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Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Our Second BAKER'S DOZEN Agent Signing!

It's true!  I'm thrilled to announce the second signing as a direct result of our Baker's Dozen Agent Auction in December.

Author Beth Hautala has signed with Danielle Chiotti of Upstart Crow Literary Agency. You can read the Baker's Dozen entry that grabbed Danielle's heart HERE.

CONGRATULATIONS and BEST WISHES FOR SUCCESS to you both!

And here's the agent love story, in Beth's own words:

I spent two years writing, editing, entrusting to beta readers, and rewriting my middle-grade novel, Waiting For Unicorns.


I loved it-which is unusual, because I am my own worst critic. I generally end up hating my work. But now, despite a successful career in commercial writing, months of rejection were leading me to believe I had no business writing fiction.


Writing stories makes me tick and I wept at the thought of giving it up.


I decided to give things one final shot before I shelved the manuscript. I submitted Unicorns to Authoress' Baker's Dozen Agent Auction, never expecting to make the cut.


But I did! And Waiting For Unicorns eventually earned six requests for fulls.


I almost died.


Five weeks later I received an email from Danielle Chiotti of Upstart Crow Literary. She had read my book and thought it was "REALLY WONDERFUL."


"I'd love to set up a time to speak with you over the phone so we can get to know each other a little better," she emailed.


I screamed. Literally. Out loud.


And then I started crying. And shaking.


Then I did a happy dance in my chair.


And then I ran to tell my husband.


Ultimately, Danielle offered representation, and today, I have an agent!


Where would I be without Authoress?!


So, for anyone who has ever tried to do something beautiful and meaningful with words, be encouraged! As a dear friend and author recently said to me, "You are closer than you think." Keep writing.

(Read the full story HERE.)

24 comments:

  1. Congratulations, Beth!! May your partnership be long and fruitful :D

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  2. Congrats, Beth!!! And welcome to the I-got-my-agent-thanks-to-Authoress club! :D

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  3. What a great story to start my day. Thanks for sharing. Congrats to Beth and Danielle!!

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  4. "You are closer than you think..." There's a mantra to live by! Thanks for sharing your story,Beth! I wish you and Danielle a very successful future! Congrats! :)

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  5. Congrats,ladies! I love that you share these stories with us Authoress. You truly are a fairy godmother. :)

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  6. Congratulations!! It's so encouraging to read the success stories. It always reinforces that thing - never give up. You never know when success might be just around the corner.

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  7. Wow, wow, wow! Congratulations to Beth, Danielle, and Authoress!

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  8. Woohoo! Happy dances are the latest craze! Keep the good news coming, Authoress! And big congrats to Beth!

    Dare to follow your heart

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  9. Congratulations, Beth! Fantastic job of staying with it through all the tough times. I wish you tons of success.

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  10. Congratulations, Beth! Just when I'm sitting around licking my wounds and asking, "When will it be my turn?" I read something like this and I say, "Karen, you are closer than you think!" Thank you Beth for those words to live by. And thank you Authoress or paying it forward.

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  11. Congrats Beth, and *yay* for Authoress once again :)

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  12. What a wonderful story! Congratulations.

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  13. OMG, a second signing. How exciting is that? Will there be a dozen signings? Here's a hoping and a praying :-)

    Congrats Beth!

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  14. I just had to wipe a tear from my eye. Congratulations! Authoress, you truly do rock!

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  15. I am such a sucker for these stories. Congrats to Beth! And to Authoress, who has helped make dreams come true. A fairy godmother, indeed!

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  16. Congratulations, Beth! Good for you for hanging in there and beating the odds. And congratulations to you too, Authoress; it must feel wonderful to have facilitated all these wonderful matches!

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  17. Awesome news...Congrats Beth and Authoress you are, as usual, quite amazing!!

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  18. Woohoo!!! Congrats Beth & Danielle - I'm happy dancing for you :)

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  19. Congrats to Beth & Danielle- what a great pair!

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  20. Congratulations to Beth, Danielle, and Authoress!!!

    It's success stories like this, that make the writing and query process, a little more bearable.

    So the question remains, Authoress - when's the next Baker's Dozen contest? :)

    Congrats again!!!

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