Success Story Interview - Natasha Prokopchuk

An Interview with Natasha Prokopchuk (NatashaGraceAnn on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Cole Lanahan of The Seymour Agency.

06/20/2023

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

Natasha Prokopchuk:
Look At Me is a contemporary LGBTQ+ YA novel that is a celebration of music, poetry, art, and diversity in every sense of the word! And while it's not a story *about* an eating disorder, it centers the journey of a girl in recovery from atypical anorexia. I wrote it because I am passionate about seeing a more varied representation of eating disorders in fiction, as common depictions usually perpetuate a very narrow stereotype of how EDs present and who experiences them. I also wanted to write a story where the character was in the later stages of recovery because I've seen far too many ED depictions that a) glorify and fetishize the illness and/or b) are insanely triggering in their specificity. In writing a recovery story, I hope I was able to steer away from both of these pitfalls.

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

Natasha Prokopchuk:
I am a VERY slow writer. The earliest version I can find of this story is from February 2020, and I'd just started new edits when I signed with my agent last week (Jun 2023)–so yes, a very slow writer.

QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?

Natasha Prokopchuk:
Giving up on writing itself, no, because it keeps me somewhat sane. But giving up on publishing or on this book specifically, absolutely. I sent out about 70 queries before finding Cole! Some were requests, most were rejections, and most of those were form rejections. It's an insanely discouraging process. What helped me was celebrating landmarks that I set for myself. The first novel I queried got zero requests, and this one (my second) got eight! That's a huge change, and I was proud of myself for having accomplished that. My critique partner is also crucial to my stamina–we were in the querying trenches together for two years and will always be in the writing/submission/publishing/what have you trenches together. It makes an enormous difference to have someone who knows exactly what you're going through, and so you can take turns giving pep talks when one of you is feeling particularly discouraged.

QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

Natasha Prokopchuk:
I did a mentorship in 2017/18 with my favourite childhood author, Nancy Rue, which was INCREDIBLE. I finished my first novel under her mentorship, and that was how I learned that I could actually finish a book! I am eternally grateful for her and her generosity.

QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?

Natasha Prokopchuk:
Nope. It would be very helpful. If anyone with ADHD has figured out how to make scheduled writing work for them, PLEASE let me know.

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

Natasha Prokopchuk:
Impossible to say. My process is a bit odd in that I spend a verrrrry long time on the first draft–I write a section and then rewrite it over and over, then move on to the next one and do the same thing, so that by the end of the "first draft" I've rewritten individual sections many times over. It's hard to keep track of how many rewrites there've been when my process is like that (and it's also somewhat inefficient, I don't recommend this lol. I'm trying to find a better system that works for me!)

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

Natasha Prokopchuk:
Just over a year for this one!

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

Natasha Prokopchuk:
I personalized almost every query I sent, and the couple that I didn't personalize were because the agent didn't have enough information for me to do so. I'd assume this is how most writers are doing it- I had a form letter, and I'd change the first couple lines for each agent to say why I thought they would connect with my story or why I thought we would be a good fit.

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

Natasha Prokopchuk:
-If you have a quiet story, figure out how the emotional stakes are expressed in external stakes and make SURE to include it. I'd missed one for a long time (see below: Levi dating Ash's sister) in my query letter, and once I included it I started getting more requests!
-Redefine what success means to you. I queried my first novel with zero requests, and that ostensible failure was a success for me because I figured out how the process worked!
-Let yourself be sad at the rejections. Sometimes you need to wallow a lil.

QT: Would you be willing to share your query with us?

Natasha Prokopchuk:
Yes!! My story is not high concept, so I really struggled writing the synopsis section of the query, and I'm really proud of what I ended up with! Again, endlessly grateful for my critique partner & friend Deborah who edited this letter with me SO many times.

Query Letter:

Dear [enter agent name],

Because you are searching for [enter personalization], I feel you will connect with my novel LOOK AT ME. A YA contemporary novel complete at 77k words, LOOK AT ME is a heartfelt and humorous exploration of Queerness, identity, and recovery from a widely misunderstood eating disorder. This book is for readers craving the sapphic romance and wry voice of ONE LAST STOP and the lyrical prose of ECHO AFTER ECHO.

Seventeen-year-old Ash Baker is in love with art. It’s what carried her through recovery from atypical anorexia, an eating disorder that wreaked havoc on her brain but somehow never changed the size of her not-thin body. So heading to an out-of-town summer arts program is exactly the respite Ash needs. And if she can land the program’s senior year scholarship, she won’t have to face Levi–the boy who broke her–ever again.

Then Ash is unexpectedly cast as the summer musical’s lead. The attention of center stage probes open wounds that first led to her eating disorder, drawing out new and old fears alike. And when her precious (and perfect) sister starts dating Levi, the cost of losing the scholarship and going home is suddenly higher than ever.

But as Ash gets to know Noah, a pixie-girl poet who stirs up both magic and panic in Ash’s chest, she realizes that her fears aren’t really about her body or Levi. They’re about hiding; about safety in a world that makes it daunting to unapologetically be herself. And with the scholarship-determining performance drawing near and her time with Noah running out, Ash has to decide if hiding is good enough–or if stepping into the spotlight is worth the risk.

[One-line of self-description]. Thank you so much for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Natasha Prokopchuk (she/her)