Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews Libby Edwardson

Success Story Interview - Libby Edwardson

An Interview with Libby Edwardson (LibbyEdwardson on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Carey Blankenship-Kramer of Jennifer Azantian Literary Agency.

02/20/2025

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?: Libby Edwardson:
My book is a cosmic horror set in the mountains of West Virginia. A big part of why I wrote it was out of frustration with the lazy stereotypes the media uses to portray Appalachia. I wanted to write a story that reflected the kind of people I knew during the thirteen years I lived there. I wanted the fear in the book to be rooted in the Appalachian Mountains, which are some of the oldest rocks in the world, rather than rooting it in a fear of the people who live in those hills. I also wanted to explore the dark history of the coal mines and the scar they have left on the region.
QT: How long have you been writing?: Libby Edwardson:
I remember telling my fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Guffy, that I was writing a book, so writing has always been a big part of how I express myself.
QT: How long have you been working on this book?: Libby Edwardson:
This book was a couple of years in the making, but was mostly written between March and September of last year. I joined an online writing community in March and that made all the difference for me. I would probably still be editing and re-editing those first 20,000 words if I hadn’t!
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: Libby Edwardson:
There was never a time I felt like giving up, but there were certainly some points where I struggled to move the story forward. My writing group and my family were the best cheerleaders when I felt stuck.
QT: Is this your first book?: Libby Edwardson:
It is!
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?: Libby Edwardson:
I have a degree in English and took some Creative Writing courses in college, but no formal training beyond that.
QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?: Libby Edwardson:
Ugh, I wish! I am trying to get on a schedule for my second book, but it’s not easy.
QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?: Libby Edwardson:
This book is a first draft. I have done critiques with my writing group on about 3/4 of it, though. They are amazing at helping me with formatting and punctuation, as well as making sure there are no parts of the story that need cleaning up or clarification. So, the story hasn’t changed, but I have spent time on line editing.
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?: Libby Edwardson:
I had a couple. Life is busy and it is hard to find folks who have the time to read and give feedback, but the few I found were absolutely wonderful!
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: Libby Edwardson:
I’m a panster. I see the story like a film in my mind (and I don’t know how the film will end!) and then try to describe it the best I can. I did do a reverse outline about 3/4 of the way through the book to make sure I hadn’t dropped any threads. It was so challenging and I hated it and I hadn’t dropped any threads in the end, but I think it was a good exercise for me and the outline was helpful in writing the synopsis.
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?: Libby Edwardson:
I sent out a few queries in October, November, and December. Those were good practice for me because I was able to refine my query package and see what was working and what wasn’t. A lot of it wasn’t working, to be honest. Parts of it were pretty rough but I’m grateful for the messy patches because I learned so much from those mistakes. I got really serious about querying in January and was offered representation in February.
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: Libby Edwardson:
I sent about 60 total.
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: Libby Edwardson:
At first, I queried any agents who had horror in their genre list. Once I got better at querying, I began looking at agents who represented books with similar qualities to mine, or whose wishlist or social media posts had the same vibes as my story.
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: Libby Edwardson:
I mostly did. The body of my query stayed the same, but I personalized the first paragraph based on books that agent represented, or stories they were specifically looking for and how I thought my book filled those spots on their list.
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: Libby Edwardson:
Oh gosh, this is hard. The querying process is pretty brutal and the rejections can be hard to not take personally, but most of them truly aren’t personal. They are reflections of that agent’s preferences and the holes they are looking to fill in the lists they are building. My first rejection was because that agent didn’t like to read books with dreams in them, which are essential to my story line. But, like one of my kids told me, rejection is redirection! I kept reminding myself that I didn’t want an agent who wasn’t as excited about my story as I was, and that’s exactly what I found in Carey! I think she is more excited about it than I am and her enthusiasm is contagious.
QT: Would you be willing to share your query with us?: Libby Edwardson:
Of course! This was my intro and hook:

Success Story Interview - Libby Edwardson

Query Letter: