Success Story Interview - Erin Keating

An Interview with Erin Keating (KeatingNotKeats on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Heather Cashman of Storm Literary Agency.

07/25/2023

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

Erin Keating:
I was extremely fortunate and found representation for two books. I had queried Heather for one book, and while she loved it, she wasn’t able to take it on at the time. But the story stuck with her, and she revisited it almost a year later. In the meantime, I’d queried her for a second story. To my absolute delight, she offered me representation, and we’re working together on both projects!

Both are young adult fantasy novels. In the first, a young woman’s impulsive wish leads her to be conscripted to a crew of sky pirates with her sister as her only hope of rescue. In the second, a desperate young woman participates in a competition hosted by Death to resurrect her loved ones.

Often, a single image will be the inspiration for a story. For the first book, it was a tree struck by lightning outside my window. For the second book, it was a group of women walking in long black dresses on a windy day. I take those images out of context and try to imagine a new world around them. From there, the very beginnings of my stories are formed.

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

Erin Keating:
It usually takes me about a year to get a book to a place where I feel like it’s ready for querying. For the first book, I began writing in the summer of 2019 and began querying in the fall of 2020; for the second book, I began writing in the summer of 2021 and began querying in the fall of 2022.

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

Erin Keating:
Definitely! Querying is such a draining process—it’s so important to find things that motivate you and keep you in a healthy headspace. To keep myself motivated during querying, I typically jump into my next writing project. It reminds me that the joy of writing comes from the act of creating, rather than the finished product.

QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

Erin Keating:
Yes, I earned my B.A. in creative writing and literary studies at Roanoke College. I had been writing all my life, but that was the first time I began to think about how I was writing rather than simply what I was writing. A lot of what I learned about the publishing industry, however, I learned after I graduated from college. Resources like the Manuscript Academy, the Twitter writing community, and QueryTracker Success Stories—as well as some good, old fashioned trial and error—were all invaluable as I learned throughout my querying process.

QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?

Erin Keating:
I am a big believer in keeping a consistent writing schedule. I had a professor in college who liked to say, “It’s great to wait for the muse, but it’s a lot easier if the muse knows where to find you.” I really took that to heart! For the most part, I try to write for 45 minutes to an hour before work every morning—even if I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to write.

I love when I can keep to this schedule, but sometimes life gets in the way, and I need to get scrappier, snatching what time for writing I can. I find that sometimes scrappier writing sessions are especially fruitful because, since I’m trying to get as much down as I can as quickly as I can, my inhibitions are lower and I’m not second guessing myself.

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

Erin Keating:
I think I’m a true planster: I let myself be guided by a loose chapter outline and rough character sketches but am open to surprises along the way! I usually start with a bare bones first draft that allows me to get the general plot down on paper. My second draft fleshes out the characters, setting, and any plot holes. After the second draft, I request help from my beta readers—trusted friends and family who are kind enough to read my work and answer a questionnaire that I put together. My third draft incorporates my beta readers’ feedback. My fourth and final draft looks at the book on a sentence level, making sure that my language is as strong as the story.

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

Erin Keating:
I queried the first book for almost two years (64 queries, 9 of which were full requests, with a “revise and resubmit” in the middle). I only stopped querying for that project because I had finished writing the next one. I queried the second book for 10 months (58 queries, 11 of which were full requests).

I had tried to query a book before these two but wasn’t getting the results I had wanted (39 queries, only 1 full request, and more than half closed with no response), and ultimately decided to shelve the project. I had really struggled to write my query letter for that project because there were so many different characters and plotlines I wanted to include—I didn’t realize at the time that meant that the book was trying to do too much and would have benefitted from further revisions.

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

Erin Keating:
I used QueryTracker’s Search by Genre feature to create a long list of agents who represented Young Adult Fantasy. Then, I used agency websites and Manuscript Wish List to narrow down the list to agents who represented or were interested in representing books that were similar to mine. I also checked out agents’ Twitters, blogs, and websites to get a sense of what working with them may be like! I used that info to tailor my queries to the specific agent by referencing their work with an author I was interested in, an item on their Manuscript Wishlist that seemed well-aligned, or agenting philosophy or work style that resonated with me.

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

Erin Keating:
Learn as much as you can about the querying and publishing process! I felt so much more prepared when I was querying my most recent project than I did when I was querying my first.

Querying is such a long process, but have faith, be adaptable, and keep writing! Continuing to write while querying will keep you motivated and then, when you do finally have a call with an agent and they ask you what you plan to work on next, you can tell them about your latest project!