Wednesday, September 13, 2023

An update!!

 Dear Janet,


I just wanted to update you and the Reefers, after you so kindly answered my questions and calmed my panic in the blog post 'How long do I have' - 25th May 2020.

I signed with my agent in January and now, after some solid revision, my folkloric horror YA is out on submission at last!

Heeding your advice, I completed the book (in the midst of the pandemic) and subsequently discovered that the original interested agent had returned to the UK and was no longer agenting. 
 
 
Thereafter followed an extensive period of querying and revising, peppered with a few fulls, partials and a mentorship until, at last, I got the call.


Now, I'll continue wishing on every star and drafting my next project in hopes that my first gets picked up!

Best wishes, 

well!
There's only one thing to do now!

Leap for joy!



14 comments:

Timothy Lowe said...

Inspiring story. Like life, writing is a series of ups and downs. Here's to hoping OP -- and all our Reiders -- are about to experience some great things.

Beth Carpenter said...

Incredible news! Congratulations OP! We're all rooting for you!

John Davis Frain said...

Wonderful update. I hope the next update comes with a title so we can get a signed copy when OP visits a bookstore near us. Or reasonable facsimile.

Congrats, OP, fantastic news!

Steve Forti said...

Hooray! Congrats. Always enjoy seeing success from anyone among the reef dwellers. Fingers crossed for clearing the next hurdle.

SDK said...

Congratulations! It tickles me three shades of pink when I hear stories like this. Go get 'em OP!

Leslie said...

Mazel tov! What wonderful news!

InkStainedWench said...

Thank you, OP, for sharing such upbeat news!

Lennon Faris said...

Awesome, OP! Great to hear. Thanks for the update, always good to get good news from a fellow Reefer!

AJ Blythe said...

OP, that's fabulous. Congratulations!! Did you land an Aussie agent? We don't have many, which is why I'm curious. Best of luck with your submissions.

BJ Muntain said...

Congratulations!

LynnRodz said...

Congrats, OP! Fingers crossed the next update will be that it sold. I'll then have another book to add to my Reider shelf in my personal library.

J.A. Haigh said...

OP here. Thank you all so much for the best wishes!
Query Shark, Janet's blog, and the comraderie of you all (even as I lurked in the shadows) has been a constant point of comfort on this writing journey - and one that is often sorely needed to keep scaling the cliffs.
So grateful for all that I have learned here. Not sure where this will lead but truly thrilled to have reached this milestone. Happy writing all! ❤

J.A. Haigh said...

Thanks AJ - I think we follow each other on twitter!
I ended up with an agent from the US, after the original agent, who'd shown interest in Australia, fell through. Lots of query letters sent, over quite some time, to reach that point but worth it. Yes, literary agents are pretty thin on the ground in Oz.
Definitely worth trying further afield!

NLiu said...

Congratulations OP! Here's to hoping the next update comes with a title and release date attached! Because I quite like the sound of that book.