Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews Gabrielle Contelmo

Success Story Interview - Gabrielle Contelmo

An Interview with Gabrielle Contelmo (gcontelmo on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Jennifer Udden of Laura Dail Literary Agency, Inc..

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?: Gabrielle Contelmo:
Paige of Pentacles is a contemporary romance that starts when Paige is asked to take leave from work after an embarrassing mistake. When her boyfriend breaks up with her the same day, she’ll do anything rather than return to her childhood bedroom in shame--including letting her old tarot cards make the decisions for a while. But the cards seem to have their own agenda. They lead her to her estranged aunt’s cottage where potbelly pigs lounge in the living room, encourage her to join an art show though she hasn’t painted in years, and drive her into the arms of a scruffy gardener who absolutely doesn’t fit into her high-society world. I was inspired by my own tarot deck, which my aunt gave to me when I was a teen; the idea popped into my head almost fully formed and I thought it sounded fun!
QT: How long have you been writing?: Gabrielle Contelmo:
Nearly fifteen years, though I'd say I only got serious about pursuing traditional publishing about five years ago.
QT: How long have you been working on this book?: Gabrielle Contelmo:
I started writing this book in summer of 2023, had a round of critique partners read it in the fall, revised my outline and rewrote the book through the winter, and started querying in spring of 2024. I got my agent this summer, 2024 so it was about a full year from start to finish.
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: Gabrielle Contelmo:
The thought crossed my mind occasionally, especially after querying unsuccessfully for a few years. But writing is so much a part of me, I'd never give it up. I did think that if this manuscript (or the next one) didn't work out, I'd probably consider self-publishing instead.
QT: Is this your first book?: Gabrielle Contelmo:
No! I wrote my first book over the course of several long years in my early twenties and queried that unsuccessfully (in hindsight, I had no idea what I was doing story-wise or query-wise). Manuscript #2 took several more long years and #3 was a Nanowrimo project. After that, I started to get serious about being published and realized I would never be a successful commercial author if it took me five years to write each book. I revised and queried MS #2 in 2021 while I worked on #4, which I queried in 2022. I queried #5 in 2023, and this manuscript, #6, is the one I finally had success with!
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?: Gabrielle Contelmo:
Nope, although I have been a member of critique groups for nearly ten years.
QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?: Gabrielle Contelmo:
No specific daily routine. During my drafting phase, I do a Nanowrimo-style schedule where I write the entire book in about 6 weeks, which results in a pretty rough draft and a lot of [BIG FIGHT SCENE HERE] placeholders. Then I have a better sense of the feel of the book and the characters so I can flesh out the story.
QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?: Gabrielle Contelmo:
That's tough to quantify. I did one fast draft, then another fleshing out draft, and a polish read through. I had critique partners read it and I then went back to my outline and spent a lot of time doing revisions to the structure. I rewrote a lot of the book in another draft and did a couple passes for polish before querying.
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?: Gabrielle Contelmo:
Yes! I had two critique partners for this one.
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: Gabrielle Contelmo:
I have to have an outline, although I leave myself enough room to discover who the characters are as I write. If you outline, I highly recommend having critique partners read it, so they can point out any plot holes BEFORE you start writing. Total gamechanger!
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?: Gabrielle Contelmo:
I started querying this book in May and had an agent offer at the beginning of August. Over the last few years, I queried three other books probably for eight-plus months each before I gave up.
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: Gabrielle Contelmo:
I sent out seventy. I did an initial round of about ten and got a couple requests, did another few rounds till I got to about 40, and by then I had several full requests so I started querying more widely.
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: Gabrielle Contelmo:
Primarily based on genre. I also did a lot of searching on manuscriptwishlist.com and on the agency/agent's website to find agents who might be a good match and who I'd like to work with.
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: Gabrielle Contelmo:
I tried to include specific elements of their wishlist or other books they liked as comps, but sometimes agents don't include much information. I think I worried way too much about tailoring for the agents--yes some like it, but I got a lot of rejections from agents I thought would be perfect fits and several requests from agents I was surprised by.
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: Gabrielle Contelmo:
Three things have really shaped the way I deal with attempting to become traditionally published.

First, persistence is key. So many people never manage to write a full manuscript, or never make it past the first attempt at querying. We hear a lot about the unicorn success stories of someone getting an agent on their first try and while that can happen, if it doesn't happen to you, that doesn't mean you're a bad writer. You have to write for the love of it and if you're persistent enough, it WILL happen.

Second--and this is several bits of advice all wrapped up in one--educate yourself. About the query process, about specific agents and agencies, about craft--and about yourself! One thing that helped me the most after nearly a decade of writing and not really getting anywhere was asking myself "What is my goal?" Just articulating the answer (to be a commercial author) to myself meant I had to take a hard look at how I approached writing. I had to cut down the time it took me to draft; I couldn't spend time working on sequels to books that never got picked up; and I had to think more commercially about the concepts of my novels BEFORE I started writing them. (Pro-tip: write your query before you start drafting!)

Lastly, surround yourself with people who believe in you. Supportive family and friends, writer friends and critique partners who are in the same boat as you, short fiction critique groups, etc. Being able to talk about what you're going through in the query trenches--especially on days when three rejections roll in at once and you have to go have a little cry about how you'll never get an agent--is crucial to keeping the doubt and depression at bay.
QT: Would you be willing to share your query with us?: Gabrielle Contelmo:
Sure! This is the letter--non-personalized--that landed me my agent.

Success Story Interview - Gabrielle Contelmo

Query Letter: