Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews T.R. Moore

Success Story Interview - T.R. Moore

An Interview with T.R. Moore (trmoore_ on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Allegra Martschenko of Ladderbird Literary Agency.

04/09/2024

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?: T.R. Moore:
TKAG is a romantic eco-fantasy inspired by Princess Mononoke, in which an ex-soldier is deified to protect a beautiful forest god from an army that devastates the land. It features anti-colonialist themes, elements of shamanism, East Asian-inspired world building, and responsibly-written PTSD.

I was largely inspired to write this book after playing the video game Monster Hunter: World, in which your character explores a new land and works to colonize it through destroying the ecosystem to make it safer for humans. I had a point where I stopped and said, “We’re not the good guys in this story, no matter how bad we want to be.”
QT: How long have you been writing?: T.R. Moore:
Whew, a long time! I started writing (bad) poetry when I was nine years old and first introduced to Edgar Allan Poe. I wrote my first novel between 2017-2019, but I’m not sure you could call it a book!

All things considered, I guess that means I’ve been writing for almost 20 years! But I’ve only taken writing seriously for about 5 of them.
QT: How long have you been working on this book?: T.R. Moore:
The idea for this book took shape in 2022, but I started really drafting mid-2023. So about 8 months!
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: T.R. Moore:
Absolutely. I wanted (and tried) to quit writing so many times. And every time, I’ve found myself asking: “What is life without passion?” Like, what was I going to do if I couldn’t write anymore? Nothing would have made me as happy, or have fulfilled me, as much as writing does.

So, I didn’t quit.
QT: Is this your first book?: T.R. Moore:
No! It’s my third!
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?: T.R. Moore:
I took an advanced writing workshop at university, where I was graded an A- simply for writing “too avant garde.”
QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?: T.R. Moore:
I try to write every weekend and carve out time during weeknights to get as many words in as possible. It’s not much a schedule, but more like a commitment!
QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?: T.R. Moore:
About 2.5 times. I did one major reworking of the plot before finishing the book in Sept 2023. Then, after a good round of alpha feedback, I did another revision. After betas, I did a quick edit and sent it off to the trenches!
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?: T.R. Moore:
Yes! I had 2 alpha readers and 2 beta readers.
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: T.R. Moore:
I always outline my books, otherwise I won't write! I'm a bit of a plantser, so in the middle of the two extremes where I *must* outline before I write, but I tend to go off outline while I'm drafting and have to finagle myself back into a structure along the way.
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?: T.R. Moore:
I queried one book before this—a book that my current agent actually rejected after reading my partial. I queried that first book for about 3 months before calling it quits. Then, I queried my current book for a total of 8 weeks. At about 6 weeks, I had an offer.
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: T.R. Moore:
I sent 84 queries for TKAG, which is quite a lot. I ended up with 24 requests in total.
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: T.R. Moore:
First and foremost, if they represented and supported BIPOC and marginalized authors—something that's very important to me. Then, after general age and genre constraints, I picked agents who were looking for lush, non-western worldbuilding. I also looked for agents who wanted a strong voice, since my strongest suit as a writer is my prose. And that is exactly why my agent offered on my book!
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: T.R. Moore:
Sometimes, but not every agent. I tailored my query depending on if the agent repped a novel or author that I really love, or if they were championing voices similar to mine. I also tried to personalize my query with elements that they listed on their MSWLs. I mentioned if they were looking for romantasy, or culturally-inspired worlds and stories, to open my query with.
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: T.R. Moore:
The best advice I can give is to write the next thing. My favorite quote in the world is "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take, even if there's only a 1-5% chance of scoring." -Wayne Gretzky. I've talked already in this interview about how I've wanted to quit writing before, and how I almost have. But if I had quit, if I had stopped with my first book, if I hadn't written the next thing, I wouldn't be here today. It's crazy to think about, to me, but every single time I kept moving forward, it was toward my dream. So, that's my advice. Keep moving forward.
QT: Would you be willing to share your query with us?: T.R. Moore:
Always. If sharing my query letter could help someone with their own, then I want to be a part of that!

Success Story Interview - T.R. Moore

Query Letter: