Submitting Pages to My Agent

One YA Author’s Journey to Publication

In my series “One YA Author’s Journey to Publication”, I’ve written about landing my agent, my year of revision – the struggle – the pain – the ingestion of roughly one ton of chocolate. I’ve featured the four books that helped me find my way when I was so lost I wasn’t sure what I was doing anymore. I’ve introduced you to my incredibly patient agent, Alyssa Eisner Henkin, who is willing to spend an hour or two at a time brainstorming different avenues my works-in-progress can take, who asks questions that spin my brain in new directions, taking my story to whole new levels. (LOVE her!)

But there was one point during that year of revision that changed everything. And it’s so important, I think it deserves to be featured separately. Because, though I needed it, had Alyssa not offered it up, I’m not sure if I would have had the guts to request this important change in procedure.

It was January of 2009. I had been revising for six months, and in December of 2008, Alyssa told me that my third draft was . . . well, NOT working. (Can you say “freaking out”? Might I lose my agent? What about my dream of being published? Could I actually pull this off? Or did I totally suck?) During our next call, Alyssa offered to read my WIP in stages. And I breathed a huge sigh of relief. If she read 75-page chunks of my revisions, she could catch me before I totally derailed. And then ask some more of her magic questions that would lead me in the right direction.

It was one of those moments in my life when everything fell into place, when I had a feeling that everything I’d been afraid of falling apart might just stay together . . . and flourish.

And, thankfully, I was right.

So, here’s what happened next:

In January of 2009, I started over. I scratched all but five of my twenty-eight chapters. And I re-wrote my book, turning in 75 page increments for Alyssa to read, and, when she finished, provide her expertise feedback.

I went off track a few times, but the lovely Alyssa was there to catch me before I did too much damage. And by June of 2009, just six months later, my lowest low turned into my highest high.

Alyssa said my manuscript was ready for submission to editors.

Oh, sigh of relief, I did it. For really real.