Losing track of success stories is a good problem to have, right? At any rate, Alice's name is already included on the "published author" success page, but her story has yet to be told. Here it is, in her own words:
Back in November 2008, I won the SA contest for Colleen Lindsay. She spent half an hour on the phone with me, enumerating the strengths and weaknesses of that manuscript. Great advice, which I applied as I continued the querying process. Fast-forward to April 2010, when in a 6-day flurry of emails and phone calls, I signed with Kent. D. Wolf of Global Literary Management. (With a different book.)
Fast-forward to January 26, 2011. This is me, in my hometown Barnes & Noble, pointing to my book on their shelf under the “New Mystery” sign. The journey took four years, three books, 185 agent rejections, one “yes” from an awesome agent, a handful of editor passes, and one offer from a terrific publisher (Midnight Ink).
Never give up! Never surrender!
Thanks,
Alice Loweecey
(Force of Habit in stores now from Midnight Ink)
Congrats Alice! Thanks for sharing - love these posts! :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Alice! I read a lot of Midnight Ink authors and will definitely look for your book. :)
ReplyDeleteWow Alice, you're conviction is so inspiring. Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! I love that so many people come back to share their stories with us. Thank you, Alice, and thank you Authoress!
ReplyDeleteHuge congratulations! I love that photo :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, everyone! And thanks to Authoress for her untiring work!
ReplyDeleteThat is an inspiring story of perseverance-it inspired me to keep at it. I'm going to Tweet this to all my writer friends who get so down in the dumps. Congratulations, Alice.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Alice, for sharing your story with us!
ReplyDeleteIt's a long road and often a hard road, but the rewards are worth every step. Keep at it, everyone! Places like this are what keep us sane and give us hope.
ReplyDeleteAnd chocolate. And martinis. And chocolate martinis. :)
I've little doubt this is meant to make a point. That it was remembered at a time it would be most needed is remarkable.
ReplyDeleteBut it makes my point even stronger.
The value of this blog is the community.That the blog helped this author is wonderful, but let us not forget the the amount of work the author put into her success. This blog is but one piece among many.
I'll reiterate, there are no reasons to start charging entry fees. Statistically speaking, representation from these contests is no more likely than submitting to agents directly.
I encourage you to support Authoress by making a donation if you so see fit.
Say no to entry fees. Even if the fee is a penny, it does not matter. It's about principal and doing the right thing. (What do you think Miss Snark would say? I'd like to think she'd say the same thing and I think maybe she did, several times.)
And anyway, if the amount is so minimal and it's not about the money, why go there at all?
Call me crazy, but reading that she had 185(!) rejections before signing with her agent made my heart fill with relief and hope.
ReplyDeleteWay to persevere! I'm inspired.
There were several requests, too! And one full request after I'd already signed with my agent. I had about a 10% request rate over the 3 books.
ReplyDeleteAfter every rejection or no-response, I weighed my choices. I could keep at this, keep refining my craft, keep learning how to do it better. Or I could put the books in a drawer and give up.
I didn't want to look back on my life and wonder "What if." What if I'd sent that last batch of queries? What if I'd tried revising that opening chapter the way one agent suggested? What if I'd spent just one more day researching agents?
I wanted to be able to say I took the chance. I fought back. I never gave up. I didn't want to live with nothing but regret for the rest of my life.
Anyone who quotes Galaxy Quest is tops in my book. Love your story - congrats.
ReplyDeleteChiming in very late, but a cheering story from a wonderful woman. Congrats, at long last, Alice. Great to welcome you to the Midnight Ink house of authors. Hang in there, y'all. 185 rejections!
ReplyDeleteBest, Deborah Sharp