So, it’s finally my time to write the post I’ve been itching to write for months - yay!

It’s going to sound cliche but when I started writing my first book in summer 2022, I couldn’t even imagine the journey it was going to take me on. I think every writer dreams of that elusive day they’d hold a finished copy of their book in their hands. I was no different. But did I have a clue what the process to get there is? Absolutely not! And of course, getting a literary agent is just another step in this process and doesn’t guarantee the desired end result. That’s been another thing that my friends and family have found a tough pill to swallow. It’s hard explaining this process to a lay person, no matter how enthusiastic and supportive they are - but the listening and love is so appreciated! <3

Anyway, back to the HIGMA story. So, I started writing book 1 in summer 2022. I finished the first draft in May 2023. Guess what I did then.

…

Immediately sent it off to my ‘dream’ agents. Yes, you read that correctly! I think I’ve actually sent my first query to a very well-known agent while eating Dominos in front of TV. Yes, the 2023 Maggie lived in an absolute delulu land and had no clue!

Unsurprisingly, I started receiving rejections in summer. Sent off more queries, this time having researched everything a lot more. I got a fabulous author who offers editorial services (Rebecca Ryan, if you don’t know her, run to get her books. But RUN!) to read my full ms. Based on her feedback and feedback from some more beta readers, I went back and revised the book, having put the querying on hold. Throughout the process of drafting, revising and querying that damn book there’s also been one author who I don’t think I’ll be able to ever thank enough - Emma Steele. She’s been the steadfast believer in that book, encouraging me and helping me shape it into something I wanted it to be. Whipping it into shape, as she kept saying :) Emma’s debut, The Echoes of Us, came out in June 2024. I had an absolute pleasure of attending her book launch party. I know I said it to you already Emma, but honestly - thank you. I don’t think there would’ve been more books if it wasn’t for your patience with my annoying questions and just being the loveliest person.

So, September came. I had my book 1 revised, polished off… I even had it copyedited. At the time, I was actually happy with it. I slipped into an attitude of ‘you lose all the shots you don’t take’ and sent it off to some writing competitions as well as to another batch of agents.

I didn’t expect what happened next.

In November, I found out I won first prize in I Am In Print 2023 Novel Award, which was based on the full manuscript. I was speechless. Cried like an idiot. Felt like an actual idiot too as I didn’t even put the correct email address (mashed up my personal and work address) when submitting the book. But Elane and Sarah from I Am In Print, who are just the kindest and friendliest ladies, performed some detective work and found me.

You know what they say about highs of a high? That’s how I felt in December 2023. I won the award, been told by so many industry professionals dozens of compliments when it comes to my writing. I had agents approaching me themselves. I had agents who hadn’t responded to my query before reach out to congratulate me, and ask if they could take a look at a full. I was convinced that was my time. That it was it, I’d find an agent and would move on to going on sub with that book. Of course, as you can gather, things didn’t work out that way.

Fast forward to February 2024, the only thing my inbox was receiving were rejections. I was told my characters ‘didn’t feel real’, that my ‘dialogue sounded off’, that my book wasn’t ‘stand out enough’ or that it was just too plain. There were a lot of ‘loved it but…’, with that but being crucial and ending up in a no. Then the toughest rejection rolled in, one that I thought was going to break me. But instead, that agent has been absolutely lovely, offered feedback and made me believe I could write. That book was just not for her, but it wasn’t about me. I know that doesn’t sound revolutionary to anyone but it did to me. I have severe anxiety disorder and spiralled so badly at that stage; thinking the judges of that award had made a mistake; that any positive feedback I’ve ever received from authors, beta readers, agents, friends had been a lie.

I was petrified that if I kept querying that book at the time, I’d crack and never write anything again.

So, I decided to tuck book 1 safely away. And shifted my focus to book 2 - BETTER THAN REVENGE, the book that got me the agent.

Sadie and Ross, main characters from BETTER THAN REVENGE
Character art by **Isabelle Martinsen (@izmartinsenart**)

Before diving into the next part I want to say that you absolutely don’t need all the support nor you need to pay for it. This is just what worked for me, and I wanted to be honest about my journey, which involved help with my book from paid professionals. By no means it’s a requirement.

It was a very different process. I had a fantastic writing mentor, Anna Britton, throughout. I’ve also worked with a great editor I’ve worked with on the previous book, Melissa from Dark Grove Press. I was editing as I drafted, which looking back might’ve not been the easiest or smartest way to work but I was really determined to get this one right. Melissa gave me feedback on the opening, which was very different to what it currently is. She was amazing in picking up where the story should go (I can’t recommend her services highly enough). Anna helped me get on the next level when it comes to writing. I sent her 10k words every month, she’d send me her feedback and then we chatted on Zoom over the comments. Because I was drafting at the same time, by the time I’ve finished, I had about half of the book on which I’ve received thorough feedback and a second half without feedback.

So, I got some beta readers, who I wanted to thank from the bottom of my heart - Melissa, Nicola, Dallas, Robin, Rhian, Felicity. This book wouldn’t be what it is without you.

I also had help with my query letter and synopsis from Anna, amazing Andie Smith, Viviana Vasiu, and too many writer friends to name. But some notable ones: Lauren, Briana, Tara. Thank you so much <3

Then the final part came: the developmental edit. I got the remaining half of the book to Anna who knew my vision behind this book so well by that point and provided me very valuable feedback. And Andie’s full developmental edit blew my socks off - literally. I loved how she got the characters and thought of improvements to the story to make it shine.

I wish I could tell you that everything I described above happened before I started querying. The reality is that I’m impatient and anxious, and I sent off my first query in the last week of June. I continued sending more, while tweaking my querying package, throughout summer. Majority of my queries went out in mid-July. Summer’s definitely not the ideal time to query: it’s true that the publishing industry slows down even more than usual over the summer months.

And I waited… And waited…

Also, I started writing the next thing: historical romantasy. I think it’s really true when people say ‘write the next thing’. It’s so easy to get caught up in the hamster wheel of anxiety during querying or waiting for other news. I have a friend who kept ‘bugging’ me to do this (hi Lauren! <3) and I’m really grateful for the push. It might’ve been a different case if I was querying during term-time, when I’m busy with both medical school and work. But I (very stupidly) was querying during the summer. University holidays. When I was working part-time, but I had A LOT OF spare time to sit and obsess over my inbox and Query Tracker. Writing HUS saved my sanity during these months.

Plus, now I’m 72k words into another book after 3 months :)

In the meantime, BETTER THAN REVENGE got shortlisted in I Am In Print Romance Competition 2024. It was also longlisted in Penguin Michael Joseph Undiscovered Writers’ Prize 2024.

I stopped sending more queries* and decided to look at my query and opening pages again.

And then I saw Rachel’s post on Twitter/X re offering editorial services to look at the query, synopsis and first two chapters.

I’ve been following her for a while and I haven’t queried her so thought it might be a great way to get a fresh pair of eyes on my package before diving into more queries.

Reader, I did not expect what happened after.

I’ll preface the next part with a note that this was a one time surprise thing and Rachel hasn’t been doing the query critiques in hopes of finding clients. In her own words, she’s just ‘really connected’ with my stuff.

She DM’d me on Twitter/X before she’s even finished the critique saying how much she’s loved the premise of BETTER THAN REVENGE and was just so full of praise for my writing. Even better, she was super excited for my historical romantasy project.

We chatted via DMs for a bit and…

She’s asked if I was up for a Zoom call.

I wasn’t actually sure if it was the call when I logged on it. But the call was great and Rachel impressed me so much with her knowledge of the industry but also the understanding of the author I want to be. She nailed my author brand (yes, I’m going to have one of those, thank you very much, ha!) flawlessly.

At that stage, she hadn’t read the full manuscript. I sent it to her after the call, and an email offer followed.

I don’t think I could’ve asked for a more enthusiastic and passionate agent. We often talk about having a “perfect” agent, and I had those too. Rachel wasn't even on my radar when I was just querying. But despite that, I truly believe she’s the perfect agent for me, and not just for this book but for me as an author. Can’t wait to see what comes next!

*I deleted rejection emails as they came in and haven’t logged them anywhere. This was to protect my mental health, as my anxiety and eating disorders have been on edge over summer. Therefore, I don’t have exact stats re number of queries sent etc. It was around 60. I had 4 full requests overall. One offer. The right one <3

How I got my agent

Maggie Eckersley