Tuesday From The Trenches: Melissa See

Hello wonderful readers, and happy October! October is my favorite month of the year, and I am SO excited that we made it. I hope you're all enjoying crisper weather, all things pumpkin, a little bit of spooky, and some cozy clothes. I love this time of year so much.

I am SO excited to be interviewing one of my amazing agent siblings, Melissa See. Melissa was super welcoming to me when I signed with Emily a few weeks after she did, and I was SO grateful to have someone helping me navigate the new experience. Melissa is an incredible person. She has been gracious enough to read and critique some of my work, always hypes me and my agent siblings up when we are down, and is a lot of fun at our agent-sibling zoom parties. Plus, her writing is amazing and I cannot wait to have all of her books on my shelf! I know you will all adore her, so join me in welcoming Melissa to Tuesday From The Trenches!

Hi Melissa! I'm so excited that you're here with me. Let's jump right in, shall we?

Can you share your query stats with us?

Time Spent in the Query Trenches: For the book that got me my agent, I was in the query trenches for 66 days. But I was in the query trenches with 3 books total over the course of 7 years.

Number of Agents Queried: A lot!

Number of Requests for Additional Work/Full Manuscript: I’m not sure, but I did get a good amount!

Number of Twitter Pitch “Likes”: Not a lot!

Number of R&Rs: 2

Number of Rejections: I’m not sure of the exact amount, but since getting my agent took 7 years, a lot!

Number of Offers: 1

Agent and Agency: Emily Forney at BookEnds Literary!

YAY! I love your dedication and perseverance to not give up with those first two books didn't land you the agent. And then to have the fast 66 day success on book three is so exciting! How did you keep track of it all? What was your method for organizing queries? Spread sheet? Query Tracker? Etc.

I created a color-coded spreadsheet where I had categories like Agent, Agency, Contact Info, Status, etc. (The colors were so I could see who had a query, partial, full, etc.) It was so helpful!

I love spreadsheets and I love color coding, so this sounds like the organization of my dreams! So as you began filling out that spreadsheet, how did you handle rejections? Did any sting more than others?

For my first two times in the query trenches, the rejections stung the most. But, by my third time around (which was also the shortest time in the query trenches), they didn’t sting. They became water off a duck’s back because I knew what to expect.

I think that's really important for people newly in the trenches to realize. Those early days are the hardest. It does get easier though, so hang in there.

How did you find agents to query/how did you decide who to query?

Since this book was my third time in the query trenches, I reused spreadsheets I’d made. I also went on websites like QueryTracker and MSWL.

Those are such great resources. And the nice thing about more time in the trenches with new books is that you have done the research and you are prepared to go again. Love that. So how did you ultimately connect with Emily? Did you cold query? Participate in a twitter pitch event? Or connect in some other way?

One night, I saw that BookEnds was announcing new people had joined the agency. (My agent was one of them.) I decided to cold-query her, and she requested my full within hours!

YAY! That is so exciting! I love that fast turn around. How much time passed between querying Emily to getting “the call”?

I believe it was about a month or so!

That's so great. Can you tell us more about “the call”? How did you know Emily was the right choice?

I was a bundle of nerves the entire day! But when Emily and I get on our Zoom call, I knew I’d met someone who was endlessly kind. Within five minutes, she offered representation and we dove into my book.

I knew she was the right choice for me because of how much she loved my story. My protagonists, their romance, everything. She was determined to be the best agent for me she could be—and that meant getting my YA contemporary romance starring disabled teens hopefully out into the world.

That is so exciting, Melissa! You and Emily are such a good team. And I couldn't agree more about Emily being such a kind person. She really knows how to put someone at ease and make you feel so good about yourself and your work. I love that you found someone who is such a good champion for you and your work. Speaking of... could you tell us a little about your book that landed your agent?

YOU, ME, AND OUR HEARTSTRINGS is a YA contemporary romance starring Daisy, a violinist with cerebral palsy, and Noah, a cellist with generalized anxiety disorder. They find each other through music, and as they fall in love, they also find themselves contending with unwanted viral fame.

AH! Hearing about this book never gets old and I am seriously SO excited to read the entire thing. And for anyone who missed it, please please please check out the cover reveal for YOU, ME, AND OUR HEARTSTRINGS here because it is just absolutely gorgeous and the whole world really needs to see it.

Melissa, If you could give querying authors a piece of advice, what would that be?

Rejections can sting but getting to the point where they are water off a duck’s back. Knowing that an agent rejected you not being a personal thing helps a lot. Good luck!

That is really such wonderful advice. I think getting to that point where it isn't as painful is so important. Thank you so much, Melissa for joining me today and for your great insights. Before I let you to, where can we connect with you online?

You can follow me on Twitter @melissasee.

Wonderful! Thank you again for joining me today. I’ve had a blast chatting and learning more about your journey. I can’t wait to see your books in the world. And speaking of seeing those books... Hugely excited that:

YOU, ME, AND OUR HEARTSTRINGS is releasing in summer 2022! You can add it to Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58303729-you-me-and-our-heartstrings?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=2nejmSv8hg&rank=1

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY

Melissa is generously offering a query critique to one lucky reader. Just retweet this blog post and follow Melissa on Twitter to enter. The winner will be announced Monday on Twitter!

About Melissa See

Melissa See is a disabled author of young adult contemporary romances. She currently lives in the New York countryside where she’s pursuing her education to work in children’s publishing. When not writing, she can be found reading, baking cookies, or curled up with her cat, most likely watching anime or 90 Day Fiancé. Her work has previously appeared in Anime Impact: The Movies & Shows that Changed the World of Japanese Animation.

About Kailei Pew

Kailei Pew is a wife, mother, and children's book author represented by the amazing Emily Forney of Bookends Literary. Kailei's debut Middle Grade Book, KID MADE will be coming to you from Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan Summer 2023

Tuesday From The Trenches: Chiara Beth Colombi

Hello, friends! And happy Tuesday! What is that, you say? It's Thursday??? Shhh... I won't tell if you don't. Let's just both pretend that it's Tuesday and that I got this blog post up on the day that I said I would, deal? Deal. But in all seriousness, a huge thank you to Chiara for extending me such grace for missing the day we originally agreed on. Thank you, Chiara! And thank you, readers for your patience as I've been dealing with some personal things and not quite on top of my game.

So now, join me in welcoming Chiara Beth Colombi to Tuesday From The Trenches.

Hi Chiara. Thank you so much for joining us today! I’m thrilled to share your story with my readers!

Thank you for having me, Kailei! I’m so excited to connect with your readers, and I hope my story offers a healthy dose of encouragement and optimism to everyone on the querying journey. My own journey was a long and wending one, but worth every turn of the way.

I have loved learning about your journey and I know it will really help others! Can you share your query stats with us?

Gladly! I’m also curious to know if I’ve set a Tuesdays From the Trenches record with my first stat… ;)

Time Spent in the Query Trenches: 15 YEARS *mic drop*

Number of Agents Queried: I re-queried a number of agents over the years, so I’ll give you my total number of query letters sent, instead. Divided among 2 novels and 6 picture books, I sent a total of 207 query letters.

Number of Requests for Additional Work/Full Manuscript: 21

Number of Twitter Pitch “Likes”: I’ve only ever participated in #TacoPitch (now #CookiePitch), and I’m the proud bearer of 26 likes split between my two fake #PB pitches 💪

Number of R&Rs: 1

Number of Rejections: 206

Number of Offers: 1

Agent and Agency: Joanna Volpe and Abigail Donoghue at New Leaf Literary

Chiara, that is AMAZING! I am so happy for you and your dedication is seriously amazing. 15 years IS a Tuesday From the Trenches record tie and I LOVE it. (Check out the tie with Margo Sorenson HERE). How did you keep track of it all? What was your method for organizing queries? Spread sheet? Query Tracker? Etc.

I’m a fan of spreadsheets. Back in the day (aka 2005), I used Excel, but nowadays I prefer Google Sheets for its ease of accessibility, shareability, and instant auto-save with every minor change I make. My query tracking spreadsheets included as many columns as needed to add notes about the responses I received. Here’s an example of what they looked like. The agencies are fake; the responses are real:

I keep hearing really great things about Google Sheets, but I've never used it myself. I love to see your organization. So over the 15 years, how did you handle rejections? Did any sting more than others?

Gulping back tears was certainly a part of my strategy at times. I mean, you basically send your heart to someone, or rather to lots of someones, and they all say no. But you also get hardened to it over time. There would always be a skipped heartbeat or two at the arrival of a response, then the sinking stomach as you read through whatever words they’ve chosen to say no with. But once you’ve let yourself have those very visceral, very legitimate reactions, the best thing you can do is shrug your stomach back up to where it belongs, nudge your heart back into its regular rhythm, find the next agent on your list, personalize your query, and hit send.

The rejection that stung the most was in response to the R&R. I spent a year revising my novel with one agent in mind. 😬🤦‍♀️ I was convinced the R&R was a precursor to a phone call. I was quite wrong. But the agent’s feedback was quite right, so on the bright side, my novel (and my characters, in particular) only got stronger.

Oh, I feel that so deeply. I also put my heart and soul into an R&R that ended in a no, so I feel you. And you explain the process so well. It really is throwing your heart out on the line. And you are so right that allowing yourself to feel all the things is super important.

So as you went through this process, how did you find agents to query/how did you decide who to query?

Over the years, I developed a list of favorite agencies and identified many agents who were clearly in the business for the long run, which was important to me. Early on, I relied on resources from the SCBWI, and I seem to remember some sort of Who’s Who in the publishing industry tome that I may have found at the library. As things shifted to online, I absolutely loved the Agent Spotlights on literaryrambles.com—such great, well-researched, all-in-one overviews of an agent’s persona, interests, requirements, and client list.

That said, I do think I focused too much on identifying clients on an agent’s list that wrote work similar to mine. I didn’t understand how important it is for an agent to have variety on their lists, not only to avoid representing work that is too similar but also to avoid having too much of the same sort of work to submit to the same set of editors. There are only so many editors and they can only acquire so many titles. An agent has to balance the submissions of all of their clients across those editors and acquisition numbers. Something to keep in mind when considering an agent’s client list and how your work might fit in.

That is really such an important thing to understand and I'm so glad you brought it up. I didn't realize that until after I was agented either. You are so right. That diversity on the list is really important. So in all of that, how did you ultimately connect with your agent? Did you cold query? Participate in a twitter pitch event? Or connect in some other way?

Cold query on a warm October day, by email, following the submission guidelines on the New Leaf website that are still the same as of the date of this writing.

I love hearing about cold queries working!! So how much time passed between querying your now agent to getting “the call”?

From the day I sent my query:

+5 days = received “an email” to schedule “the call”

+3 days = had “the call” and “a request” for more materials

+9 days = received “THE EMAIL” offering representation 🤩🥳😭🥳🤩

YAY!!!!! Huge congrats! Can you tell us more about “the call”? How did you know Joanna and Abigail were the right choice?

Oh my goodness, it was so much better than any variation I’d ever imagined. Yes, there was excitement and enthusiasm and praise for my manuscript. There was warmth and professionalism and a sense of my kidlit writing ambitions shifting towards something official. But there were also questions from my agents that made me think about those ambitions in ways (good ways!) I hadn’t fully considered.

It was clear that they looked for clients with long-term career plans in the same way I looked for agents with long-term career plans. And it was clear that they wanted to consider my full body of work to be sure we were a fit in the same way I searched for an agent’s full client list to understand their tastes. I’m a question asker, so having questions asked of me boosted my already very high degree of confidence that Jo, Abbie, and New Leaf were the agents for me.

I also appreciated the time they took to consider the additional materials I sent them after the call (including several picture book manuscripts, and the first 50 or so pages of a YA fantasy). Every step of the way was given due thought.

That sounds absolutely wonderful. I love the connection you felt and the same commitment to a long term career. It sounds like you sent a lot of really great work, but could you tell us a little about your book that landed your agents?

Kailei, I cannot wait to share this story with readers! I wrote it for my son, who was two years old when the idea came to me. It’s a classic case of writing the book you want to read that hasn’t yet been written. I wanted to read my son a book about a rocket ship. But not a factual book, or a book about people or animals in a rocket ship. I wanted a story about a Rocket Ship as loveable as Little Blue Truck, or Excavator in GOODNIGHT, GOODNIGHT, CONSTRUCTION SITE. I was quite surprised when I couldn’t find one on the shelves. So I wrote it.

ROCKET SHIP, SOLO TRIP is slated for publication Summer 2023 from Viking Children’s Books, with illustrations by Scott Magoon. To say that I’m over the moon is an understatement. I’m coasting past Neptune right now, on my way to say “Ciao!” to Pluto in the Kuiper Belt before hopefully orbiting back around toward Earth in time for Rocket’s launch.

Oh Chiara, that sounds absolutely wonderful!! I cannot wait to get my hands on that book. And we share debut seasons!! SO exciting!

If you could give querying authors a piece of advice, what would that be?

Find your market fit. I know that sounds very commercial and capitalistic, but I don’t mean it to. What I really mean is find your readers. Find the spot where your book belongs on the shelf. When you know where your book fits and with whom, you’ll be so much better equipped to find the right agent looking to fill that hole in the market, and to tell them why your story is the one to fill it. A strong query letter should do as good a job at describing your story as it does at conveying who its readers will be and why they can’t wait to get your story in their hands.

That is such wonderful advice, Chiara! I think finding that space is so key. Where can we connect with you online?

I’m on Twitter @ChiaraBColombi, and you can learn more about my stories and writing tips on my website www.chiaracolombi.com. I’m also on Instagram @ChiaraBColombi, and one of these days I hope to use it more frequently!

haha. I keep telling myself that I'll get on IG and then I don't. Gotta do what works for us. Well, this was so fun!

Is there anything else you'd like to share with our readers?

I’d like to add one last piece of advice, especially for anyone else juggling a full-time job, kids, a partner, home duties, and writing. Though it’s valid for all writers. Put it on the calendar. Making writing a routine, not a habit. Part of the reason I spent so many years in the querying trenches is because I didn’t realize how important it was to schedule my writing time. I wanted to wait for the muse to hit, or the moment to be right. Months would pass when I didn’t write at all, as a result.

I’m not saying you need to write every day; I don’t believe that. But I do believe you should schedule the time to write, just like you schedule the time to get the kids to school, to go to work, to get dinner on the table, etc. I currently dedicate four nights a week to my writing career, from 9:30pm to midnight, Sunday through Wednesday. Is it easy? Nope. Do I fall asleep? Yup. Am I producing stories that I love nevertheless? You better believe it. Turns out, I don’t need a muse or the “right” moment. I just need a moment.

Chiara, that is SUCH good advice and absolutely important. Find what works, and stick to it! Thanks so much for joining us today! I’ve had a blast chatting and learning more about your journey. Best of luck on this journey! I can’t wait to see your books in the world.

Thank you, Kailei! This has been so much fun. And best of luck to everyone on the querying journey!

*GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY*

Chiara is offering one lucky reader a fiction PB MS critique by way of an email and 30-minute Zoom call. To enter, follow Chiara on Twitter and retweet THIS tweet. Winner will be announced on Monday on Twitter.

About Chiara Beth Colombi

Chiara Beth Colombi writes stories for young readers to inspire their courage, curiosity, and compassion. Her debut picture book ROCKET SHIP, SOLO TRIP will be published Summer 2023 by Viking Children’s Books, with illustrations by Scott Magoon. She is not an astronaut (yet). By day, she leads content strategy at a tech startup building the future of fake data. By night, she’s a scruffy-looking word herder, drafting picture books with pluck and YA fantasy that feels as real as memory. She currently lives in California with her very Italian family and an open view of the sky.

About Kailei Pew

Kailei Pew is a wife, mother, and children's book author represented by the amazing Emily Forney of Bookends Literary. Kailei's debut Middle Grade Book, KID MADE will be coming to you from Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan Summer 2023

Tuesday From The Trenches: Gabriela Orozco Belt

Hello wonderful readers and welcome to another Tuesday From The Trenches! I am so excited to be here and can't wait to share Gabriela's story! Before we dive in, have you seen that I'm gathering data about the submission process? I'll continue to share weekly stories about the query trenches, but I am super interested to share more about the submission process... because it is really not super transparent and I would love to shine some light on the submission experience. There is no "normal" on sub, but I'm hoping to gather some data that helps people know they are not alone. If you have ever been on submission (sending manuscripts to editors/publishers with or without an agent) please consider filling out this anonymous form HERE.

And now, please join me in welcoming Gabriela to this week's Tuesday From The Trenches!

Hi Gabriela! Thank you so much for joining us today! I’m thrilled to share your story with my readers, so let's jump right in. Can you share your query stats with us?

Time Spent in the Query Trenches: One year, three months

Number of Agents Queried: 25ish?

Number of Requests for Additional Work/Full Manuscript: 1

Number of Twitter Pitch “Likes”: 3 #DVPit 2 PB Party

Number of R&Rs: 2

Number of Rejections: 24ish

Number of Offers: 1

Agent and Agency: Alyssa Jennette at Stonesong

Wonderful!! Huge congrats on signing with Alyssa! How did you keep track of it all? What was your method for organizing queries? Spread sheet? Query Tracker? Etc.

I had a notebook that I would write down each query and the date and I was keeping a tally sheet for the rejections when a friend asked why I did that. She pointed out that if any of my children kept a rejection tally, I would tell them not to keep track of rejections but just keep trying, so I took it out. I did move all my query emails into a folder so I could look back, just in case I had to.

That's a really great perspective. I like the idea to keep moving forward rather than keeping tally of the rejections. But event though you learned to not tally them, how did you handle the rejections? Did any sting more than others?

We have a 24-hour rule in our house, you get 24 hours to throw your pity party and then you have to get over it and/or do something about it. I had a few of those 24-hour pity parties. The query rejections never stung as much as the mentorship rejections did. Those hurt!

That is a fantastic rule. Give yourself space to feel your authentic emotions but then get yourself up and move forward. And that's a really great point... those mentorship rejections do sting.

How did you find agents to query/how did you decide who to query?

Query tracker, #MSWL, Twitter.

All wonderful resources. I think those MSWLs are really great so that you make sure your work is a good fit for a particular agent. So how did you ultimately connect with your agent? Did you cold query? Participate in a twitter pitch event? Or connect in some other way?

For my 40th birthday, I gifted myself Ten Minutes With an Expert with The Manuscript Academy. I poured over the agents and chose Alyssa. Our chat was amazing! We talked about the manuscript that I submitted for the meeting and she asked if I had other manuscripts. We talked about one that I was working on and she loved the concept and asked that I send it to her when it was ready.

Oooh! That's an exciting story. I love unique ways to connect. Goes to show you that you should put yourself out there as much as possible. And what an amazing birthday to you!! So tell us a bit about getting that manuscript ready and then prepping for the call... how much time passed between officially querying Alyssa to getting “the call”?

I worked on that manuscript for a few more months and sent it to her in June. She asked for some revisions to that manuscript plus the one I sent to her for our Ten Minute meeting, which I sent back to her in July. Early August, my husband and I dropped off our first born at college and we were on our way to our final meal with him, my email notification pinged and there it was! I’m not sure if leaving him at college kept me from being so nervous about the call or if the call made me more nervous than leaving him at college but either way it was a lot of emotions!

Wow, that is definitely an emotional time! Things seem to happen all at once, don't they? I love that you took your time getting the MSs ready and then again on the R&R. Sounds like you've really honed your craft and I love that. Can you tell us more about “the call”? How did you know Alyssa was the right choice?

Since we already talked before and she knew the stories so well, it was such an easy conversation. I knew Alyssa was the right choice because of her love for the stories and the characters.

That is so wonderful. That feeling of comfort and confidence is everything. Could you tell us a little about your book that landed your agent?

It’s a bilingual picture book about family, trust, and learning how to appreciate all the fun differences that come with a new place.

That sounds fantastic! I love bilingual books and yours sounds wonderful.

If you could give querying authors a piece of advice, what would that be?

Celebrate the small victories, a champagne rejection, a positive critique, great feedback, all of those victories will lead to greater victories.

That is fantastic advice! I love your focus and that goes right along with your earlier advice of not tallying rejections... I think as authors we can be so hard on ourselves and often focus on the negative. But you are so right. There are many "small" victories along the way that should truly be celebrated. I love that.

Before I let you go, Where can we connect with you online?

I am @thegreatgabsie on Instagram and Twitter and at my website gabrielabelt.com

Fantastic! Thanks so much for joining us today. I’ve had a blast chatting and learning more about your journey. Best of luck on the submission path! I can’t wait to see your books in the world.

About Gabriela Orozco Belt

Gabriela Orozco Belt is a children’s book author who lives in a small town in the Mojave Desert. She was born in San Pedro, California, to Costa Rican immigrants. Raised in a Hispanic community, she was one of a handful of people from Central American descent. She never realized how different her Spanish was from other Spanish-speaking regions until she unintentionally used an inappropriate word while talking to her best friend’s mom. Since then, Gabriela has been fascinated with the differences in Spanish that exist among Spanish speakers.

Gabriela received a B.A. in English Literature from California State University, San Bernardino and an M. Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of California at Riverside. She has taught high school English for fifteen years and loves to bring her love of picture books into the classroom.

Gabriela is a wife of twenty years and a mother of three, whose oldest is in his first year of college, whose middle child is in her first year of high school, and whose youngest child is living her best life in fifth grade.

When not writing, teaching, or chauffeuring children to activities, Gabriela can be found directing the high school play. Giving them some crazy twist like an ’80s themed Wizard of Oz or a Dia de los Muertos Alice in Wonderland. She can also be found checking off a destination from her travel bucket list.

About Kailei Pew

Kailei Pew is a wife, mother, and children's book author represented by the amazing Emily Forney of Bookends Literary. Kailei's debut Middle Grade Book, KID MADE will be coming to you from Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan Summer 2023