How I got my Literary Agent! Better yet, how my agent found me!

I got my literary agent when I wasn’t trying to get one anymore.

My story is definitely one of a kind—quite unique— so I wanted to share because everyone’s publishing journey is so different and you guys have been curious about mine!

In August 2022, I signed with Literay Agent Katie Shea Boutillier of Donoald Maass Literary Agency.

I had known/been in touch with my agent since 2020 prior to her signing me. I first pitched her/queried her in summer 2020, but she signed me in summer 2022!

Let’s back it up a bit…

How did that happen?!?

via GIPHY

So I started querying SOME THINGS, SOMEDAY in June 2020, right when (#AmplifyBlackVoices was trending), given what happened that summer with George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. Agents were thirsty for Black voices! I received a lot of full/half requests right away—first 2 weeks— (a total of 15) or so but they all evidently ended up passing.  I received some useful feedback but most were confusing and contradicting other comments/feedback received from other agents. Very subjective business. One thing that surprised me was that I was getting the attention of big-name agents, so I knew I was on to something. They all commented that the concept was good, but still, something was missing.

Then one day I queried Katie and received a reply the next day! She enthusiastically requested the full manuscript. I was hyped! And she followed me on Twitter as well. A top Literary Agent? Following me? I was so excited. It only took her a week to read through it. She requested a phone call. I thought for sure she was going to offer to represent me.

When she called, she expressed how much she loved my characters, my writing, my voice, and the story, but that it needed a lot of work. It wasn’t an offer. Instead, she wanted an exclusive Revise and Resubmit (R&R). This meant working with her exclusively for 6 months+ to revise the book with her suggestions and then when revisions were completed and if she was happy with the work, she would sign me. I admit that hearing how much she loved my characters and my writing felt nice.

She was so excited!

I felt legit being validated by a literary agent. She said my writing had a voice. That it was hard to teach a writer that. That the writing was beautiful and poignant. This was all great; however, I didn’t feel that it was the right move for me at the time. Firstly, I was sooooo attached to my story that I did not agree with ANY of the suggestions she made.

Sometimes, when we’re too attached to our work, it can be difficult to be receptive to constructive critisism.

I did not want to change a single thing. That draft was mediocre now that I look back on it, but I did not see it at the time. I decided to keep querying and turned down her offer. I could tell that she was a bit disappointed that it did not work out because she had been so excited about possibly working with me on this novel.

Needless to say I continued with the querying process and when nothing came of it months later, I couldn’t stand my book anymore by September/October 2020. I decided to put it away and work on something new. I had queried about 100 agents/editors by then.

I got a new idea and wrote a new novel and finished it November/December 2020 during NaNoWriMo. I revised it and for some reason this one didn’t appear to need much revising so I started querying in February 2021.  I thought the concept was very commercial, trendy, and would land me an agent ASAP since SOME THINGS, SOMEDAY seemed to be too complex.

Oh boy was I wrong. I hardly received any requests. I even queried Katie again with the new book! I had a dream that she was my agent and was sure she would love this one!

Womp Womp.

She wasn’t feeling the new novel and said she had more of a connection with SOME THINGS, SOMEDAY and didn’t feel like the new story was a good fit.

via GIPHY

When nothing at all came from querying the new novel, I decided to step away for a bit. I had left SOME THINGS, SOMEDAY alone for a while, so I decided to read it again.

It’s always refreshing to step away from your work and come back with fresh eyes—with a new perspective!

It indeed needed MAJOR work!

I knew what was missing and finally knew how to fix it. I finally understood what Katie and other agents had suggested…her feedback made sense. I started revising again.

I fixed what I could, which was rewriting 70% of the novel!

When I was done and read it back to myself, I had tears in my eyes by the time I finished reading it all. I realized how gripping and heartfelt this story is. Not only is it a coming of age, love story, but it covers many important subjects such as immigration, the African Dream, and the loss of dreams.

I was ready now (I thought!). I queried small presses and a few other agents who had told me to query them again if I revised it, including Katie. Katie said she was still interested in working together on it and would take a look at the changes, but when a UK based Small Press offered me a contract (that evidently didn’t work out months later), Katie stepped back. I was in such desperation to get my book published that I didn’t give her enough time to properly read the updated version again. And she didn’t want to stand in my way so we went our separate ways again. :-(

The contract with the Small Press did not work out. I ended my contract. It was not the right fit for me in the end, so six months after signing, I walked away heartbroken, disgusted, and discouraged about the traditional publishing industry.

In December 2021, I decided to take a break from writing and focus on launching my coffee roasting business KANFUELA. I decided that I’d eventually go back to writing, but I desperately needed a break (I’ve been writing since 2010 on and off). I didn’t want to hear anything about agents or publishers! I was DONE!

via GIPHY

Towards the beginning of the month of June 2022, I read my novel for the first time in almost a year and started making small edits to it (mainly adding more descriptions and details). I had just returned from Congo and had more vivid details to add.

I kept thinking about how wonderful of a book it is and was so sad it would probably never get published. It’s the kind of book that just pulls at your heartstrings and takes you on a journey and into the world of the characters: Aicha and Michel are special—and their story is deep. I even told a writer friend (hey Tamarria) this: “I’m beginning to realize that perhaps I wrote this book for me more than anything else.”

I truly believe that.

As writers, we should be writing for ourselves first. You are your first audience.

Write the story you want to read. And that is exactly what I did.

Toni Morrison said it best:

If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.

I missed writing, but wasn’t ready to query again yet or to start writing a new book. I was mainly reading other writers’ works and supporting fellow writer friends. But SOME THINGS, SOMEDAY was in my heart—daily. I often thought about whether or not I was so foolish to turn town Katie’s offer (The Exclusive Revise & Re-submit), but what was done was done. SOME THINGS, SOMEDAY is a great novel, but I knew it still needed work—work that I no longer knew how to fix on my own. Self-publishing was out of the question. The story is too important—with international appeal—it transports the readers from Dallas to Paris to London to Kinshasa. I knew I needed an agent to take it to the next level—possibly to the big house NYC publishers with possible foreign rights translations in many languages in the future. Can a girl dream? I want the whole thing! :-)

…and then on one random, August afternoon, I received an email from KATIE SHEA BOUTILLIER.

I thought I was tripping!

To paraphrase, she said she normally didn’t do this, but she was thinking about my writing. She asked if I’d ended up signing with the small press and if not, she wanted to know what I was up to writing-wise.

My first thought was: “Girl, nothing. Nothing at all. I’m too hung on SOME THINGS, SOMEDAY.”

My second thought was: “Wow, she reached out to me? Agents don’t do this normally!”

I didn’t say that, of course. I told her that I did originally sign that contract with the Small Press, but that it did not work out and that I’d been taking a break from writing anything new. Also that I had been thinking about the novel she’d loved so very much and had made some changes to it since we last spoke. And was more willing to revise it more because I knew it had potential. I didn’t think she’d still be interested since I had nothing new to offer.

To my surprise, she was so excited to hear this! She said she couldn’t stop thinking about SOME THINGS, SOMEDAY and was soooo happy to hear it was still available. That after much thought, she wanted to work with me on it and wanted to SIGN ME AND REPRESENT ME AS MY AGENT if I was still willing…

ughhhhh what!?!?

I did not see this one coming!!

She called.

We talked about possible edits/revisions and the game plan.

We finally saw each other eye to eye.

She expressed that she’d looked me up to see if the book had sold already and kept thinking about their story—Michel and Aicha—the kind of story you can’t forget. That she truly believed in me as a writer and the potential in SOME THINGS, SOMEDAY and future works.

I accepted the offer.

Crazy huh? I got my agent when I wasn’t trying to get one anymore.

That’s my story!

About SOME THINGS, SOMEDAY:

SOME THINGS, SOMEDAY is a gripping, coming -of-age, love story in which the characters experience loss of dreams, heartbreak, sacrifice, and ultimately, love. It also explores the immigrant life, as well as the sacrifices we make for the American dream.

Books are a part of who I am. Long before TikTok and Bookstagram.

Reading is cool now? There was a time when it wasn't. In fact, I used to be ashamed of being a reader—ashamed of being me: A reader. Bookworm. Bibliophile. Book lover. Buveur d’encre.

I used to be ashamed for always having a book with me or wanting to escape the room to go read. Those close to me, they know that I have always loved reading, even before #bookstagram (book community on Instagram) became a thing. It has been a part of who I am since I can remember. 

So why the shame in reading?

Well, my siblings can tell you that I’ve always been the weird/awkward kid. I preferred my own company and staying in my room all the time. It seems that as I got older and started teaching and writing, I somewhat found my voice and became more comfortable being myself. But growing up, I preferred to write in my journals with music in my ears or stereo and sticking my nose in a book any chance I could.

Books are my companions. I think part of the reason is simply because books gave me comfort. When I moved to the U.S from France (I was 10), it was quite a culture shock and I seemed to have a harder time adjusting to life in the states than my siblings did. I still do! Lol. My personality & passions just vibe better with France. So, in a way, I turned to books as escapism. And it has been that way since. I only read fiction growing up; it wasn’t until I went to grad school (2011) that I started reading more nonfiction. 

Okay, so why was I ashamed of being a reader?

It wasn’t cool. Plain and simple. I will not sugarcoat it. As a Congolese, I hardly met or knew anyone in my community (Congolese community of Dallas) who loved reading besides two of my cousins (one who re-introduced me to books when I first moved to the states!)

For example: As a PK (Preacher’s kid), I grew up in church and was always in church for something. One day, I was sitting in a church pew reading a YA novel as the choir rehearsed. I was probably about fourteen then. I remember one of the elders of the church coming up to me asking what I was reading. When I showed him, he asked: “Why? Is it for school?” He inquired, baffled.  

I told him that it wasn’t for school. Just for fun. He stared at me with a perplexed look on his face. He seemed to have a hard time processing the fact that I was reading for fun. In our household, reading was normal. My dad is a reader and my sisters also read here and there. 

At school, it was the same thing. In between classes or before classes started (sometimes during), I was reading. I wasn’t a popular kid or anything, and in fact preferred to remain invisible, but for some reason the fact that I was always reading is what got people to notice me. 

I remember some of the “popular” basketball/football players being intrigued and often interrupting (yes, interrupting) my reading time and asking what I was reading or how come I was always reading.

I guess I have a hard time processing this question:

Why am I reading? How come?

 It’s like asking me why am I breathing?  I suppose I don’t know how not to be reading! Even when I’m going through a slump and think to myself that I won’t read for a while, sooner than later my heart aches and I start to feel anxious—like something is missing. And as soon as I pick up a book, the aches and anxiety vanish. 

Perhaps for me, reading means a lot more than for others.

Books are my companions

Reading is my escape

Reading is a stress reliever

Reading calms my anxiety/stress

Reading helps me see myself in others

Reading teaches me about the world and those around me

Reading helps me travel to places I could never go to physically

I also used to be ashamed to admit how much I really read to avoid making other people feel bad. And I don’t read nearly as much as I used to before kids. But people would make me feel bad for reading and would say things such as:

“You must have time on your hands to be reading this much.”

“You’re just showing off how many books you read.”

 Well, both statements sound a bit passive aggressive. For one, anyone can make time for reading. Think about how much time you spend on social media, YouTube or watching TV? 

I also am on social media and watch TV occasionally, but I make reading a priority. Reading should be something you enjoy doing—not something you are forced to do.  And I’m one of those gifted readers who trained her brain long ago to multitask, so I can read with noise in the background and even music in my ears. Most people need complete silence to read.

 Secondly, I have always been passionate about talking about books and sharing what I’m reading with others. When I share about how many books I read, it’s not about showing off the number of books I read. It’s more about challenging myself to read more and meeting said challenge, as well as encouraging and challenging others to read more, especially my fellow Congolese. 

All this to say…..um, I’m not sure actually. I don’t have a call to action or anything, but I felt it was important I write this. I’m sure there’s a lone wolf/passionate reader who can relate. 

Just be you.

 Thanks for reading! It felt nice to blog again after so long.