Success Story Interview - Grace Morrow

An Interview with Grace Morrow (gracemorrow on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Grace Milusich of Looking Glass Literary & Media.

04/03/2024

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

Grace Morrow:
A GAME OF SINNERS AND SAINTS is a YA-Crossover Fantasy about a rag-tag group of criminals forced to compete in a high stakes game for their one shot of salvation. It’s comped as The Gilded Wolves meets All of Us Villains. It was definitely inspired after I re-watched The Hunger Games paired with my favorite tropes from Six of Crows!

QT: How long have you been writing?

Grace Morrow:
I started writing back when the pandemic hit in 2020. I started out writing on Wattpad (I know, cringe), but I will say, it really helped me develop my craft and I had a good amount of readers tuning in every week when I posted new chapters!

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

Grace Morrow:
I’d been mulling over these characters I think since 2022. However, the setting and plot were completely different. I started re-writing it in September/October 2023 and worked on it off and on until December 2023. Then I took a 2ish-month break and finished it in Feb 2024!

QT: Is this your first book?

Grace Morrow:
Nope! I think this is my 9th book… I have a number of books written from my Wattpad days which were series, plus some random YA/Adult-crossover fantasies and even a romcom!

QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?

Grace Morrow:
As a full-time student paired with working full-time, I try and get my words in whenever I can. I usually write in the evening and on the weekends. Doing sprints with writing friends really helps me get those words out quickly since I have such a limited amount of time during the week to write.

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

Grace Morrow:
Oof, like I said, I started this book way back in 2022. I think I had the first 2 chapters written before I stopped writing and didn’t pick it up again until Fall 2023. I probably re-wrote the first 50 pages at least 7-10 times after that because there is a LOT packed into those pages and I needed to ensure the hook was there. After my little 2-month break, I wrote the rest of the book in 4 days, sent it to my betas, edited it once more and here we are!

QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

Grace Morrow:
Yes! Shout-out to them! I really wanted to get this book into the trenches after I gained agent attraction on Twitter/X, including my now agent. I sent out a call to see if anyone could read in a 1–2-week turnaround and my three amazing betas rose to the challenge!

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

Grace Morrow:
I typically pants my way through the first quarter of any book that I write. I’ll have a list of ideas or notes in my notes app on my phone and usually around the chapter 10-15 mark I begin loosely plotting. I mean, BARE BONES plotting. For this book, because of how much was going on, I was a bit more structured in terms of outlining, but I usually outline as I go not at the beginning of my WIP.

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

Grace Morrow:
I queried this book for 13 days before I got an offer of rep. It was definitely luck and timing for sure. I’ve queried a total of 4 books over the course of 2 years including re-querying 2 revised manuscripts. So I guess technically I’ve queried 6 books? I’ve had various degrees of success with all my different projects, including being repped for my romcom before my last agent left the agency. It has been a wild ride, but I wouldn’t want my journey to have happened any other way!

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

Grace Morrow:
For this book I sent out 30 queries and ended up withdrawing 6 after receiving an offer of rep just due to realizing those agents might not be the best fit for me.

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

Grace Morrow:
I was a lot more selective this time around when sending out queries. I think after having an agent, going back into the trenches is ROUGH. I had tried re-querying that romcom that got me agented to no avail and so I didn’t want to be sending out 50-70 queries to agents who I wasn’t super sure would even like my book. I stuck to the top agents, those who’s MSWL really aligned with not only this book, but the others books I’ve written. These agents were also from very reputable agencies as opposed to just anyone who repped YA Fantasy.

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

Grace Morrow:
Normally I try to find something from their MSWL that matched with what it’s in my book (found family, morally grey characters, high-stakes, etc.) This book, because I’d already queried a lot of the agents previously with other projects, I just kept it to the basic, “I am sending this for your consideration based on your interest in YA Fantasy.”

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

Grace Morrow:
Find your people! It sounds cheesy but it’s true! Twitter/X is a great place to find your community. I’ve built so many friendships and relationships with fellow writers through that. Don’t be afraid to talk to agents either, provided they are open to it! So many agents on Twitter/X do an #askagent where they respond to writers’ questions. Lastly, don’t be afraid to talk about your books! You never know what agent is stalking the timelines who may be interested in seeing more!