Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews Crystal A Hill

Success Story Interview - Crystal A Hill

An Interview with Crystal A Hill (PurpleSkies on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Tina Schwartz of The Purcell Agency, LLC.

12/18/2023

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?: Crystal A Hill:
Tina Schwartz offered representation for my YA contemporary novel involving an IVF sperm swap situation. The idea came from listening to a radio show discussing the what-ifs of sperm bank mishaps and how unexpected results are being discovered all the time these days with things like 23AndMe. I wanted to write a story about two kids that were the result of this type of swap, raised by the wrong dads, one in a well-off but abusive situation, the other in a less well-off but loving and accepting situation. Through this scenario, I thought it'd be interesting to explore nature vs nurture.

As the story took shape, my MC became trapped on a path with a harsh father, but her discovery that he's not her real father in a Biology blood typing lab plants a seed that maybe she doesn't have to accept his abuse or his path for her. By secretly dipping her toe in the life she could have had and getting to know Alex, the other half of the sperm swap and the biological son of the man who raised her, she realizes how her actions and words can devastate those she cares about, even if she does and says them out of instinct to glean any scrap of validation she can.
QT: How long have you been writing?: Crystal A Hill:
I wrote a fanfic novel and some short stories in college from 2007-2008, but I didn't attempt my first original novel until 2016 when a friend asked me to co-write a time travel trilogy with her. From there I discovered I really liked to write and wanted to be published.
QT: How long have you been working on this book?: Crystal A Hill:
I got the idea for this book in 2019 and started drafting Sept 2020. I finished the first draft in Feb 2021, then revised it five more times over 2021 and 2022.
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: Crystal A Hill:
Yes, cyclically. The tough skin from hundreds of rejections doesn't always hold up, especially when faced with near misses, or just the grind of continuing to crank out queries for over two years for this one book alone. Close writing friends actively cheerleading for me combined with spiteful determination kept me from giving up.
QT: Is this your first book?: Crystal A Hill:
This is my third complete book if you count the fanfic novel (which I do).
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?: Crystal A Hill:
No, only what I've learned from my fabulous critique partner, through discussion and osmosis from my writing group, from beta reading (beta reading other people's stories teaches you SO much), from writing conferences (GatewayCon, Writers' Institute, Writing Day Workshops, Manuscript Academy, Midwest Writers Workshop, anything by Jane Friedman), and from writing craft books (Save the Cat, Story Genius, Intuitive Editing)
QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?: Crystal A Hill:
Not closely, though I strive to give myself about an hour in the morning before I have to wake up my first kid. I use a text-to-voice app to listen to my writing (Natural Reader) and a voice-to-text app to capture notes and thoughts and dictate parts of scenes while commuting to and from work, in between audiobooks. Taking advantage of my hour-and-a-half round trip makes for some fantastic productivity!
QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?: Crystal A Hill:
I did five full revisions of this book. I also had almost a dozen critiques ranging from the first page to the first 100 pages. I submitted to RevPit in 2021 and received a full request, but I wasn't selected.
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?: Crystal A Hill:
So many, and they've been my greatest cheerleaders. My critique partner was (and still is) a saint for embracing my many many screenshots of writing snippets, my million grammar questions, and reading the entire book at least four times as I revised, always quick to provide tons of positive feedback to go along with her insightful critique. My writing group that formed just before I started this book provided me with tons of resources, feedback, conversation, and cheerleading. I had 7 beta readers read my first draft, 1 reader for draft 2/3/4, and 2 readers for draft 5 with my final version to get my offer being draft 6. I had my query critiqued at least 10 times by writing friends as well as by literary agents using Manuscript Academy.
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: Crystal A Hill:
The first draft was pantsed, and then I attempted to reverse outline to help with future drafts. It eventually worked for this book but I'd rather properly outline and plan future books, though the attempt with my WIP has led to a lot of overthinking, rewriting, and becoming frozen. But I'm getting there, and I think the first draft will be really strong because of it.
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?: Crystal A Hill:
My first query for this book (my second book) was sent in May 2021 and my last was sent in August 2023 (2yr3mo). I queried my first book from Nov 2019 to Jan 2021 (1yr2mo).
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: Crystal A Hill:
For this one book, I sent 273 agent queries and 3 publisher queries. KEY TAKEAWAY HERE: There is no rejection limit as long as there are good agents open to your genre, as long as you're getting some interest, and getting critiques and revising when it feels right.

When I sent my last batch of queries, I was close to giving up on agents and exploring publishers open to un-agented submissions, which is a fantastic option. I reached out to an author to ask about her experience with her publisher since they were open to submissions. Instead, she referred me to her agent at the time of publishing with them. Since this agent is almost always closed to unsolicited queries, this was a golden opportunity. After reading my query, Tina requested my full in June 2023, then asked to set up a call and offered representation in Nov 2023.
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: Crystal A Hill:
I picked agents based on whether they repped YA and were open to the content in my book, which I found out from their MSWL. I also used Query Tracker to decide if they seemed to be actively requesting YA books or not. I used to only query agents with a high response rate, but I expanded to agents with a history of requests instead. Having a history of sales is a bonus, but there are so many new and hungry agents out there, so as long as they have an applicable background and/or a good mentor, why not?
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: Crystal A Hill:
I used to always try to, but the effort didn't make a difference and often resulted in my personalization sounding forced or me trying to fit my book into an MSWL mold that didn't apply. Eventually, I only personalized if I had something genuine to say.
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: Crystal A Hill:
Follow your gut, offer to swap for critiques on social media or at writing conferences until you find your people, get agent critiques if you can (through Manuscript Academy or many agents offer critiques on their website for a fee), shelve a book when you feel good and ready (not when someone makes you feel bad about how many queries you've sent), and always be working on the next book.

Success Story Interview - Crystal A Hill

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