Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews Grace Viall

Success Story Interview - Grace Viall

An Interview with Grace Viall (graceviallwrites on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Hannah Todd of The Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency.

04/15/2024

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?: Grace Viall:
(MOSTLY) HUMAN RESOURCES is my answer to the question: What if monsters were real, and monster hunters had a Human Resources department? It's a spooky, funny, suspenseful story full of cryptids, corporate headaches, and a little bit of romance that takes place in the Appalachian Mountains. The story came about while I was working a Human Resources job during the pandemic and really started as a stress relief, fun project to do in my free time to help decompress from work. I put a lot of my frustrations but love of my job into the main character Alexys who is an HR employee for a company that staffs monster hunters.
QT: How long have you been writing?: Grace Viall:
I've been writing for as long as I can remember, really. My mom probably has tons of half-finished stories from when I was a kid. Back then I used to write mysteries because I was deeply obsessed with Nancy Drew, but over the years I've developed a love of fantasy and fiction, and I started seriously writing with the intent to publish a few years ago.
QT: How long have you been working on this book?: Grace Viall:
I started the very first draft back in March of 2022. At the time I was working a full time job during the pandemic, and my family moved three times, so drafting was VERY slow. I wasn't able to really give it my full attention until 2023 after I settled down and switched jobs, so I probably really spent a year working on it if you cut out all the time I didn't.
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: Grace Viall:
Oh absolutely! Revisions can be so overwhelming and difficult, and querying is called The Trenches for a reason. Thankfully, I have an absolutely incredible writing group full of supportive friends who helped me push through the hard days and inspired me to keep going (shout out to the Coffee Shop). My family has always pushed me to do my best, too, so it was hard to give up when so many people were rooting for me. But the feeling of maybe giving up came up a lot. Writing can be really solitary and isolating if you aren't careful, and a lack of success (usually in the quiet waiting periods of querying) can be demoralizing. I just kept reminding myself that I was doing it because I loved it, and everything else was bonus.
QT: Is this your first book?: Grace Viall:
(MOSTLY) HUMAN RESOURCES is my very first completed manuscript. I have a few unfinished ones that were shelved before this one, but this is the first one that made it to revisions and querying.
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?: Grace Viall:
None at all! I've read a handful of craft books, and I'll always encourage others to seek those out. But the extent of my training is having a wonderfully supportive English teacher in high school and a plethora of idea-filled notebooks.
QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?: Grace Viall:
No, but I wish I did. I really admire the writers that are able to keep to schedules, but I've never been able to develop a routine that sticks. I either write when the mood strikes or force myself to write whenever I find the time.
QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?: Grace Viall:
(MOSTLY) HUMAN RESOURCES went through four rounds of edits/revisions total before I started querying. Two were with Critique Partners and my own edits, and two were with my incredible mentor during my Smoochpit mentorship. I can already tell it needs another round (at least one), but that's a problem for future me.
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?: Grace Viall:
Yes! I would be nothing without my beta readers, they were such an incredible help during the edit/revision process. After reading my own story a thousand times, it can be incredibly insightful to get a fresh pair of eyes on it. Beta readers are also a great way to see how worldbuilding and character introductions work with new readers, and they can help you find areas that need more fleshing out or drag on too long. When the entire world of your book is living in your head, it can be hard to know what gets explained well and what needs a little more work.
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: Grace Viall:
I'm dreadfully allergic to outlines. I draft straight from my brain with only vague ideas and vibes to guide me. I end up having to do more revisions because of it, but I think the story flows better for me when I don't have a step-by-step guide to try and follow. I even tried reverse outlining once, but that was just as frustrating for me. I'm a pantser through and through.
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?: Grace Viall:
This is the first book I've queried, and I ended the querying process with an offer acceptance after 38 days. It was an incredibly short amount of time, but I got a jump start in the querying process from my Smoochpit mentorship and was lucky to find my agent really quickly.
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: Grace Viall:
Technically, I queried 49 agents during the Smoochpit mentorship showcase which was kind of like a science fair where agents came to see our submissions (query letters, first five pages, etc) on the Smoochpit website and then requested our materials. However, I knew I definitely wasn't a good fit for some of those agents, usually because of genre preferences, and I wouldn't have queried them outside the showcase. After the mentorship wrapped, I sent out my requested materials as well as standard queries to a list of agents that hadn't participated in the mentorship showcase. My final total of queries/submissions that I tracked was 48 altogether.
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: Grace Viall:
My criteria for finding agents usually started with genre. (MOSTLY) HUMAN RESOURCES is an odd combination of romance, fantasy, and paranormal/folklore, so I had to find agents that were open to a good range of genres and themes. I also combed through MSWL and twitter pages to see if there were any good matches on there. I actually ended up finding my agent because of a random #mswl tweet she sent out that just fit me perfectly.
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: Grace Viall:
Not really. I made sure to address my query letter to the agent specifically, and sometimes I would change my comps based on what the agent was looking for, but my query letter was pretty standard across all of my queries. The personalization tended to come from agent-specific questions on their query submission forms.
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: Grace Viall:
The best advice I received and would pass on is: It isn't a race. I had to remind myself constantly through the querying process that I wasn't in a race against all the other authors out there. Agents move at their own pace, queries get received and read at different times, and every author is sending out a different project that is probably nothing like yours. You can't compare your timeline to everyone else's or expect your querying process to be the same as anyone else's. Be patient with yourself, be KIND to yourself, and find a good group of supportive writing friends that can help you survive the trenches. It can be really hard, and at times really emotionally draining, but it's also worth it.
QT: Would you be willing to share your query with us?: Grace Viall:
Absolutely! I've attached a copy of the query letter I usually used.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to do an interview!

Success Story Interview - Grace Viall

Query Letter: