Lisa & Laura Roecker Share Their Query That Worked!

I'm lucky (or cunning) enough to have lured yet another successful writer over to my blog for an SAT - Successful Author Talk. SAT authors have conquered the query, slain the synopsis and attained the pinnacle of published. How'd they do it? Let's ask 'em! Even cooler, today brings us something unfathomable to me: a sister-writer team! As such, they get an extra special SAT question at the end of the interview.

Lisa and Laura Roecker are sisters and co-authors of THE LIAR SOCIETY, which was released in paperback last month.

Are you Planners or Pantsters?

We are most definitely planners. Because we write together, we have to have some idea as to where the book is headed. Granted, this changes quite a bit as we get deeper into the story, but it makes us feel better to have a jumping off point.

How long does it typically take you to write a novel, start to finish?

If we really buckle down, we can complete a novel within a couple of months. This does not include the massive revisions we inevitably end up doing. We do prefer to write this way--NaNoWriMo style--our families, however, do not.

Do you work on one project at a time, or are you a multi taskers?

We are one project at a time kind of writers. We can read a lot of books simultaneously, but writing is much more personal. One world at a time, please.

Did you have to overcome any fears that first time you sat down to write?

We have many fears as writers now compared to when we first started out. We completely miss our naivete of the early days. We just wrote and though it was AMAZING. Now we know better.

How many trunked books did you have before you were agented?

We have one trunked book from before and one from after.

Have you ever quit on a ms, and how did you know it was time?

YES. We've quit on a few! It's usually a joint decision and most often because the plot is too complicated or the characters aren't flowing.

Who is your agent and how did you get that "Yes!" out of them?

Catherine Drayton. She plucked us out of the slush pile, baby! It was super-exciting because she was one of our top agents for the first trunked manuscript, but we got the big fat 'R.' The second time around went much better!

How long did you query before landing your agent?

We sent out 10 queries to our top agent choices for THE LIAR SOCIETY, which was then called FINDING GRACE.

Any advice to aspiring writers out there on conquering query hell?

Believe it or not, there are days when we miss querying. There was so much possibility and excitement involved in the process! Will we get a request? Will an agent want to see more? Will they offer? Will they email? We kind of loved every second. I think our main piece of advice would be to query in small chunks. If you aren't getting a good response, perhaps your query needs a makeover. If you're getting requests that turn into rejections, perhaps your book isn't quite ready. Testing the waters is kind of a nice way to test out your query and/or manuscript.

How did that feel, the first time you saw your book for sale?

So exciting! It felt like all of our hard work had finally paid off. It was also surreal at the same time.

How much input do you have on cover art?

Not much at all. We have a whole cover art drama story. Basically, Kate did not have pink hair until we had to go back in and change it based on final cover art. It all worked out in the end, but not without a few tears along the way.

What's something you learned from the process that surprised you?

We learned that a lot of publishing is out of your control. No one can predict what kids will buy or what they'll love or which cover will call to them. We are not the target market, but we try our best!

How much of your own marketing do you?

We do pretty much all of our marketing. We have an incredible publicist who supports us, but marketing the book is kind of our baby. We've come up with contests, organized our blog tour and have attempted to spread the word using social networking. Jury's still out on whether or not it worked!

Lisa & Laura’s Blog
Lisa & Laura on Twitter
Lisa & Laura on Facebook
THE LIAR SOCIETY Homepage
Lisa & Laura’s Site

When do you build your platform? After an agent? Or should you be working before?

As soon as you begin writing, if you feel comfortable, plug yourself into the community. Not only is it great for networking, but you'll make valuable friends along the way. The business is tough so if you have trusted friends who will support you, you're golden!

Do you think social media helps build your readership?

Yes. At least we hope so! We work very hard to spread the word online, so it'd be a shame if it didn't contribute to sales. BUT, we've made friends who are incredible, so really, it doesn't really matter!

And the Extra Special Sister-Writer Duo Question:

How the heck did you manage to work together to write? My older sister chairs the English Dept. in the school where I work. We love each other, but there’s that “Stop touching the stuff on my desk!” and “Are you really eating that?” factor to working together that makes me think if we wrote a book together it would be carnage!!

HA! You'd be surprised how much fun it is to write a book with someone else! The whole two brains thing totally works to our advantage. Basically, we just switch off chapter by chapter--Lisa writes one, Laura edits and writes the next, Lisa edits hers and writes the following. Until finally, we have a finished book and have had the chance to be both readers and writers. We don't know how people write books ALONE!

Extra Special Fun - L&L Share Their Winning Query!!

Kate Lowry didn't think dead best friends could send e-mails. Not even on the anniversary of their disappearance. Of course, that was before this message from Grace appeared in her inbox:

Kate,
I'm here…
sort of.
Find Christian.
He knows.
I shouldn't be writing.
Don't tell.
They'll hurt you.

Most girls would ignore the warning and go straight to the police.

But Kate isn’t most girls.

Instead, she decides to channel Nancy Drew, pearls and all. Of course, Kate’s pearls are faux, her skirts are way shorter and she’d take everyone's favorite teen detective in a girl fight, but you get the idea.

The e-mails continue and Kate’s quest to solve the mystery takes a dangerous turn when her confrontation with Christian, Grace’s addict brother, almost gets her killed. Good thing she finds a couple of knights-in-(not so)-shining armor in sexy bad boy, Liam, and her awkward neighbor, Seth.. Armed with her newfound sidekicks, the investigation continues, uncovering a secret lurking in the halls of their elite private school that threatens to destroy them all.

Kate knew finding Grace wasn’t going to be easy, but figuring out who to trust is more difficult than she ever could have imagined.

After all, everyone’s a suspect.

Interview with Tricia Springstubb

I'm lucky (or cunning) enough to have lured yet another successful writer over to my blog for an SAT - Successful Author Talk. Even more special - this is a WoW! Edition of the SAT - We're Ohio Writers! Yeah - cause we grow 'em here. SAT authors have conquered the query, slain the synopsis and attained the pinnacle of published. How'd they do it? Let's ask 'em!

Tricia's most recent novel, WHAT HAPPENED ON FOX STREET, was published by HarperCollins last year.  It received a number of starred reviews, and was on the best books of the year lists of the Washington Post and Kirkus.  A sequel, MO WREN, LOST AND FOUND, will come out this August.  A chapter book series for younger readers, called CODY (until she comes up with a much better title) will debut in September, 2012, with Candlewick.

Tricia also writes for adults, and has published award-winning fiction in numerous literary journals.  She's a book critic for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and a substitute librarian in the children's room of her local public library.  The mother of three grown daughters, she lives with her husband in Cleveland Heights, OH.  Contact Tricia through her website, http://www.blogger.com/www.triciaspringstubb.com where she writes a blournal (that's a cross between a blog and journal).

Are you a Planner or Pantster?

I’ve always got a map, with start and end points (pretty) clearly marked.  But the route in between is blurry and I get lost, retrace my steps, stagger around in circles, swim crocodile infested rivers, etc.  I’ve tried to plan, but always get too excited and begin to write before I really know what I’m doing.     

How long does it typically take you to write a novel, start to finish?

FOX STREET took longer than I want to remember—probably six or seven years of on- and-off-again work. And that doesn’t count all the time spent thinking about it!  MO WREN LOST AND FOUND was easier, more like one year, though I had to write one whole, really appalling draft, and completely scrap it, before I figured out what I was doing.     

Do you work on one project at a time, or are you a multi tasker?

I do a lot of reviewing, so I’m often working on an essay. When I finish a draft of a novel or story, I put it aside for awhile, and during that fallow time I tinker with other fiction.  But I could never work full tilt on two new creative pieces at once!  My brain would implode.

Did you have to overcome any fears that first time you sat down to write?

I have more fears now, when I know an editor is waiting for my work.  In the beginning, I was just writing, la la la, with no expectations!

How many trunked books did you have before you were agented?

I have three adult novels in my drawer, but no kids’ stuff.

Have you ever quit on an ms, and how did you know it was time?

I’m too much of an optimist (or maybe too delusional) to ever officially quit—I just “put it aside”.  But when sitting down at my desk fills me with cold dread, I know it’s time.

Who is your agent and how did you get that "Yes!" out of them? 

My agent is Sarah G. Davies--the G. stands for Genius.  Her agency is Greenhouse Literary.  I saw her listed in my SCBWI bulletin and sent a query about FOX STREET.  She requested the full manuscript, then called me up. Sarah is very British and proper.  It was a Sunday night and she actually apologized for calling at such an odd time!  I forgave her.  

How long did you query before landing your agent? 

I think I sent six or seven queries.  Sarah was the one who said that, though the book was quiet and literary, she loved it and wanted to take a chance on it.  Within two weeks we were getting nibbles, and eventually there was, if not a bidding war, at least a very lively skirmish.  Since then, she has helped me get five more contracts.    

Any advice to aspiring writers out there on conquering query hell?

When I first began writing, which was many, many years ago, children’s writers were seldom represented.  You sent your work over the transom, and once you were published, you relied on your contacts at various houses to be read.  All that has changed.  Having a good agent makes all the difference in the world now.  Sarah easily sold a picture book for me—on my own I’d have been sending it out for months or even years, possibly without any response.  So, even though writing a query has only slight more appeal than getting a root canal, it’s really worth doing well.

How did it feel the first time you saw your book for sale?

I was thrilled, of course, but also felt kind of maternal and protective to see it out there on its own in the big world.

How much input did you have on cover art?

My editor at HarperCollins, Donna Bray, is wonderful.  She shows me cover and spot art all along the way as it evolves. At Candlewick, my editor Liz Bicknell, also thoroughly involves her writers in the illustrating process.  I’m very lucky in this.

What's something you learned from the process that surprised you?

How long it takes!

How much of your own marketing do you? Do you have a blog or personal site?

I have a website http://www.triciaspringstubb.com/ It has a link to my “journal”, which is the closest I come to a blog.  I also have a Facebook fan page, Tricia Springstubb Author, as well as a regular FB page. I contribute to the wonderful, lively group blog for middle grade writers and readers, From the Mixed Up Files, and love being interviewed by other blogs (!!).  As far as marketing, I’ve sought out book fairs and some conferences.  I’m very lucky to work with publishers who have great marketing departments.

When should aspiring writers start building their platform? After landing an agent? Or before?

I think it’s really useful to read and contribute to blogs you enjoy.  You can learn a lot about both the craft and the business sides of writing, and you won’t feel like you’re the only crazy person trying to do this stuff.  You make friends.  As far as “platforms”, I pretty much stand on the work itself.   

Do you think social media helps build your readership?

My young readers e-mail me, but I don’t think social networking is a big thing for them yet (I may be naïve about that).  I hope teachers and librarians, as well as kids, seek me out through my web page.  For me, one of the biggest pleasures of social media has been networking with other writers—kid lit writers are the most generous, warm people on the planet.  When I went to ALA last year, I met Grace Lin.  “I’m Tricia,” I said.  “Oh you’re Tricia!” she said.  Now that was really, really fun.     

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do & The Introduction of the SAT

I've got a guest poster today!  Anita Howard (raven1 to all you QueryTracker users) will be ushering in the first of my (hopefully weekly) SAT's - Successful Author Talk.  She was kind enough to invite me to her blog for my own guest post regarding my successful agent hunt, and we found out how much fun it is to do each other's work! She recently made the move over to Blogger and her blog can now be found here. Her own experience being slightly more vast than mine, she volunteered to do a post for us today about the difficult choices writers are sometimes faced with after that initial success.

Mindy, thanks so much for inviting me to your wonderful blog! I’d originally thought about giving a rundown of my crazy and hectic representation story. But that’s been done here already … So, let’s do something different today.

A writer acquaintance recently asked about my experience of leaving my first agent. She assumed that said agent had dropped me because we hadn’t sold anything in our two years together. I wanted to address this concern.

Truth is most agents aren’t just in it for the money. The good ones … the BEST ones … are in it for love. They sign the author, not the book. And I was blessed enough to have that kind of agent (twice now—yay!). But sometimes, love just isn’t enough.

My First Ever Agent (FEA) is and was an awesome agent and person. And no, she didn’t drop me. She would’ve hung in with me forever. But I never would’ve been able to get published with her.

When I first got a request for a full from FEA, it was for a vampire fantasy. She couldn’t get into the story, but she asked what else I was working on because she loved my writing and voice.  I told her about my WIP, a love story about a deaf heroine, the ghost that only she can hear, and the mysterious viscount who’s in some way tied to the ghost’s death. FEA was very excited and asked to look at it when I finished.   That’s the book she fell in love with and signed me for.

Throughout our partnership, we tried to sell the MS as a single title romance. The editors kept complimenting the premise and the prose, but they couldn’t get past the first person POV and the duel heroes. That goes against every rule in romance. The book really needs to be shopped as a literary gothic love story, which is what my new agent plans to do down the road.

Anyway, while that book was being subbed, I wrote two other romance MSS, but they were both too fantasy based for FEA’s tastes. So, without any complaints, I trunked them. When I got the idea for my Alice in Wonderland YA, FEA had just added young adult fiction to her list and we both agreed I should write it.

Once I finished, she loved my YA's premise, the characters, and the voice, but again, the fantasy elements threw her.  I'm not averse to revisions, but this was a matter of subjectivity and artistic differences that kept popping up. I told her I thought we should part ways because we had different visions for my books and my career.

We were both really sad and stunned at the end of that phone conversation.  ;-( To make it worse, it was the first of December. What a great Christmas present, right?

Still, we parted as friends. She emailed after that phone call and said she'd always be my fan and to keep her posted on my successes. It makes me sad when I think of it. But, I did the right thing for both of us.

Leaving my first agent was the hardest and scariest leap I ever made. I treasured her immensely as a person, and depended upon her professionally. But we were never going to see eye to eye on any of my stories other than the one she signed me for.

If any of you are considering leaving your current agent, think carefully before you make that decision. If your agent loves your work, other than a few revisions here and there, and she has the connections to get your stuff out there and bought, it’s a no brainer. STAY. Most agents are in it for the long haul. And you should be, too.

But, if you realize you’re not ever going to see eye to eye on the things that are crucial to staying true to your growth as a writer and your stories, if you’ve “grown apart” and your voice would suffer for staying—leave, as amicably as possible. Loyalty notwithstanding, you have to do what’s best for you and your career.

Good luck to each of you, whether you’re seeking representation, or have found it already. I hope to see you upon the shelves very soon. :-)