Success Story Interview - April Howells

An Interview with April Howells (champagnebooks on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Laura Heathfield of Greenstone Literary.

09/17/2024

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

April Howells:
For fans of Fredrik Backman and Rachel Joyce it’s inspired by the 1966 Chicago Post Office backlog and centres around an 81-year-old man suffering from dementia who stages a heist and takes delivering letters into his own hands.

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

April Howells:
Many! When that happened, I simply put it aside. Sometimes a year or two would pass without me working on it, though it was always in the back of my mind like a nice daydream. Part of wanting to give up was that I pantsed my way through it in those early writing days and didn’t have a clear outline. This meant I didn’t have an ending for years and kept getting stuck, not knowing where the story was going. I kept going because I truly believed in the story and my ability to grow with it.

QT: Is this your first book?

April Howells:
Yes, though I will say I’ve learned how to write with this book. It’s gone through many revisions and taken me years to develop my voice and skill as a writer. Earlier drafts would never (ever) have been considered. I needed my writing to catch up to my vision.

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

April Howells:
I did about five full rewrites from scratch, where I would use my existing draft as a guide. I found it the easiest way to kill my darlings and not become attached to scenes/character traits/sentences. It’s also how I developed big picture plot, before final line level edits to polish it up before querying.

QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

April Howells:
Yes, aside from family (who were shockingly honest throughout the process!) I had 2 beta readers and 1 critique partner. I also leveraged these reviews for sensitivity reads on the dementia angle and the civil rights undertone of the 60s.

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

April Howells:
Both. I spent years writing from the hip. This got me to 50,000 words and then… I couldn’t figure out what came next. I was more obsessed with hitting the right wordcount for my genre than the story. After many years of pansting, I finally started outlining. I put my manuscript aside and focused on character development, character arcs, and a chapter-by-chapter outline. Once I dedicated time to this, the final pieces of the plot fell into place. A solid outline is something I won’t ever skip again! (Though I do like to write from the hip through the murky middle to see where my characters want to go.)

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

April Howells:
I spent 4 months querying this novel before signing with my agent.

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

April Howells:
71, and my agent was query #53

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

April Howells:
I looked first for genre, and then I looked at more nuanced details so I could understand what they were looking for in terms of writing style, characters, voice, etc. There is no perfect formula! Some agents’ MSWL basically described the book I wrote, and I was over the moon—only to receive a form rejection… Ha. So, my advice is to not get too attached and focus on making sure you’re querying agents who rep your genre.

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

April Howells:
No. If there was an obvious way to tailor my query (You recently posted on X you’re looking for XYZ, etc.) I did. But I didn’t try to weave in specifics like other books/authors they rep. Instead, I tailored my query letter to that genre so it was clear right away why I thought they would be a good fit.

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

April Howells:
Keep calm and query on. And try not to read too much into the data!! Think you’ve been missed? I bet that agent dog-eared your submission for a closer look when they have time (that happened to me and resulted in a second offer after I nudged). The tea leaves are hard to read—protect your mental health, believe in your story, and wait for the agent who believes in it as much as you.

Query Letter:

Dear Name:

It's never too late for the adventure of a lifetime, even if you can't remember why you started.

THE UNFORGETTABLE MAILMAN is upmarket fiction complete at 79,000 words with epistles throughout. It will appeal to fans of older protagonists (they’re really having a moment right now!) and readers who loved the improbable, heartwarming adventures found in Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce and The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick.

Chicago 1966. When the Post Office announces a temporary closure, 81-year-old Henry can't stand idly by. Suffering from dementia, he believes letters keep people connected. And connection keeps the mind sharp—according to a hand-written reminder in his kitchen. While management scrambles to cover up the extent of the backlog by secretly burning millions of letters, Henry stages a heist.

He liberates 300 envelopes—including one with a presidential seal addressed to Martin Luther King Jr. Unbeknownst to Henry, it could revolutionize the fight against racial injustice. Journeying across the city and into Canada, he battles disorientation, border detainment, and shame when he unintentionally delivers hate mail. Amidst the strain, painful memories resurface. He recalls being sliced by shrapnel in the Great War and the deaths of his wife and son.

When management becomes aware of his crusade, they divert attention from the postal crisis by plastering his face on wanted posters across a tri-state area. To make his final delivery, Henry races against time and forgetfulness. If they catch him first, they’ll destroy the last letter he holds and its potential to create change.

With a Diploma in Publishing, I lead Global Internal Communications for (redacted). I've witnessed the effects of dementia on my grandmothers and my mother-in-law, and their experiences inspired this novel.

The full manuscript is available upon request.

Thank you,
Me