This week, I have the privilege of welcoming someone very close to my journey towards gaining representation. She continues to walk alongside me. Is it too cheesy to say that she’s more than just my mentor? I feel as though she’s my guardian angel! She is someone who I can absolutely trust for truth and guidance, someone who continues to motivate and encourage me.
Today, Louise Allan, author of The Sisters’ Song is on my series: How to Score an Agent. And she should know. Louise quickly got snapped up after being shortlisted for the prestigious T.A.G. Hungerford Award and was awarded a Varuna Residential Fellowship to work on her manuscript. Since her publication with Allen & Unwin, Louise has also been mentoring, assessing and critiquing manuscripts for wannabe authors. And that’s how the two of us met. Louise Allan is a terrific, thorough, honest, critical and encouraging assessor, and I would highly recommend her services to anyone starting out writing, or ready for a full edit before pitching to agents.
The Sisters’ Song is the novel which scored Louise her agent. Set in rural Tasmania (where Louise grew up), the novel spans over seventy years, interweaving between the lives of two very different sisters who are on separate journeys. Anyone with a sister can relate to the judgements or comparisons you share with a close female whom you’ve grown up with. Family obligations, relationships, musical passion and resentment over “not living life right” all arises in this touching story which truthfully tells of the bonds and complications between sisters.
How long have you been writing?
I started writing nearly eleven years ago when I did an online writing course for beginners through UWA Extension. The actual course was based in the USA as there were very few online writing courses in Australia at that time.
I chose online rather than face-to-face because I wanted to hide behind a screen, and there were 200 of us in the class, which gave me even more anonymity. I was too frightened to front up to a classroom and tell someone I wanted to learn to write.
What led to your offer of representation with an agent?
In 2015, I was lucky enough to be shortlisted for the City of Fremantle-TAG Hungerford Award. I didn’t win, but being shortlisted meant that my book was ready to submit.
Because I knew nothing about agents or publishers or how to approach them, I asked my friend and fellow West Australian author, Natasha Lester, for help. She recommended trying for an agent first, rather than a publisher, because if you try all the publishers and have no luck, it’s difficult to then seek an agent as they have nowhere left to send your manuscript.
So I did my homework and looked up the website of the Association of Literary Agents of Australia and found the names of agents who represented my genre. I visited their websites and if I liked what I saw and they were open for submissions, I added them to a list.
The first agent on my list wanted to be contacted via telephone, so because I’m not good at talking under pressure, I wrote out my spiel—which included my ‘hook’, genre, word count, and a quick elevator pitch—and rehearsed it in front of a mirror a few times. As soon as the agent answered the phone, I started talking and just kept going until she stopped me. She asked a few questions, then told me to send in the first chapter.
After I’d hung up, I realised how much my heart was thumping, and I couldn’t believe I’d cold-called an agent and actually pitched my book. And she wanted to read it!
How long did you have to wait to hear back and was it a partial or full request?
Within a week of sending the first chapter, the agent replied with some feedback. I rejigged that chapter, but I actually went further than she suggested. I didn’t know if I was meant to, so I sent both versions back to see which she liked best. (I’m embarrassed by that now, but at least I showed I was keen and was someone who took feedback onboard.)
Her curt reply said she didn’t have time to read the same chapter twice, but then asked for the rest of the manuscript, so I must have done something right.
How many submissions did you make prior to gaining representation/publishing contract?
I didn’t have to approach anyone else because this agent eventually accepted my manuscript. I say ‘eventually’, because it took a while:
About three weeks after I sent the full manuscript, she phoned to say it needed work and asked if I was prepared to rewrite it. I said of course, so she gave me feedback over the phone, and sent me my annotated manuscript plus three pages of notes.
It took me nine months to rewrite it. I stripped it right back to the core story, sorted out a monstrous and detestable character and made her more humane and believable, and changed the ending so it was more hopeful.
Taking the time to rewrite it was worth it, as when I sent it back, she took me on.
Any tips on cover letters/synopsis/pitches?
Remember that you want to showcase your writing here, too. Personalise the letter, set it out well so it flows, group your sentences about the same topic in the same paragraph, use any hooks you have to pique their interest, and make your two-line pitch sound original so it they’re fascinated. If you’re sending chapters with the cover letter, polish them up so they’re irresistible.
Ask someone else to check it before you send it, preferably an agented author, someone who knows what agents are looking for.
It’s worth spending time perfecting your pitch so it’s the best it can possibly be.
Your first reaction when they offered the representation/contract?
I think everyone on social media heard me shouting that I had an agent. I felt deep gratitude combined with disbelief combined with relief. My agent had a good reputation and in my heart I felt that, finally, I could entertain the possibility of publication. I hadn’t really dared to before.
(It turned out to be true: five weeks later, I was offered a publishing contract.)
What’s next for you?
I wish you hadn’t asked. I’m still writing book #2, and it’s taking forever. I’m close to finishing though. When it’s complete, I’ll finally be able to exhale.
It all happened quite quickly for Louise, and I’m so happy it did. Without her, I would be still editing my first draft! Thanks for coming on the blog, Louise. You better get ready to start editing my book #2!
Thanks for stopping by,
Holly
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