Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews Suzanne Goldsmith

Success Story Interview - Suzanne Goldsmith

An Interview with Suzanne Goldsmith (hirsches4 on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Marisa Corvisiero of Corvisiero Literary Agency.

12/11/2023

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?: Suzanne Goldsmith:
My book, tentatively titled "What You See," is a contemporary young adult novel told from four points of view. The main characters are 17-year-old Jay, who is living off the grid in an abandoned ski lodge, and 16-year-old Autumn, a photographer and confirmed city dweller who has been forced to move to Jay's rural area following her mother's remarriage. As the two fall for each other, Autumn's photos unwittingly reveal a secret about Jay's family that leads to further revelations in a story that deals with depression, loss and change within families.
QT: How long have you been writing?: Suzanne Goldsmith:
Oh geez, I've been writing my entire life. I wrote a lot of stories as a child. Later, I became a newspaper reporter, author of a nonfiction book, marketing and publicity writer, magazine writer/editor and finally turned to fiction.
QT: How long have you been working on this book?: Suzanne Goldsmith:
I started it in 2015, completed it in 2017 and sent out a few queries. When I went back to work full-time in a consuming job in 2018. I set it aside. I revived and revised it in 2022 and began querying in the spring of 2023. That is to say, a long time.
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: Suzanne Goldsmith:
I never felt like giving up because, much as I wanted to publish, I've also found writing to be its own reward.
QT: Is this your first book?: Suzanne Goldsmith:
No. I've published one nonfiction book (A City Year, published by The New Press) and a middle grade novel (Washashore, published by Lucky Marble Books).
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?: Suzanne Goldsmith:
I do not have any formal writing training, but two years working at a daily newspaper gave me the confidence and recklessness to simply get words down on a page.
QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?: Suzanne Goldsmith:
I wish I did, but I'm quite inconsistent. I do tend to write in long blocs of time; it takes me a while to get into the world of my book, so I don't usually write much unless I have a good three hours or so stretching out before me.
QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?: Suzanne Goldsmith:
Honestly, I lost track. And I have a bad habit of re-writing the beginning every time I go into the manuscript. On the plus side, this leaves me with very polished opening pages.
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?: Suzanne Goldsmith:
I have been a member of the same writing group for more than two decades. When I first joined, I was writing personal essays. The group has encouraged me through two novels and their feedback has been hugely helpful. I also hired an editor for a developmental edit of the first draft of the novel.
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: Suzanne Goldsmith:
With four points of view, I not only had to outline, I had a huge timeline on a roll of paper with multicolored sticky notes showing me the plot points for each character.
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?: Suzanne Goldsmith:
I began querying this book in April 2023 and signed the agency contract in November. For my first novel, Washashore, I don't remember how long I queried but I think it was about a year. I signed on with a top agent, who was unable to sell the book so we parted ways. It was later published by a local startup publisher.
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: Suzanne Goldsmith:
I sent 30 queries.
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: Suzanne Goldsmith:
After narrowing my list down to those on QT who rep YA, I read manuscript wish lists, bios, Twitter accounts, acknowledgements in Google Books and agent interviews--always looking for agents who seemed to share my sensibility. There were few characteristics of this book that popped up in MSWLs but sometimes I would see a favorite book or author that was one of my comps or that I felt a resonance with. Then I prioritized them with numbers 1-5. I tried to keep 10 queries out at a time, sending a new one whenever I got a rejection from another. The agent I signed with is actually a colleague of the agent I queried at that company. I wrote to the initial agent because she liked multiple POV stories, but it was her colleagues who picked it up.
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: Suzanne Goldsmith:
Yes, when possible. I'd mention what drew me to that agent in particular or even something I'd seen in a Twitter feed, such as a recent injury. I tried to keep in mind that I was writing to a person, not a bot. I also tried out a couple of different letters, and even two different titles.
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: Suzanne Goldsmith:
Stick to it, and keep in mind the enormous task agents face when plowing through their inboxes. That helps in resolving not to take rejections (or ghosting) personally.

Success Story Interview - Suzanne Goldsmith

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