Success Story Interview - Andrea Rinard

An Interview with Andrea Rinard (arinard on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Esty Loveing-Downes of Howland Literary.

11/05/2025

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?

Andrea Rinard:
My book, Fourth Chances, is a genre switch for me. After writing YA with romantic sub-plots, I decided to try an adult contemporary romance. I read a lot of romance, and I decided to write one as a way to distract myself from the 2024 election season in the U.S.

QT: How long have you been writing?

Andrea Rinard:
I started committing to projects and pursuing publication in 2016.

QT: How long have you been working on this book?

Andrea Rinard:
I started Fourth Chances in September of 2024 and began querying it almost exactly one year later.

QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?

Andrea Rinard:
I had so much fun with this project that I honestly never considered abandoning it.

QT: Is this your first book?

Andrea Rinard:
I have three YA manuscripts and one women's fiction living quietly in my computer, and I have a collection of short fiction, published by EastOver Press.

QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

Andrea Rinard:
I earned my MFA in creative writing from the University of South Florida, and I treat myself to one or two writing workshops each year. My favorites are the Yale Writers' Workshop, which I have attended for seven years, and the Key West Literary Seminar's writers' workshops, which I've attended four times.

QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?

Andrea Rinard:
I try to schedule at least an hour every day to write, but I find that as my word count rises, so do the minutes I give to my writing.

QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?

Andrea Rinard:
I revise in chunks as I go--often stopping every few chapters to go back and tweak in places where I went down a different path. I also went through two complete revisions and at least three rounds of edits.

QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

Andrea Rinard:
A good friend from my MFA program and I exchange pages often, and she did a full read of this. My toughest reader, though, is my 23-year-old daughter, who gave fantastic feedback.

QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?

Andrea Rinard:
I outlined, and I believe that's one of the things that made this one more successful. I spent a lot of time up front getting to know the characters before I ever started mapping out the plot. When I did outline, it was in broad strokes. I knew the characters so well by that time that it was helpful--and fun--to let them free-range a bit and take me along organically.

QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?

Andrea Rinard:
I started querying this project at the end of September 2024.

QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?

Andrea Rinard:
I sent out 44 queries in batches of around 10. I kept my eyes on agents I was super interested in who were closed for submissions and had materials ready to go as soon as they opened. I got 25 rejections, 12 no responses, 6 full requests, and one offer of representation.

QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?

Andrea Rinard:
I did a lot of research into what genres and writers they represent, publishing houses and editors they have sold to and worked with, any social media buzz that raised flags--both red and green, and general vibes from their social media, agency website, and MSWL.

QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?

Andrea Rinard:
I did if there was a compelling reason to such as having met them before at an event, queried them before and gotten a request for pages or a "please submit again," or had a specific connection in their MSWL. For example, one agent I queried mentioned a favorite book we have in common, and another one shared a niche hobby of mine that is referenced in my book. Other than that, I didn't tailor much other than making sure I met all their submission requirements and spelled their names correctly.

QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?

Andrea Rinard:
Do your research up front. Only query agents who actually rep what you're querying and who you genuinely think would be a good fit for your work as well as your personality. Go into it with an extra layer of skin and believe the mantra of, "it's all subjective." It's a hard process, but you only need one person to say yes!

Query Letter:

Dear ___,

I'm excited to share my contemporary, dual POV romance, FOURTH CHANCES, complete at 90k words. This book will resonate with readers who enjoy the slow burn, grumpy/sunshine, and work friends-to-lovers tropes found in With Love from Cold World by Alicia Thompson. Readers who understand how miscommunication can lead lovers astray and the need for them to make peace with their own pasts, as seen in Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez, will also enjoy FOURTH CHANCES. I wrote this book for all the horse girls who ride English and are tired of only finding stories with cowboys and rodeos.

When the horse she trained and competed with for seventeen years is sold, 29-year-old champion saddleseat rider "Charlie" Stephens is arrested for trying to steal him. She’s mandated 500 hours of community service at a therapeutic riding center opened by former high school history teacher Ben Goode after he survived a shooting. Charlie, a cynical Swiftie with black cat energy, is focused on getting her conviction commuted. Despite a frustrated and repressed longing for love, she can't imagine anyone willing to date a felon, especially a cinnamon roll of a guy like Ben.

Meanwhile, Ben must find a strategy to save his farm from bankruptcy and not get distracted by his growing attraction to Charlie. Only when they realize they can help each other does friendship develop and grow into love. But first, Charlie and Ben must overcome their pasts and learn to trust each other and, most of all, themselves.

I'm a Florida native, the author of Murmurations (EastOver Press), and a former competitive equestrian who teaches creative writing at Ringling College of Art and Design. I have work in various publications and have been nominated for The Pushcart Prize, Best Small Fictions, and Best of the Net. I also won the 2020 Key West Literary Seminar's Marianne Russo Award for emerging novelists.

I’ve provided the first two chapters below as requested. I appreciate your consideration and would love to send you the full manuscript.