Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews Tere Kirkland

Success Story Interview - Tere Kirkland

An Interview with Tere Kirkland (TereLiz on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Rosemary Stimola of Stimola Literary Studio.

09/05/2010

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?: Tere Kirkland:
Of course! EVANGELINE is a young adult paranormal romance, with a hint of time travel and a healthy dose of witchcraft. Because I live in New Orleans, I wanted to write a YA novel set here. Since I work at a museum, I wanted to incorporate some of the city's colorful history into the story.
QT: How long have you been writing?: Tere Kirkland:
I started writing as a teen, 14 or 15. I only completed one novel, but I started countless more. I stopped writing when I went to college for art history. I've been writing with the desire to publish since late 2005. Amazing how it took Hurricane Katrina and losing a bunch of stuff in a fire for me to realize that there's no time like the present to make your dreams come true.
QT: How long have you been working on this book?: Tere Kirkland:
I started Evangeline in November 2008 as a NaNoWriMo project, so I must have had the idea for it in October, and started writing in my notebook. No, I didn't get 50K in 30 days, but I stuck with it.
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: Tere Kirkland:
After my first round of querying garnered me a number or manuscript requests, but agents were telling me they just didn't connect with my MC, I wanted to trunk the manuscript. Instead, I worked on another manuscript, and this time the MC's voice was so clear to me, I was able to use what I learned writing her story and apply it to Evangeline. This helped me realize I was actually progressing as a writer, and gave me hope that I could make Evangeline much better.
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?: Tere Kirkland:
Goodness, no. Unless you count the training I have writing art-historical dissertations. While I had to totally change my style, my background as a researcher and my interest in history have definitely helped form what I like to write about. I love researching, and get a lot of ideas for my stories from true events.
QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?: Tere Kirkland:
I write when I can find the time, and I try to write for at least a few hours straight on Saturdays, since I usually have the house to myself. I try to write every day in my notebook, and I'm ALWAYS thinking about my novels. Especially when I'm supposed to be thinking about something else.
QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?: Tere Kirkland:
I revised for Rosemary twice before she offered representation, and before that, I must have done a good half dozen revisions, with different openings and even one third person version. That was a disaster.
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?: Tere Kirkland:
My sister was the first to read it, and though she was surprisingly critical, I didn't get any real feedback until I started soliciting betas from sites like Query Tracker and Absolute Write Water Cooler. I have a small crit group now, and my fellow Word Wrestlers are the awesomesauce.
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: Tere Kirkland:
I'm a die-hard plotter. I need to write scene synopses in my notebook before I start typing. Writing my current WiP, I let the hero take the plot into his own hands for about 5K words, and now I have no idea what to do next. It was really fresh, amazing writing, though, so I've been trying to convince myself to write a little more spontaneously.
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?: Tere Kirkland:
Started querying in April 2009, waaaaay before I was ready. I queried Rosemary in late April 2010, she requested it like a day later to my surprise. I queried the two previous novels, but only sent a handful of letters for each. That was before I knew how to write a good query and before I'd discovered QT.
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: Tere Kirkland:
99, with about a 15% request rate. Not too shabby, if I do say so. Half were outright rejections, but I didn't let that get me down. It only takes one.
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: Tere Kirkland:
Genre, first, and when I first started querying, I chose agents who were renowned to be quick responders. I'm not very patient and that was nearly my downfall. I've learned a lot since then.
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: Tere Kirkland:
I tailored almost every query, which took a long time. I'd address it to them specifically, of course, and then give a reason I thought they'd be interested in my novel, often citing novels their clients wrote, or something they particularly said they were looking for in a bio or interview. I love reading agent interviews and I'd keep notes on QT about what they preferred to see in a query.

They all seemed to want something different, but I figured a well-crafted query would grab anyone's attention. For a while, I think my query was "better" than my novel, since I'd get requests, but the responses after reading the ms were less than enthused.
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: Tere Kirkland:
Get a crit group to be sure your work is ready for an agent. Read agent blogs and writer blogs and research what makes a good query. Get feedback on said query. Join a different group like QT to keep track of who you queried when. And be PATIENT. The publishing industry is not only slow, it's a small world. You never know what bridges you might be burning by querying too early. Also, be professional. This is a business, and a query letter is a business letter.
QT: Would you be willing to share your query with us?: Tere Kirkland:
I'd love to share the first half, since I don't want to give too much of the story away. I did send quite a few agents this version and got a handful of requests, so I'd call it a "successful" query:

Success Story Interview - Tere Kirkland

Query Letter: