I’ve been sitting on this news for weeks and it’s been killing me but now I can announce it!
I have an agent!!!
I am now represented by Amanda Luedeke with MacGregor Literary.
Who would have thought I’d be announcing that? Not me! I rode the query go-round for over a year with three different books, coming close to aquiring an agent with Here. (She ultimately decided no because she had a client with a similar premise.)
(I had interest in Chosen but two agents told me they didn’t think they could sell it. An e-publisher rejected it because the story wasn’t completely resolved at the end.)
When I decided to self-publish Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes, I was still querying Here. But once I self-published Chosen three months later and the rejections were piling up for Here, I tucked my queries away on my hard drive. Maybe someday I’d have an agent, but I made the decision to concentrate on publishing my own books on my own for the time being.
Honestly, publishing four books in five months took more energy than I expected. AND I edited Hunted during those five months as well as wrote the first draft of Sacrifice. I was too busy to think about anything else, not to mention I had nothing left to query. Once I proved myself and built a reader base, maybe I could get an agent. But I’ll be honest–the idea of going back out on the rejection circuit wasn’t very appealing. My copy editor hands my ass to me on a platter on a regular basis, not to mention negative reviews. I had enough criticism and negativity in my life, thank you very much. I didn’t need any more rejection.
And then last November, Chosen started climbing the rankings, pulling Hunted with it when I released it toward the end of November.Then in December, Chosen climbed into the top 100 of all Kindle sales or three days and spent a week and a half in the #1 spot of contemporary fantasy. When I started slipping in rankings in January, I thought “Well, that was an exciting ride!”
Little did I know that I’d repeat it and climb even higher in February after Chosen went free for two days.
But while Chosen was hanging out around in the top 100 of all Kindle sales for eight days, I received an email from Amanda. She’d found Chosen on Amazon and read the sample pages. She wanted to talk to me on the phone.
We talked for nearly an hour and when I hung up, I hadn’t said yes, but I was very interested. Amanda understands self-publishing. She isn’t threatened by The Chosen series’s success, but instead views it as an asset.
It took me over two weeks to say yes, and then another week and a half to get all the paperwork ironed out, but as of this afternoon, it’s official.
I am an agented author!!!
So what does that mean exactly? For the moment, not a lot. I have a foreign rights offer on The Chosen series so Amanda will negotiate that for me as well as pursue other foreign rights deals. But after I finish writing and editing Twenty-Nine and a Half Reasons, at Amanda’s suggestion, I’ll begin writing a book in a new urban fantasy/paranormal romance series. When it’s ready, she’ll work on selling it in a traditional book deal.
After I talked to Amanda in our initial phone call, my crit partner Trisha Leigh and I brainstormed the new series, on Google chat of all places. And once the idea took root in my head, I LOVED it. I loved it enough that I ran it by Amanda before I made my decision to sign with her. I’d already decided to write the book whether I signed with Amanda or not. If she wasn’t interested, there wasn’t any reason to go any further in our relationship. Thank goodness she was excited about the concept too!
(Those of you who are my friends on Facebook have seen me talking about my secret project– this is it!)
So 2012 will be even busier than I planned. I’m writing one more book than I time budgeted for, which will shift the release of There and the fourth The Chosen book a few months out. But I think that nine book releases in two years is still pretty good– and that’s not counting the new series.(Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes, Chosen, Hunted and Here all in the last half of 2011. Sacrifice, Twenty-Nine and a Half Reasons and There in 2012. The fourth Chosen book and the next Rose Gardner Mystery in the first half of 2013)
Still, I refuse to let the quality of my books suffer in any haste to publish. I’ve hired a developmental editor, Alison Dasho, who was instrumental in the revision of Sacrifice and is working closely with me on the plot of Twenty-Nine and a Half Reasons. Alison has wonderful insight and and brings an enthusiasm with her ideas that makes me excited to implement her suggestions– even if it means rewriting about 60% of the book. (Sacrifice!) She will be part of all of my future books. I’m so lucky she took me on as a client!
So that’s my big news! We’re less than three months into 2012 and it’s already turning out to be an AWESOME year! I hope it’s the start of more exciting things to come.
THANK YOU for being a part of it of my success and helping make it happen. I love and cherish EVERY email and comment I get! I’m so incredibly lucky to be living my dream!
Congratulations Denise! I am so excited for you!!!
Thank you!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
EEEEEEEEK! 🙂 CONGRATULATIONS!! <3 so exciting! Hope you get more good news soon!! 🙂
Thank you, Ashelynn!!!
Hot DAMN, do you deserve this! I’m so happy for you, Denise! I’m glad that someone out there knows quality when they see it! xoxo!!!!
Thank you!!! I’m so excited!
YAY!!!!! Congrats!!! I’m so excited!!!!
Ooooh Denise!!! I am sooo happy for you!! Amanda rocks! You got an awesome agent backing you up!
This is just the beginning for you girly!
I’m so stoked for you!!
What absolutely stunning news! And WELL-EARNED! Congratulations!
CONGRATULATIONS! Awesome news.
OMGosh!!!! this is truly the best news!!! I knew good things would come your way!!! I am truly so happy for you!! gives me goosebumps… You work so hard all the time, that I hope this is just one little way that you know your hard work is paying off my friend…How will you ever get your 4 hours sleep tonight with this great news…giggling… Denise…I am so honored to read your awesome books…thank you so much for all the time, work,thoughts you put into them…I truly love each one I have read and know without a doubt I will love the ones to follow…so relax for 5 minutes and enjoy this ride!!!…<3
Congrats denise, Ia m so happy for you!
Amazing news for one of my favorite authors! To quote another of my favorite authors (Suess) : Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to great places, you’re off and away. Kid, you’ll move mountains!
You rock.
The End
Woot!! And Whoo-Hoo. And FINALLY I can scream publicly in excitement for you! Amanda is damn lucky to have you, because she’s hitched her ride to a rising star.
I knew one day I’d see this post. You are awesome!!
So, so incredibly happy for you!
Congrats Denise! That’s awesome. So happy for you. It’s so important to find an agent who understands self publishing!
Woo Hoo!!!!!!!! Congratulations Denise! I am super excited for you too.
Congratulations! I’m very happy for you.
I’m so excited for you. I hope this addition to your team will provide a more fluid experience for you. You deserve this girl!
Congratulations! Such wonderful news. I’d like to do an author update on my blog, if that’s cool. I’ll direct readers to this post, of course. 🙂
Just too cool. You’re awesome.
Congrats, Denise. You deserve it and as I’ve always said, I see big things in your future. Believe it, girl, it’s going to happen!
Hi Denise!
I have been off the radar for a few days and what an amazing announcement to come back to! I am over-the-moon excited for you. Your novels have kept me from doing so many of my everyday duties because I cannot put them down.
Glasses raised (full of bubbly) as we toast your upcoming adventure! Congrats, Denise. You deserve the BEST!
((hugs))
Lindsay @ Turning the Pages
Best news, EVER! I knew it was going to happen. Your books are just too good to ignore!
That’s pretty exciting news, Denise! Congratulations!
Once upon a time, there was an author whose agent found her, and the author was happy. The end.
Congrats on this news! I just found you recently myself, thanks to Createspace’s Facebook page, and reading your journey as you have struggled to find an agent, went on to self-publish nine books – NINE! – and now finally have your dream coming true. That is rockin’ awesome! Continue writing and I can’t wait to see where your adventures lead you.