET SISTERS, my middle grade mystery, I made a list on QueryTracker of my top ten dream agents. In the number one slot I entered this:

Brendan Deneen

One by one, I sent those ten queries out. Within minutes I had two full requests. Within three months I had an offer on the table and began talking by phone with agents... but pretty much knew right away that Brendan was The One. He's witty, visionary, and enthusiastic. His emails make me laugh, and Colleen Lindsay's tweets about him make me laugh harder.

Not many people know that Brendan is also a published author, making a big splash in the comic book world with his Flash Gordon series illustrated by Paul Green.

So what it all comes down to is this: I am seriously grateful to have signed with the very first agent I queried, my #1 dream agent, Brendan Deneen of FinePrint Literary Management.

Cheers, Brendan, and thanks for all you do!

Suzette

~~~~~~~~~~~~

What can I say about Marlene Stringer of Stringer Literary?

She’s awesome.

Her average email response time (to me) is a lightning-fast six minutes—miraculous in the agent world—I feel so loved.

She is a deal-making ninja (one of Publisher’s Marketplace’s top deal
makers) who’s throwing karate chops for me right now.

And, most importantly in my case, she really likes my manuscript (le sigh).

Wanna know more about her? Check out this interview. And you know you want to send her a query. Because she’s awesome. So here’s what she is looking for.

And she’s awesome. Did I already say that?

Bethany

To learn more about our journey to representation, check out our success stories on QueryTracker:


Want to follow bunches of writers participating in Unofficially Official Agent Appreciation Day?Check out:

Elana Johnson's Blog
Lisa & Laura Write

21 comments:

Jessica Nelson said...

I love this! Thanks for sharing your stories! ;-)

Christina Lee said...

I'm all around the blogospere reading these today--FABULOUS!!

hannah moskowitz said...

I was the exact opposite--I had no idea what Brendan was like when I queried him. I was basically sending out queries to any legit agents I could find. It wasn't until after he offered and I talked to him that I got a sense of how frickin' awesome he really is.

Daisy Whitney said...

I hear such great things about Brendan. So glad you found an agent you connect with!

Keri Mikulski said...

Great post!!

And you definitely know when he or she is the 'one'. :)

Elana Johnson said...

You guys are made of win! Congrats to you -- and your amazing agents!

Anonymous said...

This is the first time I've run across two agented sisters of teen fiction. I share an agent with Bethany. Marlene is great. All her clients who blogged today for Agent Appreciation agree.

Shannon O'Donnell said...

The two of you are so lucky! I'm happy for you both. :)

J.A. Palermo said...

This has been a great day! I'm happy to share it with you!

DL Hammons said...

What a batting average . . . two sisters, two agents. Would you be willing to coach my son's little league team as well? :)

Congrats to you, and your agents.

Suzette Saxton said...

Thanks, all. Bethany and I definitely count our lucky stars every single day. :D

B.J. Anderson said...

Great stories!!

Anonymous said...

I have so much respect for agents. The publishing world is a better place because of them. I'm glad you're both with agents you love and who love your work. =]

Katie Anderson said...

OMG Suzette!!!!! I just read some interview you did about your book and I am DYING to read it!!!!! And yay for agents day! And I had no idea y'all were sisters?!

Bethany, I'm off to learn more about you :-)

Y'all have a great day!

Katie Anderson said...

Okay, I'm back.

BRING ON THE HUNTED!!!!

Bethany Wiggins said...

Thanks, Katie!

* said...

Brendan and Marlene both sound amazing. You are both so lucky to have them, as lucky as they are to have you!!

Alyssa Kirk said...

Great post and kudos to all the agents working so diligently on behalf of their writers!

JKB said...

Great post, and many thanks for linking to my interview with Marlene!

She IS the best. *happy sigh*

Suzette Saxton said...

Thanks so much. You guys are the best!

Michelle H. said...

A great post! Agents should get more respect and appreciation. Thanks for stopping by my blog, Bethany