Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews Katja Kaine

Success Story Interview - Katja Kaine

An Interview with Katja Kaine (KatjaL on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Maddy Belton of The Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency.

08/23/2023

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?: Katja Kaine:
The book is called Blood of Gods and Girls and it inspired by my feminist rage and love of Asian culture (I am half Singaporean). It’s an attempt to reclaim cultural narratives and it was also originally meant to be a step towards redressing the fact that women have been so often written out of history – but the woman I was writing back into history proved too big to be a part of this book – the she will have the next book all to herself!

You can read more about the story and themes in my cover letter below.
QT: How long have you been writing?: Katja Kaine:
I’ve written stories for fun since I was a child, but I started pursuing getting published as a serious goal about twelve years ago.
QT: How long have you been working on this book?: Katja Kaine:
That’s difficult to answer because it’s so different from the story it initially came from. I started working on a book called the Living Goddess and the Pirate Queen probably about three years ago, but since then those two characters have split, so this one is about the Living Goddess, and the Pirate Queen will have her own book, as mentioned above. This iteration is very different from that first book, so I’ve probably been working on this one more like a year and a half.
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: Katja Kaine:
Yes. Last year I came second in a very prestigious competition and got selected for a high profile new talent anthology and I really thought my time had come. But then that book failed to get me an agent (everybody seemed to think it was wonderful – just not for them) and feeling like I had got so close but still not achieved that step was the hardest time for me as a writer. What helped me stay on course was mostly stubbornness and the sunk cost fallacy (that’s the one where you look at how much you’ve already invested and because you don’t want to lose that, you invest more), but also because I was still getting a lot of feedback saying my work was good, and that I was really very close. And that feedback was coming from people within the industry who knew what they were talking about – not just my friends and family.
QT: Is this your first book?: Katja Kaine:
Not even slightly. It’s hard to say how many books I’ve written, because I’m not sure I’d count some of the first drafts, but they are still full drafts. I’ve probably subbed about four books, and written another five or six to varying degrees of completion.
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?: Katja Kaine:
I’ve been on a few courses, the main one being the Golden Egg 12 month course for Children’s Writers. I also did the Curtis Brown short Thriller writers course. But mostly I’m self taught from books, internet articles and observation.
QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?: Katja Kaine:
Yes, I try to write every day between 8am and 10am. If I have a deadline then I will write for one or two more hours than that. I’m lucky that I work for myself so I can choose my own hours.
QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?: Katja Kaine:
Well, there was the complete rewrite when I split the original story into two stories. Since then I’ve probably done four or five drafts before I sent it to agents.
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?: Katja Kaine:
Yes! I was lucky enough to have made quite a few writer friends over the past few years, and about five of them read it and gave me feedback, which was extremely enlightening.
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: Katja Kaine:
I am very big on outlining, but being very flexible with following my instincts when I’m writing and the flow takes me somewhere else.
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?: Katja Kaine:
I was probably querying this book for a couple of months before I started getting any offers. Then they all came at once.
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: Katja Kaine:
I believe I sent 24 queries for this book.
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: Katja Kaine:
I read all their bios and they had to represent young adult fantasy. If they were identified as feminist, that was definitely a bonus. Other than that I would browse the books they liked and see if our tastes aligned. They needed to be from a reputable looking agency, which presented itself well. If an agency had a poor quality website, then I felt that reflected badly on them.

I also had a blacklist of agents who I had queried in the past who had asked for fulls and then ghosted me, or also ones who I had met in person or seen on webinars and not really felt I vibed with. None of them got it.
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: Katja Kaine:
Yes, and that is the most excruciating part. Some agents its really easy with (as it actually was for my top choice) because there are genuine reasons that you would like to work with them and things that leap out at you in their bio and wishlist. But others might seem like they could be a good fit, but you have very limited information. Also, you have the bind of trying to appeal to someone who you don’t know, so you have no idea whether your humour will fall flat or how they will take things. So you have to choose between either being quirky and risking them not liking it, or being bland and risking not standing out.
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: Katja Kaine:
1. You can get a sense of whether your work is ready to query by entering competitions. When you start getting longlisted or even shortlisted, it’s a good chance your work is good enough to start subbing. However, I do realise this can be expensive – though you can look out for sponsored places if funds are an issue.
2. Try to get hooked into the writing community. Making contact with people you are longlisted or shortlisted with is also a good way to do this, or joining writing groups on Facebook, or keeping in touch with people you are on courses with. Having writer friends helped me understand the industry and know a lot more about the various agencies and which ones might be a good fit for me. Also, the organisation who I did my course with recognised that I was ready to sub and assisted me with it, which was invaluable.
3. You still get form rejections, even with a good book. In the end I had five offers from agents, with another who wanted to talk to me. But in my inbox, immediately after the first offer of rep, are three form rejections.
4. Positive rejections really do mean a lot. If an agent writes back to you giving specific things about your submission that they liked, even if they’re passing, don’t take that for granted. It’s huge and it puts you in the top percentage of people subbing. Agents do not have time to write things like that if they don’t mean it, and they don’t gain anything from doing so (except that you’ll think of them when you’re subbing your bestseller). Take it as a very positive sign. We have a negativity bias, so we tend to focus on the negatives rather than the positives, so in the world of writing, where rejections are rife, we have to make a concerted effort to notice and savour the positives if we are to stay sane.
5. It took me a lot longer than some other people I know to get an agent – but I believe that because of that, I am now in a much stronger and more solid position than I would have been if I had got ‘lucky’. Easy to say in hindsight, but I really do think it was worth the wait to get the right agent, rather than getting the wrong one earlier.

Success Story Interview - Katja Kaine

Query Letter: