From Querying to Book Deals and All That Fun Stuff

So if you follow me on Twitter, then you know I shared some big news last Friday. If you don't follow me on Twitter, well, why the heck not? Jay kay. Okay. For those who don't know, here's my big news:

My YA supernatural horror, THE GATEWAY THROUGH WHICH THEY CAME, will be released from Curiosity Quills in Fall 2014.

squeeeeeeeeeeeee!

It's absolutely crazy to picture myself as a published author, and I get a little sick to my stomach just thinking about it. I'm nervous and happy and scared and so AAAAAGH. But this is what I've always wanted and I'm so incredibly lucky to have such an amazing support team (aka YOU GUYS) and incredible friends/family. This was such a long journey and so, so worth it.

Here's a quick timeline of how/when it all began:

I started writing YA seriously back in 2011. This is when I actually sat myself down, stared at the computer screen, and told myself I was going to write a book. It was a horrible book, by the way, but a book nonetheless.

I then got an agent last year (2012) with my fourth manuscript that was a totally different YA supernatural. You read right. FOURTH. It took those first three, that were super sloppy, to pin down my writing flow and actually write something worthwhile.

For reasons that are better kept unsaid, I parted ways with my agent eight months later. This was a major personal decision that I feel was best for me at the time, and still is. For the record, people leave their agents all the time for all sorts of reasons. It's not the end of the world, though it feels like it might be. You work your ass off, snag an agent, go through the submission process, only to go back to square one. I'm here to tell you that it's going to be okay. You made the decision because something inside you told you it was right. Stick with your gut and remember that you WILL get another agent. Maybe right away, maybe not, but you will.

Have I gotten another agent yet? No. Would I like one? Of course. But I'm not going to beat myself up over it. I'll sign with another agent when the time (or rather, the manuscript) is right. When it came to GATEWAY, I had several agents interested in it who asked for revisions. I even had some who were sad to see it go when I accepted my offer with Curiosity Quills.

But here's why I decided on a small press and not an agent:

The enthusiasm and love CQ had for my manuscript went beyond anything I could have ever expected. They had so many fantastic ideas that helped me realize how great my manuscript could be. Not only were they super excited and willing to spend the time walking me through revisions, but they immediately made me feel a part of the family. I connected with them from the get-go and ended up emailing back and forth like we were old friends. This is not something that happens often, at least not for me. I knew in my heart that CQ would be an amazing move for GATEWAY, and I was right. I'm so looking forward to this next year, and can't wait to see GATEWAY in print!

For those going through the query trenches, don't give up. THE GATEWAY THROUGH WHICH THEY CAME is my sixth novel, and I have since started working on manuscripts 7, 8, and 9. It never stops as long as you keep pushing yourself. (Remember that occasional writing breaks are okay, too.) But more importantly, always keep writing during the waiting process, because even if that manuscript doesn't get signed, it could be your next one or the one after that. Continuing to write will keep you distracted and it'll also keep you ahead of the game, if for some reason you have to shelf a particular manuscript. But whether you sign with an agent or a small press, the journey is different for everyone. Just make sure whoever you sign with is legit, and don't be afraid to ask someone to look over the contract. This is always a must!

So with that, cheers, my friends! Thanks for sharing this amazing moment with me. xo

Heather Marie is a YA writer who loves all things creepy. She enjoys writing horror/supernatural stories that make you question that feeling of someone watching over your shoulder. Heather spends most of her days reading and writing and plotting her next idea. When she's not in her writing cave, she enjoys watching creepy TV shows with her husband and picking apart plot holes in movies.

Her YA debut, THE GATEWAY THROUGH WHICH THEY CAME, releases Fall 2014 from Curiosity Quills.


You can find her on Twitter @: http://twitter.com/HeatherMarieYA
And visit her website @: http://heatherxmarie.blogspot.com/

October Updates from the Writing Community

Hi, guys!

October flew by, yes? And I bet November will be the same with so many of us participating in NaNoWriMo. I know I sure missed a lot of awesome stuff that happened in October! So if you're like me, here's a little snippet of what's been going on the last couple of weeks around the Twittersphere.

• Our Secret Life buddy, Gail Nall announced her book deal for her middle grade debut, DON'T FALL DOWN! For more updates from Gail, check out her site (linked above) or follow her on Twitter.
• Amy Lukavics also announced the sale of her YA book, DAUGHTERS UNTO DEVILS, to Harlequin Teen! You can follow Amy on Twitter here.
• The finalists for our Spooky Flash Fiction contest are up and ready for your vote. There are only three days left to vote, so help us hook one of these writers up with some swag and pick your favorite! 

NaNoWriMo:

Ah, the topic du jour. Here on the Secret Life blog, we have some of our own golden posts chock full of tips and tricks for surviving NaNo. (You can find them all here, linked at the bottom of Farrah's post). But I've done a little perusing myself in prep to conquer NaNo again this year, and I've found some gems in case you're looking for some extra support this November: 

• A word of advice from agent Sarah LaPolla on NaNoWriMo, and how to go about making your NaNo novel sparkle before you query it.
• Practical advice (like how to guarantee you'll take pee breaks!) during NaNoWriMo from Angi Black. 
• Gearing up for NaNo tips from Pen and Muse. 

• And this guest post on the NaNo blog, from me. It's one of my favorite blog posts I've ever written, and I hope that it'll keep you going when you hit Week Two sludge. 

Happy writing!

xo. 

Andrea Hannah is a YA writer represented by Victoria Marini of Gelfman Schneider. Her psychological thriller, OF SCARS AND STARDUST, debuts from Flux in Fall 2014. She writes stories about criminals, crazy people, and creatures that may or may not exist. When she's not writing, Andrea teaches special education, runs, spends time with her family, and tries to figure out a way to prevent her pug from opening the refrigerator (still unsuccessful). 

You can find her on Twitter @: http://twitter.com/andeehannah

Drop her an email @: andreahannahbooks@gmail.com
And visit her website @: http://www.andreahannah.com/

The Secrets of a Sale

Hey, lovelies!

So yesterday, I got to share my book deal news and it was awesome. I so appreciate all the love and support! You guys made it so fun for me. And today, I get to tell you some of the secrets behind my sale.

Yaaaaay! It's so small. I don't know how to make it bigger.

One of the toughest parts about being on submission is that you have to pretend like you're not slowly developing a psychological problem, like it's normal to find relief in tearing your eyelashes out while you wait, or eating your sixteenth cupcake after you've read your sixteenth rejection letter. You have to play it cool, never mention it on social media, and pretend like it doesn't even matter while you slog through a new draft of something that seems less important. But now that it's over (*sobs*) I want to share my experience with you guys. I want you to know that if this is you, and things seem abysmal, they can still turn around. And you should probably stop pulling out your eyelashes.

Anyway, if you've followed this blog for awhile, you've read my posts about THE DIARIES OF ELLA GRAHAM (now titled OF SCARS AND STARDUST). This is the book of my heart, not my first manuscript, but the one I love more than any of the others. I believed in this book every step of the way. Lucky for me, so did my agent.

In June of 2012, shortly after signing with Victoria, I put SCARS through its first major overhaul. In July (over a year ago), we sent it out into the world and it was fresh and shiny and I was fresh and shiny and I couldn't wait for good things to clutter my inbox.

In came the rejections.

One after another. But the thing is, there were so many close calls. In those rejections letters, there were some of the nicest compliments I've ever received about my writing, which almost made it worse in a way. Victoria and I were both frustrated; no one could quite pinpoint what it was about the manuscript that seemed "off," just that it was.

In January, we had run through our list and I thought that it might be time to drawer SCARS, even though I didn't want to. But Victoria was not having any of that nonsense. We pulled back, we brainstormed for weeks, and I wrote a very detailed, chapter-by-chapter outline of SCARS as it was, at her request. We tore that sucker apart. Actually, she tore that sucker apart and I died a little inside, but it was cool, it was cool. And then SCARS went through its second major overhaul. (It was during this time period that I began referring to it as Frankenbook--a stitched up version of its former self.) I rewrote a third of that book in six days. I was single-minded about it, almost feverish. I still loved it, and I was determined to make this book the first of my book babies to leave the nest.

In March, it went back out on submission.

I prayed to any freaking ethereal being that would listen to me, I compulsively checked my email as writers on sub do, and I waited.

One month went by. Then another. Then a third.

And I gave up.

I don't mean that I gave up in the way that I thought it would never get published and I'd never write another thing and that I was a failure. I mean that I let it go. I stopped having certain expectations for SCARS and what it needed to do and how it needed to enter the world. I stopped thinking of it as a "right now" book and put in in a quiet place. It became a "someday, maybe" book. I finished revising my next thriller, and began writing another. I tucked away thoughts of SCARS and thanked it for being the manuscript that hooked me up with an agent, and taught me the art of perseverance and patience.

And then it sold in July.

Of course, right? Doesn't it always work out like that? (By the way, I have absolutely no tips on how to let things go so that they can happen in their own way. My strategy thus far has been to cling to everything I want like a barnacle until I'm too tired and battered to hang on anymore. Which, you know, don't do that. It's exhausting.)

Victoria and I tried to act "normalish" as the whole thing unfolded, but failed and swore (excitedly) instead.

So, in case you're keeping tabs, OF SCARS AND STARDUST sold one year after it went on submission, and went through two major rewrites during that year. And now you'll get to read it. <3

So, I have several people I need to thank endlessly for helping make this creepy, quiet little book become a reality.

My very first critique partner, Michelle Levy, who asked the question, "WHAT THE HELL DOES ELLA'S DAMN NOTE SAY?" twenty-five times throughout my draft until I figured out I should probably add that in. After Michelle came Leigh Ann Kopans, who has just as fierce love for SCARS as I do, and who has championed this book from the very beginning. And because of Leigh Ann's championing, thank you to all of the people who read and critiqued this book due to her gushing (I don't even know how many of you there are now, but I'm so incredibly grateful anyone wanted to read it at all).

While Leigh Ann was cheering on SCARS from behind the scenes, Victoria took it to the front line. She never gave up on this book, even when things looked dreary for awhile there. She put hours worth of work into her revision ideas and to cutting up my outlines, and because of her there's ten times more creep factor in this book. (Thank you a bajillion times over.)

And thank you to all of the writers that kept me (kind of) sane over the past year by sending love notes in the mail, sweet emails and texts, and pictures of dinosaurs puking up rainbows: Heather Marie, Megan Orsini, Amanda Olivieri, Megan Whitmer, Erica Chapman, Jamie Grey, Hay Farris, Kristen Jett, Dahlia Adler, Kelsey Macke, Heidi Schultz, Dan Hanks, and Becca Weston. (And so, so many more, but it's 1 A.M. and I'm blurry-eyed and I love you.)

And a quick little shout out to my husband, who made my kid magically disappear during the dark days of revision, and to my best friend, Keri, who has talked to me about this book pretty much every freaking day since I wrote it, and has read it almost as many times as I've said the phrase, "But I just really want it to be this book."

And now it is.

xo.

*Giveaway announcement: This Friday, September 27th, I'll be giving away six books throughout the day on the @LifeofWriters twitter feed. We'll be playing Name That Book! Join in throughout the day to win FREE STUFF. 

Andrea Hannah is a YA writer represented by Victoria Marini of Gelfman Schneider. She writes stories about criminals, crazy people, and creatures that may or may not exist. When she's not writing, Andrea teaches special education, runs, spends time with her family, and tries to figure out a way to prevent her pug from opening the refrigerator (still unsuccessful). Oh, and she tweets a bajillion times a day, mostly about inappropriate things. 

You can find her on Twitter @: http://twitter.com/andeehannah

Drop her an email @: andreahannahbooks@gmail.com
And visit her website @: http://www.andreahannah.com/

More Awesome Secret Lifer News!

Sooo, maybe some of you have already heard, as our own Kelsey Sutton announced here on her blog yesterday, but it's awesome news, and awesome news needs repeating! Exactly one week ago, we were freaking out for me (Stefanie), but now it's time to FREAK OUT FOR KELSEY BECAUSE SHE'S SOLD ANOTHER BOOK!

Children's: Young Adult:
Kelsey Sutton’s follow-up to SOME QUIET PLACE (Flux, July, 2013), set in the same world of personified emotions, in which a girl wanting revenge on the man responsible for the death of her family is influenced by both Forgiveness and Revenge and must ultimately choose which path to take, again to Brian Farrey at Flux, for publication in July, 2014, by Beth Miller at Writers House (NA).

Getting that second book deal is a HUGE accomplishment, and we're so thrilled for Kelsey. And her writing. Her writing. Oh my gosh, you guys, trust me when I say you REALLY need to have this book on your radar, and if you haven't already added her debut (SOME QUIET PLACE) that's coming out in July to your TBR pile (to the very top of it), then WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Go pre-order SOME QUIET PLACE!

Go add SOME QUIET PLACE on Goodreads!

Go tell Kelsey she's awesome!

So one more time: CONGRATULATIONS KELSEY! Think of all the cheese you're going to be able to buy if you keep getting all these book deals! ;)

Congratulations, Stefanie Gaither!

Here at SLOW we're trying to give insight into what it's like after you've conquered the slushpile. We want to talk about the hardships along with the triumphs. And boy, do we have a triumph to share with you today. I have summoned you here today so we can all take a moment... AND FREAK THE !@#$ OUT FOR STEFANIE GAITHER!

That's right! As you might've heard yesterday, it was announced that Stef (and let's not forget her amazing agent, Sara Megibow) has landed a deal with Simon & Schuster for her book, FALLS THE SHADOW! And let me just say that this book is awesome! It's full of clones and thrills and hotties and mystery. Gaaaah, it's going to be so awesome to see it on the shelves!

It'll be two years in March that I've known Stef. We've chatted pretty much every day since meeting so I'm confident in saying that this girl has worked her ass off to get to this point. Seriously, I can't think of anyone else (myself included) who's worked so hard to write amazing words. Also, I can't think of anyone more deserving. So, in honor of this momentous occasion, I've done something I never do. Because I know Stefanie loves poetry, I've written a poem.

(Disclaimer: I'm horrible at poetry. I had to Wiki rhyming schemes for goodness sake. I decided to go with the scheme from The Raven because... well, I don't know. I just did. Just imagine me as an artsy beatnik chick and it might sound better.)

So there you have it. It can be done, folks. It happens all the time.

CONGRATS, STEF!!!

Check out Stef's own freak-out blog post here :)