Literary Agent Interview: Miriam Cortinovis Interview and Query Critique Giveaway

Today I’m thrilled to have agent Miriam Cortinovis here. She’s a literary agent at ArtHouse Literary Agency.

Hi­ Miriam! Thanks so much for joining us.

About Miriam:

1. Tell us how you became an agent, how long you’ve been one, and what you’ve been doing as an agent.

When I started my MA program at DePaul University with a focus in Writing & Publishing, I did not want to become an agent. In fact, I distinctly remember writing in my statement of purpose that I aspired to work at Tor as an editor. I’ve always loved book, but more than that, I loved the spinning gears and delicate clockwork that made all the elements function in elegant harmony. At the time, that seemed like the best position to fulfill that aspiration.

However, between my studies and internships, I’ve learned of the role of the literary agent and swiftly fell in love with it. In particular, through my wonderful internship at Aevitas Creative Management, I gained invaluable exposure to the multi-faceted responsibilities and tasks that an agent carries on. I could still tinker on stories, my hands dirty with oil and red with scarps, but also I could champion the author with negotiation, pitches, and long-term partnership.

My desire solidified into a proper vocation through my internship with ArtHouse Literary in the summer of 2023. I felt welcomed in its tightly knitted environment and encouraged in asking questions, volunteering for projects, analyzing queries, reporting on manuscripts, and shadowing agents during network meeting. So when ArtHouse’s wonderful director Felice offered me a promotion, I had to say yes (after nearly dying of cardiac arrest and spending the rest of that day happy-weeping).

I’ve been an Associate Agent since January 3^rd, 2024. Since then, I’ve been reviewing a flood of most wonderful queries in my inbox, assessing partials and reading fulls, offering on my first clients, writing edit letters for their manuscripts, and line-editing the final drafts while also networking with editors through a sleuth of emails and virtual chats.

And oh, secrets things I’d prefer not to give a timestamp to.

About the Agency:

2. Share a bit about your agency and what it offers to its authors.

Not all have heard of ArtHouse Literary, but I promise that will change in the upcoming years! We’re a fresh, hungry, and experienced literary agency with boutique vibes. We’re looking for almost every genre spread across a dynamic team that always stays in contact and can rely upon each other’s advice to best represent our clients.

We have Felice—our powerhouse of a director and co-founder, who can sell a book like a spell. She’s honestly magic, and also an invaluable mentor for everything publishing and legal. We have Carleen—our sharpshooter agent with thriller, contemporary, romance, and recently nonfiction aims. She’s a tough fighter with such sharp editorial skills. And then we have Esty—my work mom second, and a supernova first and foremost. She’s probably the main reason I decided to work at ArtHouse long-term. There’s no book she can’t cheer, no author she can’t champion. She’s such a kind and respectful literary advocate with a brilliant mind.

Oh, and I guess there’s me too!

What She’s Looking For:

3. What age groups do you represent—picture books, MG, and/or YA? What genres do you represent and what are you looking for in submissions for these genres?

I like to say that I represent everything and anything speculative, ranging from the nitty-gritty grounded fantasy and far-reaching space operas, to cozy magical books and slipstream experiments. No magic system is too rigid or too lose for me.

I do this across most age targets, starting from upper Middle Grade to YA and Adult. For YA, however, the speculative element doesn’t have to be there for me to represent it! I love contemporary, romance, thriller, horror, and historical in that age range.

I like to quantify myself as omnivorous, which I know isn’t exactly helpful.

You can find my complete MSWL at https://arthouselit.com/who-we-are.

4.  Is there anything you would be especially excited to seeing in the genres you are interested in?

I’m asking, nay, begging for a Young Adult SFF novel from a BIPOC and/or queer author, specifically one that is written for and addressed to teens (as opposed to the recent crossover appeal, which I still love!). I want to be transported into the empowering magic I felt when, as a young adult growing up, I religiously watched Winx and W.I.T.C.H. and ATLA.

I want stories about friendship first and foremost. I yearn for fantasy novels where the primary stake isn’t saving the world. I want magical girl (gender neutral) transformation à la Sailor Moon and deeply emotional, honest voices à la The Astonishing Color of After. I crave non-binary representation where gender identity isn’t at the core of the plot and disabled/chronically ill voices where the bottom line isn’t, ‘just push through the pain and you’ll be fine.’

What She Isn’t Looking For:

5. What types of submissions are you not interested in?

In general, I’m not interested in picture books, chapter books, adult fiction books without a speculative element, poetry, and nonfiction.

In particular, I’m not looking for speculative historical books set in WWI-WII (unless from a non-European or non-White American perspective), paranormal books centered around werewolves (it’s just my thing, I’m sorry), European fairytale retellings (see, the client section), virus-based dystopias, superhero books (conflict of interest), and hetero romantasy.

Agent Philosophy:

6. What is your philosophy as an agent both in terms of the authors you want to work with and the books you want to represent?

My agent philosophy boils down to transparency and collaboration, ultimately distilled in the mantra: “I’m representing you, not my ideation of you.” Which is, of course, tough and unattainable, as there will always be a layer of human bias from both parties. At the end of the day, I’m not the author, I don’t get their story as they do, but I will strive to anyway.

My clients have nearly unfiltered access to the submission process and other materials. I discuss with them our pitch package and keep them updated through a shared document with editor responses. Though each client communicates with me differently, they are all always welcome to ask questions and express concerns. It’s really important to me that I champion their books as they want—and, vice versa, they trust my expertise and guidance.

The same principle applies to revisions. I always make sure to explain why I’m suggesting an edit; I’m available to discuss how to best implement it. With respectful and clear communication, I always provide flexibility with deadlines (life is life, for the both of us). Overall, I strongly believe in the tenant of partnership and of mutual enrichment, where each of us brings to the table the best of our skills and isn’t afraid of constructive, pertinent critique.

Editorial Agent:

7. Are you an editorial agent? If so, what is your process like when you’re working with your authors before submitting to editors?

I’m a hardcore editorial agent, and because of that I feel like I’m very selective when taking on clients, as I spend a lot of time and energy collaborating with them on their manuscript before the submission process starts. I’m also more prone to detailed Revise & Resubmits.

Depending on the novel’s readiness as discussed during the offer call, an author can expect to complete at least two rounds of edits with me: one developmental, looking at larger elements of crafts, and one concerning line-edit, thus, at the sentence level. After delivering an editorial letter, I usually give the floor to the writer to revise their work on their own terms. I’m of the idea that ‘the author knows best.’ That being said, so far me and my clients have always agreed on a revision plan, and they have delivered the most stunning manuscripts.

Query Methods and Submission Guidelines: (Always verify before submitting)

8. How should authors query you and what do you want to see with the query letter?

To submit a query to me, please follow the guidelines listed here: https://arthouselit.com/submissions. If you specifically want to query me, please ensure to address me in the beginning (‘Dear Miriam’ will suffice). Please don’t send me queries through my email. They will be deleted on sight.

While I don’t require personalization, I love seeing in queries if there was a specific aspect of my MSWL or other social media posts that resonated with your manuscript.

9.  Do you have any specific dislikes in query letters or the first pages submitted to you?

My dislikes honestly vary from query to query and are usual situational. If I were to compile a general list of pet-peeves for letters and first pages, I would include:

Queries of a genre I specifically don’t represent and that are addressed to me.

-       Queries that don’t discuss the plot of the book, at all.

-       Queries with non-specific comp titles (for example, a YA fantasy book comp’ed to Leigh Bardugo and Victoria Aveyard. I don’t find comp titles necessary, and for me in particular they don’t have to be books, but if you include them, I recommend mentioning what aspects resonate of those novels resonate with yours).

-       First pages that hit the ground running. I’d rather have first pages be in the process of falling, and then finish them off with the landing and sprint.

-       First chapters that are convertible to short stories or prologues. If at the end I’m not left with a question, deadline, or push to read further—if at the end I don’t feel like the story has even started, I’m likely to pass that query.

Response Time:

10. What’s your response time to queries and requests for more pages of a manuscript?

My response time highly depends on my clients’ schedule, since they are my priority. When I’m line-editing/editing a manuscript for submission, my response is quantifiable in months. When I’m not, it can be weeks. I also mention in my template response to requests that, if I don’t reach out with any update in sixty days, the author should feel free to touch bases with me.

Because of how our shared inbox operates, I’m up to date with the most recent submissions and usually weekly reject the queries I know I’m not interested into (or don’t represent). Those that do interest me get pinned with the maybe-pile label. I usually comb through that list every couple of weeks, reading first pages and deciding which queries stay and which instead I sadly have to pass on. The process gets finer and finer, until I request the partials of 3-4 manuscripts at a time. From there some turn to fulls, and from fulls fewer turn into offers.

It's also important to mention that I’m a chronological person and work in strict chronological order.

Self-Published and Small Press Authors:

11.  Are you open to representing authors who have self-published or been published by smaller presses? What advice do you have for them if they want to try to find an agent to represent them?

At the moment I don’t represent any authors who have self-published or been publishing by smaller presses, but I’m very much open to! I also submit to mid-size and smaller presses myself.

I would say: traditional publishing is a frustrating, occult industry with wait times so long, they will seriously test your patience and resolve. If you’re a self-published author (which is so impressive!), do consider these cons before committing to a full switch. That being said, having previously published book isn’t at all a deterrent for me as an agent!

Clients:

12. Who are some of the authors you represent?

Oh, I’m so ready to gush about this. At the moment I represent six authors—six wonderful human beings that took a chance on me, and that I relentlessly cherish.

Chiarra and Kerani Arpaia are a terrific duo of talented sisters writing the most delicate and cleverly reimagined origin story of one mistress of all evil. Ashton Marchand is a superb fantasy writer crafting a unique epic fantasy trilogy featuring grumpy monks, feral chosen ones, and lots of enthralling political schemes. Maria Minaeva is a fantastic SFF author recently done with an ambitious time-traveling novel featuring disaster siblings grappling with incarnated grief. To note, both Ashton and Maria came to me through R&Rs.

I also represent the wonderful ray of sunshine Peyton June Leatherman, with her plethora of horror-leaning YA and Adult projects—in particular, her summer-set YA horror dealing with rotting ghosts and drowned sisters. In my list there’s also Rebecca Washburn, whose stunning polyamorous magician x scholar x demon manuscript captured my ravenous heart (and then tore it to pieces with some of the most high-octane action sequences I’ve ever read).

Interviews and Guest Posts:

13. Please share the links to any interviews, guest posts, and podcasts you think would be helpful to writers interested in querying you.

Tiffany Liu (@tiffanyliu.xx on Instagram) is a most generous and delightful human being offering such keen advice to querying writers. Please make sure to subscribe to her newsletter. I also religiously visit the sadly defunct Pitch Wars website, specifically their resources section. (https://pitchwars.org/resources/). It’s a little outdated but still, a great list!

Moreover, a lot of agented and published authors will usually have a “How I Got My Agent” post where they detail their journey. Not only is it helpful to see that overnight miracles happen rarely—and that longer wait times are normal—but they usually share the very query that led them to representation, so you can take inspiration on structure and verbiage.

Links and Contact Info:

14. Please share how writers should contact you to submit a query and your links on the Web.

I’m shamefully active on Twitter (X, I guess) at @chamomeriam, where you can always (and respectfully) DM with questions and concerns. I also lurk on Instagram with the same username and host a website over at miriamcortinovis.com.

Additional Advice:

15. Is there any other advice you’d like to share with aspiring authors that we haven’t covered?

Oh, I’ve so much to tell, I fear I will keep you here forever if I start. I’ll try to remain concise. Shot your informed shot. No agent is too shiny, too baby, or too scary. Do your diligent resource and respect agents’ anti-MSWL, and then just! freaking! do! it! You’ll never know what might happen. Just like shitty first drafts, a rejection is better than never trying.

Find a private community of writers to cultivate ideas and mutual support, with the foremost goal of making friends rather than network contacts. They can also help you process the natural flux of fury and grief that comes with querying.

Lastly, agent feedback can be highly cryptic and unreliably pertinent to a story. So, while I don’t advise you to follow every scrap of comment you get, I also encourage you not to dismiss every personalized rejection as useless—especially from editorial professionals. If an agent is friendly and has given you a personalized rejection, you could (as always, respectfully!) reach out to them and ask for more details. Be prepared for some honest critique, if so, but sometimes it can help you grow and maybe even secure the attention of another industry professional. And besides, at least for me, I’m always happy to see familiar names in my inbox and significantly revised manuscripts whose partials I might have rejected.

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Miriam.

Giveaway Details

­Miriam is generously offering a query critique to one lucky winner. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment through May 18th. If your email is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. If you do not want to enter the contest, that’s okay. Just let me know in the comments.

If you follow me on Twitter or mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. This is an international giveaway.

Have any experience with this agent? See something that needs updating? Please leave a comment or email me at natalieiaguirre7@gmail.com

Note: These agent profiles and interviews presently focus on agents who accept children's fiction. Please take the time to verify anything you might use here before querying an agent. The information found here is subject to change.

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops

Wednesday, May 8th I have an agent spotlight interview with Jenniea Carter and a query critique giveaway

Monday, May 13th I have a guest post by debut author Sandy Green and a giveaway of her MG novel in verse Ghost Writers: The Haunting of Lake Lucy

Wednesday, May 15th I have a guest post by Rose Atkinson-Carter, a freelance writer for Reedsy

Thursday, May 16th I'm participating in the Moms Rock Giveaway Hop

Monday, May 20th I have an agent spotlight interview with Caroline Trussell and a query critique giveaway

I hope to see you on Wednesday!

 

 

Come What May Giveaway Hop

Happy Wednesday Everyone! I hope you're having a wonderful spring. I'm totally dreaming of warmer weather and starting my vegetable garden. It's a warmer spring this year in Michigan, and I have already planted some broccoli. Today I'm going to get more vegetable plants and plant them. I'll be able to cover the warmer-weather ones if we have an occasional frost. Hopefully, I can do more succession planting this way.

Note to my IWSG followers: You can find my IWSG post by clicking here. I had to double-post today. 

Book of Your Choice or Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

I’ve got a lot of exciting newly released MG and YA book choices this month that you might like. You can also choose another book in the series by these authors or a book of your choice. You can find descriptions of these books on Goodreads. Here are your choices:

If you haven't found a book you want, you can win a $10 Amazon Gift Card.

 

Giveaway Details

To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by May 15th telling me whether you want a book, and if so, which one, or the Amazon gift card and your email address. Be sure to include your email address.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media sites and/or follow me on Twitter, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. The book giveaway is U.S. only and the Amazon gift card giveaway is International.

 Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops

Today, May 1st I also have an interview with author Stacy Stokes and a giveaway of her YA speculative thriller The Darkness Rises and my IWSG post

Monday, May 6th I have an agent spotlight interview with Miriam Cortinovis and a query critique giveaway

Wednesday, May 8th I have an agent spotlight interview with Jenniea Carter and a query critique giveaway

Monday, May 13th I have a guest post by debut author Sandy Green and a giveaway of her MG novel in verse Ghost Writers: The Haunting of Lake Lucy

Wednesday, May 15th I have a guest post by Rose Atkinson-Carter, a freelance writer for Reedsy

Thursday, May 16th I'm participating in the Moms Rock Giveaway Hop 

Monday, May 20th I have an agent spotlight interview with Caroline Trussell and a query critique giveaway 

I hope to see you comment on my other post today and next Monday!

And here are the other blogs participating in this blog hop:

MamatheFox and all participating blogs are not held responsible for sponsors who fail to fulfill their prize obligations.

On Plotting Out and Marketing a Paranormal Thriller: Interview With Stacy Stokes and The Darkness Rises Giveaway and IWSG Post

Happy Wednesday Everyone! Today I’m excited to have author Stacy Stokes to share about her new YA paranormal thriller The Darkness Rises. I love thrillers and fantasy/paranormal stories set in a contemporary world like Stacy’s new book, and I am looking forward to reading it.

Here’s a blurb of Darkness Rises from Goodreads:

A gripping speculative thriller perfect for fans of Lauren Oliver and Ginny Myers Sain, about one girl with the power to see death before it happens--and the terrible consequences she faces when saving someone goes wrong.

SOMEONE WANTS REVENGE…

Whitney knows what death looks like. Since she was seven, she’s seen it hover over strangers’ heads in dark, rippling clouds. Sometimes she can save people from the darkness. Sometimes she can’t. But she’s never questioned if she should try. Until the unthinkable happens—and a person she saves becomes the perpetrator of a horrific school shooting.

Now Whitney will do anything to escape the memory of last year’s tragedy and the guilt that gnaws at her for her role in it. Even if that means quitting dance—the thing she loves most—and hiding her ability from her family and friends. But most importantly, no one can know what really happened last year.

Then Whitney finds an ominous message in her locker and realizes someone knows her secret. As the threats pile up, one thing becomes clear—someone wants payback for what she did. And if she’s going to survive the year, she must track down whoever is after her before it’s too late.

Before I get to Stacy’s interview post, I have my IWSG post.

Posting: The first Wednesday is officially Insecure Writer's Support Group Day.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

The awesome co-hosts this month are: Victoria Marie Lees, Kim Lajevardi, Nancy Gideon, and Cathrina Constantine!

Optional Question: How do you deal with distractions when you’re writing? Do they derail you?

Before I answer the question, I want to share some news about my job. A miracle occurred a few weeks ago and I got a raise after 10 years. I write on contract for this web marketing firm, so I know contractors don’t get raises often or at all. I’m grateful that I got one because I can make a decent hourly rate writing now. And even though it isn’t as creative as writing stories, I’ve already made over $100,000 over the years at my job where I get to write almost all of the time. The raise has made me feel a lot better about my job.

Since I live alone and work at home, I don’t really have that many distractions unless I create them. I learned long ago as a busy lawyer not to get distracted when I’m working. So it’s not really a problem for me. Once I get going on writing an article for work or work on my manuscript, I can stay pretty focused. y bigger problem is volunteering too much with the community theatre group I'm on the board of and not leaving enought time for my writing and myself. 

Interview With Stacy Stokes

Hi Stacy! Thanks so much for joining us.

1. Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer.

First, thank you so much for having me! I’ve been a longtime follower of your blog and am thrilled to be here. Your agent spotlights were such a tremendous help to me when I was querying—thank you.

As for me, I grew up in a house full of readers. My mom was never without a book (she used to carry paperbacks in her purse) and as a kid much of my summer was spent inside the library. I started writing stories when I was six, and when I was in sixth grade tried my hand at writing my first novel. It was terrible and I don’t think I made it past a few chapters, but it was the beginning of a lifelong quest to write and publish books.

My mom’s favorite author was Stephen King and I was waaaaaay to young the first time I poked my head inside the book IT after finding a dog-eared copy on the coffee table. It scared the crap out of me, but it also sparked an interest in thrillers and stories with paranormal bends. When I discovered the YA shelf at the bookstore it was like I’d come home—I read every single Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine book I could get my hands on, so it’s probably not a huge surprise that my preferred genre is speculative and paranormal thrillers.

After starting and stopping many an unfinished manuscript over the decades, in 2010 I finally completed one that I thought had publishing potential and made my first dive into the query trenches. It ultimately wasn’t the book that landed me my agent, but it was the book that taught me about revising and the importance of having good beta readers. From there, I joined a critique group and kept at it, and finally in the spring of 2021 my debut Remember Me Gone released with Penguin Random House. The Darkness Rises is my sophomore book with them.

2. I’m so glad to hear that Literary Rambles helped you in your agent search. Where did you get the idea for The Darkness Rises?

The initial idea for The Darkness Rises came when I was cleaning my apartment. Out of nowhere a line popped into my head: I was seven the first time I saw the darkness.

I knew immediately that I wanted to write a story about a girl who saw death before it happened in the form of a rippling black cloud, warning of danger. But beyond that initial nugget-of-an-idea, I had no idea how Whitney’s story would take shape.

Around the same time I was drafting the concept, news of another tragic school shooting broke. It was horrible, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It started to creep into my story and made me wonder about Whitney and her gift. What would have happened if she had been at that school the day of the shooting? Could she have saved her classmates? What if she knew the shooter? From there, the rest of the story started to fall into place.

Your Writing Process and How You Plot Out a Paranormal Thriller

3. It’s awesome that a random thought was the spark of inspiration for your story. I love that you’re combining two genres—thriller and paranormal. How did you decide on the paranormal elements to add to your story?

I usually start with the concept for a story first, and for my paranormal stories that always involves a vision for the primary magical element. I knew that Whitney’s power would involve seeing black clouds hovering over people’s heads, warning of danger, before I had anything else figured out. Once I had that initial idea, I started to think about interesting situations to put Whitney in that would test her ability and make her question her worldview.

4. How did you plot out Darkness Rises? Would you make any changes to your plotting process? If so, why?

I’ve historically been a panster, so there wasn’t much plotting in the first draft. I usually have a few key scenes that I know I’m writing towards, but beyond that I let the book find me versus spending time outlining.

That process has generally worked for me…until this book. It took me many, many, MANY drafts before I had a fully fleshed out story that worked. If I had to go back in time, I would have spent more time plotting the main beats before drafting. It would have saved me from a lot of floundering. I’m happy to share that with more recent projects I have become an outliner as a result.

5. I’m moving to being more of an outliner too. Thrillers have to be well-plot out, have surprising twists, and be a page-turner. I haven’t really found many resources on how to write one. Share some of your tips for writing a thriller and any helpful resources for learning how to write one.

My first piece of advice is to read as many thrillers as you can get your hands on as if they are textbooks—what works? What doesn’t? This will help you get a sense for pacing and the primary plot beats that work best for the genre.

Where a mystery focuses on a crime that’s already happened, a thriller spends most of the book focused on a crime or threat that hasn’t yet occurred. That means the primary ingredient for any thriller is a sense of impending doom. As the writer, you want the danger to feel ever present, or at least lurking just beyond the boundaries of the page.

A great way to do this is to add some form of a ticking clock. In The Darkness Rises, this happens when Whitney is told to confess by the anniversary of her school’s tragedy, which only gives her a week to figure out who’s threatening her before her secret gets outted to the world. From that point on, both Whitney and the reader feel the creeping sense of urgency as time passes without a clear resolution.

Another important element to thrillers is to have a red herring. I like to do this in two ways. First, I always have an annoyingly obvious red herring—someone who’s so obviously the primary suspect that the reader knows they can’t be the actual villain. Second, I try to make every character just a little bit suspicious.

Having an annoyingly obvious red herring does a few things. First, it gives the protagonist a place to focus their energy so they can start to piece together clues. Second, it can serve as a diversion tactic once the clues start to take shape. There’s always a point in the story when the reader starts to home in on other suspects, including the real villain. This is the moment when you want to point the reader’s attention back to the annoyingly obvious red herring. Drop a clue that puts them center stage as the primary suspect once again. It’s a fantastic “look over here, look over here!” misdirection tactic.

As for making everyone a suspect, it doesn’t take much—all you need is the slight hint of a motive and the readers will fill in the rest themselves. Perhaps the best friend is mad because the main character keeps blowing them off.  Maybe the parent keeps disappearing without explanation, or the beloved dad leaves his bank statement out revealing his money troubles. And why does that favorite teacher show up at the farmer’s market around the same time something sinister happens? Ask yourself: how can you create a moment where each character acts a little sus, thereby making them a potential suspect to the reader? The more suspects you have, the more readers will flip pages trying to piece together the clues before the big reveal.

6. These are great tips. Darkness Rises also deals with issues of gun violence and school shootings. How did you weave these issues into your story without becoming preachy?

I think the first-person narrative helped, because it put the story in Whitney’s voice and forced me to explore her experiences vs. my own opinions about gun violence.  Whitney, at her core, is a brave girl who suffered a terribly tragedy and now must face her worst fears. Except she doesn’t realize how brave she is. She doesn’t understand that she’s recovering from trauma, and that she doesn’t have to suffer alone. It takes her most of the book to finally understand these things, and to realize that she’s forcing herself to suffer by letting her past become a prison. Leaning into her journey is what I think helps the story avoid preachy territory.

I’m also fortunate to have had two amazing editors in Kelsey Murphy and Want Chyi. They saw what this book could be and pushed me to dig deeper and write a story that was both a page-turning speculative thriller and an emotional resonate narrative exploring the impact of gun violence on communities. I’m so proud of this book, and it’s all thanks to their tireless commitment to make it the best story it could possibly be.

Your Journey to Publication

7. Joanna MacKenzie is your agent. Share how she became your agent and your road to getting your first book, Remember Me Gone and The Darkness Rises, published.

I actually queried The Darkness Rises many years before Remember Me Gone. It was a much different book back then and was no where near ready for publication, let alone an agent, but of course I didn’t realize it until the rejections started to pile up. I decided to put that version of The Darkness Rises in a drawer for a while to focus on writing Remember Me Gone.

When Remember Me Gone was ready to query, the first thing I did was pull up the list of agents I had queried with The Darkness Rises since I planned to revise that dusty manuscript. Joanna was on that list, and I remembered that she had sent me a nice, personalized rejection. I also saw from her manuscript wish list that one of her favorite books was Bone Gap, which was a comp title for Remember Me Gone. I sent my first batch of queries to her and eight other agents. She got back to me with an offer two weeks later. After a round of revisions, we went on sub. My editor offered a two book preempt a few weeks after that.

The way it’s written makes it sounds like everything happened over night, but it’s worth noting that I have a pile of unfinished manuscripts, queried two other books and racked up heaps of rejections before signing with Joanna. This business takes hard work and patience—I don’t know any authors who haven’t gotten bumps and bruises in the trenches. For anyone reading this currently slogging through queries and submissions, hang in there. Keep writing. The only way to ensure your dream comes true is to keep going.

8. It’s not always easy to get a second publishing contract and grow your career after your debut book. What do you think helped you publish a second book? What advice do you have for debut authors on growing their career as an author?

I was fortunate that my debut deal included a second book. When my editor offered on my debut, Remember Me Gone, she asked to see a pitch and first pages for any other speculative fiction projects I had available. At the time, I was revising The Darkness Rises, so I polished up my pitch and first two chapters. Thankfully my editor loved the concept, and my debut book deal became a two-book offer with a pre-approved premise for the second book.

Every writer has probably heard the piece of advice that the best thing you can do when querying or on sub is to write the next book. That advice could not be truer, and it’s because I kept writing while in the query and submission trenches that I had a second book to put on the table. So as cliché as it is, I have to repeat the same advice—keep writing. It’s the only way you can set yourself up for a long-haul writing career.

Promoting Your Book

9. What did you do to promote your debut book? How have your marketing plans changed for The Darkness Rises? Why did you make those changes?

For my debut, I joined forces with some of my fellow 22debuts to do group promotion and outreach. By combining efforts we were able to pool our resources and have a broader reach. We also cobbled together a list of libraries, bookstores and book influencers from around the country and reached out to them collectively. We were able to generate early reviews and some good word of mouth that way.

For The Darkness Rises, I decided to partner with a PR team to help with outreach. In addition to writing, I have a toddler and a demanding day job, so I knew that it wouldn’t be possible to do the level of promotion I did with Remember Me Gone without getting some outside help.

10. You also have a career in marketing. How has that helped you develop your social media platform and promote your books?

In truth, my day job and book marketing are very different. That said, there is one universal truth—if people don’t know about your product, they can’t buy it.

With this in mind, I shameless use my personal social accounts to make sure friends and acquaintances are aware of my launches and lean on friends to help post and amplify my messages. I also invested significant time into my website and newsletter as a way to collect emails from interested parties that want to hear about future projects.

The outreach I did for my debut has also turned out to be an effective way to market The Darkness Rises—I’ve been able to follow up to folks who responded to my debut outreach with news of my upcoming release, which will (hopefully) result in some early interest and good word of mouth.

11. What are you working on now?

My current work in process is a middle grade horror book about a murderous shadow and the girl it wants as a playmate. As a kid, I loved scary stories and I’ve always wanted to try my hand at writing something that would have kept ten-year-old Stacy awake into the wee hours of the morning. I’m having a ton of fun trying something new!

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Stacy. You can find Stacy at stacystokes.com and on IG @stacyastokes.

Giveaway Details

Stacy and her publisher are generously offering a hardback of Darkness Rises for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by May 11th. If your email is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog and/or follow me on Twitter or Stacy on her social media sites, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This book giveaway is U.S.

 Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops

Today, May 1st I’m also participating in Come What May Giveaway Hop. My post will be live today at 9:00 am.  

Monday, May 6th I have an agent spotlight interview with Miriam Cortinovis and a query critique giveaway

Wednesday, May 8th I have an agent spotlight interview with Jenniea Carter and a query critique giveaway

Monday, May 13th I have a guest post by debut author Sandy Green and a giveaway of her MG novel in verse Ghost Writers: The Haunting of Lake Lucy

Wednesday, May 15th I have a guest post by Rose Atkinson-Carter, a freelance writer for Reedsy

Thursday, May 16th I'm participating in the Moms Rock Giveaway Hop 

Monday, May 20th I have an agent spotlight interview with Caroline Trussell and a query critique giveaway 

I hope to see you comment on my other post today and on next Monday!