The Next Circle of Hell

Just typed out a long reply that I accidentally deleted.

So sum up... Whip, I totally feel where you're coming from.

Okay, here we go again.

Agent loved the new version -- I lost 30 pages from the beginning, so I'm down to a svelte 128,000 words. And it's my birthday, so we're going out again this morning because she thinks it will be good luck. And maybe it will.

Every time I finish a revision, I like the book again. Let's hope someone else does.

{{{{Happy Birthday, Whiporee and good luck!!!}}}}

Seconding the good wishes for you and your book, whiporee!

That's awesome to hear, Whiporee!! Happy birthday and may your wish come true!!

Tomorrow is the end of month four of my book on submission. Two editors have still not responded. I tire of this miserable waiting.

((((CCC)))) Wishing you all the cookies in Trader Joe's stash. (Can you tell I went shopping today?) I've probably already asked this, but does your agent have second-round plans? With all those positive comments you've seen, it seems like there should be more places to try.

Fuchsia Groan said:

((((CCC)))) Wishing you all the cookies in Trader Joe's stash. (Can you tell I went shopping today?) I've probably already asked this, but does your agent have second-round plans? With all those positive comments you've seen, it seems like there should be more places to try.

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Yep, Fuchsia, I've had indications that she will go with a second round, so I'm hopeful that if it's necessary, she'll stay with me. If I'm wrong and she dumps me after one round I will go to bed, pull the covers over my head, and never come out. Even for cookies.

ChocolateChipCookie said:

Yep, Fuchsia, I've had indications that she will go with a second round, so I'm hopeful that if it's necessary, she'll stay with me. If I'm wrong and she dumps me after one round I will go to bed, pull the covers over my head, and never come out. Even for cookies.

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That happened to me once, but I did come out eventually after much wound licking.

Think positive, though — it was a small round, right? She signed you for a reason. I've rarely heard of agents giving up that quickly, and when they do it's often because they're leaving the business or changing their focus or something.

CCC -- if she dumps you after one round, she's not just a lousy agent, she's a jerk.

I'm betting she gears up for round two It would be foolish to abandon the works she's done. I think it's important to remember in this deal -- as grateful as we can be that someone validates our work they work for us. You made every bit the commitment that she made when y'all teamed up -- you trusted her to do her best to sell your book, and turned away (at least hypothetical) other agents. I think she should know this, too, and be every bit as committed if round one doesn't work.

Sorry it's taking so long, though. I'd say move onto the next one, but that's really hard.

Hi guys! It's been a little while (went underground for a couple of months with the R&R, and then was waiting to be able to make the announcement) but I wanted to give you my update on the book. Announced today on PM!

"Beauty and royals blogger N@d!ne J0l!e's W!STER!A, pitched as inspired by the real life relationships of Pippa and Kate Middleton and Anne and Mary Boleyn, in which two teenage sisters become fierce competitors, both determined to win the heart of a prince, to An!c@ R!ss! at K@ther!ne Tegen B00k$, for publication Winter 2017, by M0ll!e Gl!ck at F0undry L!ter@ry + Med!a, on behalf of The St0ry F0und@t!0n."

The timing is kind of hilarious - my baby is due on Monday. It's been a busy couple of months.

Sending you good luck, Whiporee!

Keeping my fingers crossed for you CCC...

Congratulations! What great timing - and so exciting for you!

NJC!!!! Woohoo!!!

OMG, congratulations, NJC! Saw your announcement on Twitter and was so happy for you. Sounds like such a fun read.

And congrats on the upcoming new arrival!

Congrats NJC!! May labor be a faster, smoother process than the book deal!

Congrats NJC!!!! Good luck, Whiporee!

Thank you so much!! I'm stupidly excited. I really thought it was dead in the water after all the editors initially passed in July. I spent all of August and September working on the revision for the single editor, determined to give her the best pages possible, but truthfully not feeling very positive about it. Didn't want to get my hopes up! We submitted to her a few weeks ago, and it spiraled very quickly - she immediately got back saying she loved it, submitted 4 days later during the acquisitions meeting, and we had an offer by the end of the day. It was kind of shocking how fast it all happened. I am still pinching myself.

And Joy, that's hilarious - I'm definitely freaking out about labor! Here's hoping it's MUCH smoother than the submission process!

Ooohh, double congratulations, NJC!!!! The book sounds like a super fun read, and it's great to hear how the R&R process could turn out. Good luck on the labor!

whiporee, thanks for the kind words. I will take them to heart.

Congrats NJC116!!! Wow, that's a fabulous deal. Fantastic. Amazing!

Good luck whiporee! And happy belated birthday!!

And CONGRATS NJC!!

CCC, I got nothing but (((hugs))).

Hello!

Long-time lurker here, playing the waiting game like all of you.

One of my also-on-submission friends and I were wondering what percentage of agented authors end up getting a book deal. Back when I was querying agents, I read a stat online that said it was 50%, but I can't for the life of me find that stat. He's heard conflicting info -- anywhere from 33% to 75%.

I'm really curious to know if anyone here has any real data on this.

Thanks!

Welcome Diana. I'm sure it depends on whether you're asking if they EVER get a book deal or if they get a deal with the first manuscript they signed with. But either way I have no idea. And I expect either way the numbers would make me feel badly.

JoyMC said:

Welcome Diana. I'm sure it depends on whether you're asking if they EVER get a book deal or if they get a deal with the first manuscript they signed with. But either way I have no idea. And I expect either way the numbers would make me feel badly.

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Thanks for the welcome!

I mean of all authors who have an agent, how many of them get published while agented. Then of course it would be lovely to have a breakdown of % first manuscripts sold, second manuscripts sold, and so on.

I do marketing all day sooooo I <3 data.