The Final Rejection

On Sunday, September 29, 2024, I received my final query rejection. And now, the “good news” I referenced in the last post…

That rejection left the path completely clear for me to say YES during MY CALL on September 30 with Associate Agent Morgan Hughes of FinePrint Literary Management! And I did!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I have a Literary Agent!!!!!

Now, a month into our partnership, things are really moving along. We had a wonderful Zoom call yesterday where we ironed out some details and I think we’ll be officially out on submission next week. I could not be more happy!

Now, here’s the back story…

I first heard about Morgan through our 2023 SCBWI Spring Conference. She was offsite faculty, and I bought a critique from her. She was very complimentary of my manuscript, which left me all the more befuddled when she declined my conference submission.

One year later, Morgan was settled in at a new agency, FinePrint Literary Management, and this time…onsite faculty at our 2024 SCBWI Spring Conference. I purchased a one-on-one with her and I brought my most promising manuscript. She loved it! I also reminded her of the previous story and I pitched one other project. It all went very well. Suffice to say, I went home and hung her business card on my refrigerator, and there she’s reigned… I submitted to her through the conference and I waited.

Soon after, I was offered a single-title representation for that submission from another agent who I met through The Verge. Unfortunately, Morgan missed the window to respond. I’d assumed she just wasn’t interested. However, Morgan popped up again at The Courage to Create with a submission opportunity, where I landed back on her radar. I went on to submit to her for the third time in about year and a half. The truth is, I never stopped wondering about her and I never gave up.

Meanwhile, through The Verge, I received a very promising Revise and Resubmit from a Simon and Schuster editor. I used that opportunity to nudge all the agents who had my work at the time. Slowly, the rejections rolled in until FINALLY on September 24, 2024, Morgan reached out to schedule THE CALL. I was down to two agents having submission packages, and then I got my final rejection…and honestly, with the call scheduled already, it was actually a bit of a relief.

The way I saw it…the Lord cleared the path (just like I’d prayed) so that the right person and the right decision could be easily discerned. Later, I realized and truly appreciated how Morgan had actually been with me all along: even after my one-title representation with another agent, I never had the urge to throw away her business card…or toss it in a drawer. She just smiled over our family those five months (she’s still there, don’t worry) and persistence and right timing lead to our ultimate match-up.

I’m so happy to finally be in this place! Please join me in praying and believing for a fruitful and fun partnership between Morgan and me.

Featured Image: Me officially signing my contract with FinePrint Literary Management on September 30, 2024