Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews Vishaka Sriram

Success Story Interview - Vishaka Sriram

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

05/31/2024

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?: Vishaka Sriram:
It's a YA Romantasy set in an Indian world, and based on Indian myths. I was inspired by the stories I was told through childhood during festivals like Diwali, the Festival of Lights.
QT: How long have you been writing?: Vishaka Sriram:
I've been writing seriously since 2020, and this is my fifth book.
QT: How long have you been working on this book?: Vishaka Sriram:
I finished the first draft in 2021, but then put it aside to work on three other books. I sporadically worked on it for a collected six months over the following years, but finished the book, making it query ready, a few months ago.
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: Vishaka Sriram:
I never felt like giving up, because I always felt a deep need to write, but I'd usually overcome any misgivings by reminding myself this was my job.
QT: Is this your first book?: Vishaka Sriram:
This is my fifth book, and the third book that I worked extensively on to edit and query.
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?: Vishaka Sriram:
I finished a M.A in creative writing from the University of East Anglia, and completed creative writing courses and workshops in Edinburgh and Mumbai.
QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?: Vishaka Sriram:
I treat writing like a job. I turn up a time, work on my book and clock out at the end of the day. I don't stay up late till 3 am or anything, it doesnt work for me.
QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?: Vishaka Sriram:
I rewrote the book in its entirety at least six times, and partially at least twelve. I also did 7-9 rounds of several line edit passes. It eventually became a process for me.
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?: Vishaka Sriram:
Yes, I had numerous beta readers, probably around twelve, and they were invaluable.
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: Vishaka Sriram:
I am a huge planner, and had over 100 pages of worldbuilding, outlining and character work before I started.
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?: Vishaka Sriram:
I've been querying this book in rounds, but each one was 8-9 months apart, with around 5-15 agents each round. The first time I queried, it was in 2021, and then the next was in 2022, and then once in 2023, and once in March 2024. It was a total of around 70-100 agents, but the book was drastically different each time. I queried another of my books in a similar way and shelved a third book sometime in 2022.
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: Vishaka Sriram:
I set around 70 queries for this book.
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: Vishaka Sriram:
I looked for genres and most importantly, MSWL. I also tried to query bigger agencies and well-known agents, people or agencies who had represented books similar to mine.
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: Vishaka Sriram:
I had a paragraph in my query letter that was personalized, explaining my reasoning behind querying them, but the rest of the query was the same.
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: Vishaka Sriram:
Work on your MS. Make it perfect, edit and edit again. That'll have a huge hand in creating your luck with agents. The moment I knew in my gut that this book was the best it was going to be, things started happening very quickly.

Success Story Interview - Vishaka Sriram

Query Letter: