Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews Shawntelle Madison

Success Story Interview - Shawntelle Madison

An Interview with Shawntelle Madison (oneeighty on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Jim McCarthy of Dystel Goderich & Bourret LLC.

08/20/2009

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?: Shawntelle Madison:
My novel's a romance about a witch matchmaker and a warlock repo man. Surprisingly, I came up with the idea after watching The Millionaire Matchmaker on Bravo television. I get the most interesting characters from watching reality television.
QT: How long have you been writing?: Shawntelle Madison:
I wrote my first incomplete book when I was fourteen. I jumped back into writing a year ago in November.
QT: How long have you been working on this book?: Shawntelle Madison:
I completed this book in 4 months and queried it after the summer conferences ended.
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: Shawntelle Madison:
I didn't want to give up, but I've felt discouraged. What really helped me was to stay on task and head on to the next book. I was actively querying my first book when the idea for this book popped into my head. It was a great distraction from the querying process. I'll admit it, it can be easy to dwell on the negative, but I found that by immersing myself in the next book I can keep a positive outlook. I tried to think, “There's always that next book if this one doesn't work out."
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?: Shawntelle Madison:
I took a few courses in college, but other than that, no.
QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?: Shawntelle Madison:
I tend to write when I feel the urge. I write in spurts where I take a break from writing for a little while, then when the writing bug hits I write all the time. I wouldn't say I have a concrete schedule.
QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?: Shawntelle Madison:
My book was edited as I wrote it, but as to major re-writes, I didn't do any of those after I finished.
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?: Shawntelle Madison:
Yes, I have wonderful critique partners. They are a necessity.
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: Shawntelle Madison:
I outlined the book, and then I wrote the scenes from the hip. For this one I also wrote scenes as they came. I had the final scene done before I even finished the book.
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?: Shawntelle Madison:
I finished the book in June and began querying in August. A little over half a month into querying I got a call from Jim.
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: Shawntelle Madison:
I sent out 40 queries for this book.
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: Shawntelle Madison:
The agent primarily had to accept romance since that is what I write. From that point, they had to have an interest in a book that had a bit of a chick lit voice. If they had previous clients who wrote that kind of work that was a major plus.
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: Shawntelle Madison:
I try to personalize every query. That includes researching their current client list and trying to find any other clients that have a similar book compared to mine.
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: Shawntelle Madison:
Do your research and take the querying process seriously. After investing the time in your book, take a bit more time to analyze your query and treat it like a resume. Does it have the book, cook, and the hook? Is the information short and succinct?
QT: Would you be willing to share your query with us?: Shawntelle Madison:
This is the query I sent to my agent:

Success Story Interview - Shawntelle Madison

Query Letter: