And so it begins - HOW I GOT MY AGENT

Let's take a moment to just stare at the title of my post.

*STARES* O_O

All right now. Here we go:

For the majority of this year, I spent most of my time staring at my inbox waiting for the e-mail that would change my life. Most of you know how that story ended. And in the month since I posted about the way my R&R ended, I amassed a good handful of crushing rejections from agents and contests alike. And somewhere toward the end, I resigned myself to the fact that my two years of hard work writing and revising, this MS might not go anywhere, and that even if that happened, it would be okay. I decided to work even harder on my WIP to get it query-ready by next summer.

And then last Tuesday came along. I was home sick with the immortal sinus infection from hell, and in the middle of a work week so intense that when I thought about everything I needed to do, I'd involuntarily groan "Oh God" out loud. I was in bed with a cup of tea, focused on something else besides my writing career for once, when the e-mail showed up in my inbox. "Re: Requested materials: [manuscript]."

I didn't have time to do the usual pre-rejection ritual, where I circle the room a few times psyching myself up before I open the e-mail, before the auto-preview popped up: "Rebecca! I missed my stop last night because of [protagonist]."

"Oh wow," I said, "it's a really nice rejection!"

I had to read the e-mail at least three times before "I am certain that I am the best agent for you" sank in.

Yep. After three years of waiting and working and tears, I got an offer of representation on November 27th, 2012. And it completely blindsided me.

And the day after that, after I got home from work, my phone rang, and the second offer blindsided me even more.

I've blogged here about the value of being a pessimist when it comes to the submission process, but there is one downside! When more than one lovely, talented, amazing agent is passionate about your work, you are so not prepared for it. I dreamed about things like this, where I had more than one dream agent to choose from, but I never thought they would actually HAPPEN. So this weekend, I entered the Decision Bunker (capitalized for dramatic emphasis), and thought about it.

And thought about it.

And thought about it some more.

And watched a lot of Lord of the Rings and ordered a lot of takeout.

And this morning, after lots of agonizing and making lists and rending garments, I came to my decision, and I finally signed that contract. So I can officially say to all of you that I am represented by the fantastic, the incredible, the wonderful Sara Crowe of the Harvey Klinger Agency.

I can't think of anything else to say, because I am still so thoroughly stunned and happy and grateful for this opportunity to take the next step with such a perfect partner. I am so excited to work with Sara and I can't wait to see what the future holds. I will be going on submission next year, and I know I wouldn't have gotten this far without such an amazing group of writers in my corner. Thank you, thank you, thank you all so much!!