Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews Gina X Grant

Success Story Interview - Gina X Grant

An Interview with Gina X Grant (stormgrant on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Rosemary Stimola of Stimola Literary Studio.

06/22/2013

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?: Gina X Grant:
You might find, as I did, that it’s a lengthy road from inspiration to representation and eventually, publication. Which means… I’m not quite sure where the original inspiration came from. I do recall driving home from a sci-fi convention telling a pal I had an idea for a book featuring Death as the main character. “Read Mort by Terry Pratchett,” she said, making a sharp left. Since Sir Terry had already written the definitive book(s) about Death, I chose to write about a Reaper instead.
QT: How long have you been writing?: Gina X Grant:
Unlike many people, I didn’t start young. Well, I suppose I did, but then I let twenty-five years lapse between being voted in high school “mostly likely to become an author” and posting my first fanfic story in the late ‘90s.
QT: How long have you been working on this book?: Gina X Grant:
The oldest version I can find on my computer is dated 2008, although I think I actually started in 2007. In 2010, I began shopping it around. I still had the DDJ (Dreaded Day Job) back then.
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: Gina X Grant:
I could give it all up any time. Honest. Just let me finish this next chapter/project/series. In October 2012, my day-job employer was offering voluntary layoff packages. I leapt up, shouting, “Pick me! Pick me!” and for the first time in my life, found myself without a structured day-time pursuit. If I didn’t spend eight hours a day at my computer marketing and writing, what would I do? Besides, all my friends are writers and we’d have nothing to talk about if I wasn’t writing and actively pursuing publication.
QT: Is this your first book?: Gina X Grant:
Nope. I have two other full length novels that I shopped around and eventually published with small presses/epublishers, as well as a whack of shorter stories and--gasp!--fanfiction. (Although thanks to 50 Shades, a writer having begun their career as a fanfictioneer, or even a story having begun life as a fanfic is no longer something to keep hidden.
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?: Gina X Grant:
My degree and background are in marketing, which helps me a great deal after the book is finished. But in terms of storytelling, I am self-taught. I've ploughed through a stack of books on the craft of writing and attended countless lectures over the years. I can't recommend the RWA (Romance Writers of America) highly enough. Even if you don't love romance, there's so much information sharing, pitch and promotion opportunities. Writing is NOT a lonely profession.
QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?: Gina X Grant:
Yes, very much so. I wake early, around 6:30, walk the dogs and read my email and blogs. Anything that requires a lengthy time commitment I mark for later. Then I start writing or editing. I set my timer for 90 minutes. When it goes off, I do something physical, such as Tai Chi exercises or housework. There’s nothing like lugging a basket of laundry up two flights to get the old creative juices pumping.
QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?: Gina X Grant:
As many times as it takes. I wrote and re-wrote the Reluctant Reaper book many, many times as I learned more and more about the craft of writing. Then I received a Revised & Resubmit from rockstar agent Rosemary Stimola (of HUNGER GAMES fame). I re-wrote per her suggestions as best I could, and then engaged professional editor Lisa Stone Hardt to help me with the rest.

Of course once Simon & Schuster bought the novel, editor Adam Wilson had a whole whack of new changes for me to make, including splitting the first book into two and rewriting them to stand alone. And adding a third book to wrap up all the plotlines. This was the first time I’d written “to deadline” and I don’t mind telling you it was a scary thing.
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?: Gina X Grant:
Let’s just say the Acknowledgements page in the book is hefty.
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: Gina X Grant:
I fall somewhere in the middle of the Plotters-Pantsers continuum, more toward the Plotter end. I used to use GMC (Goal, Motivation and Conflict) by Debra Dixon and Save the Cat by Blake Snyder, but now I tend to rely more on a narrative outline—the story of the story. I feel that plotting is like test-driving a car or trying on a jacket. You want to see if you’re still interested in the story by the time you’ve outlined it. Because if it doesn’t hold your interest, it’s not going to hold anyone else’s.

But no matter what outlining method you use, there’s always lots of room for the story to go in interesting directions. So really, I plot my story, but pants my scenes. I’m often surprised by what ends up on the page. It’s as if my muse takes over my wee typing fingers, bypassing my brain altogether.
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?: Gina X Grant:
It’s not so much a question of time, but rather of the number of rejections. According to my detailed Excel spreadsheets, I’ve had a total of 142 rejections over the course of contracting three full-length novels. I’ve actually sold all three novels, the first one twice!

While I was shopping the Reaper novel around, I wrote a completely different novel, which sits on my hard drive waiting for me to get back to it. Which I will do just as soon as I finished proofing the galleys for Book 1 (THE RELUCTANT REAPER), finishing the line edits for Book 2 (SCYTHE DOES MATTER), and the copy edits for Book 3 (ESPRIT DE CORPSE).

All the books I write have series potential, but it’s wise not to write Book 2 until Book 1 sells. (Exception: If you’re writing a romance or other genre “connected” series where the books are not chronological, but each one is a stand-alone story. For example, each person in an apartment complex finds love. Or a body.)
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: Gina X Grant:
Forty-two—the meaning of life, the universe and everything. (If you don’t recognize this from Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide, then you really should read those books!)
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: Gina X Grant:
I queried only agents who represented or were seeking humorous urban fantasy. I would find a book I liked, then use Amazon’s “People who bought… also bought” feature to find similar books. Then use Query Tracker to find out who represented those books and how to contact them.
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: Gina X Grant:
Yes. I wrote a “base letter” and then tried to find something unique to say to each agent. It’s with query letters that my marketing background really helps. In the case of Rosemary Stimola, the agent I eventually landed, I had actually met her at a writer’s conference in Mexico. Research has shown that the most powerful words in the English language are 1) You and 2) I, so I began the letter with “You and I met at the San Miguel Writer’s Conference…” I went on to compliment her keynote address and then, I broke a lot of the rules of the query letter by telling her about her business. I felt I’d written a story for the brand new New Adult (aka Post YA) market and was trying to convince her to take me on even though she only represented YA, MG and children’s books. I quoted facts and figures and must have convinced her to at least take a look at the book. Interestingly, in her Revise & Resubmit, she pointed out that I needed to re-tailor the book to the New Adult market. And she was right!
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: Gina X Grant:
Take the time. Make sure you follow the formula: the hook, the book, and the cook, but then, add in other stuff. A few years back there was something called The Query Project on the net. One-hundred authors posted the query letters that had landed them agents and you know what? Nearly every one of them contained information outside the basic hook, book, cook.
QT: Would you be willing to share your query with us?: Gina X Grant:
I’ll do better than that. I’ll share what I wrote, and I have my agent’s permission to also share the proposal she shopped around.

So here’s my letter. Keep in mind the final book is no longer set in the 80s, but has been re-set now, complete with Hellphones and the UnderWorld Wide Web. (SPOILER ALERT: This query letter gives away the endings of the first two books.)

Query: SCYTHE DOES MATTER, Humorous Urban Fantasy, 95,000 words, sent 4/12/11

Success Story Interview - Gina X Grant

Query Letter: