That Awesome Day You Get to Hear from Ryan Gosling!

So you guys know Ryan Gosling, right (@GoslingLitAgent)? Yeah, that's his picture right there on the left. I'm positively sure everyone in publishing is already following this Twitter feed. But anyway, guess who somehow stumbled across an email from HIM to a CLIENT!!!! Seriously, you guys have got to read this! How awesome, and totally lucky, must this "Hey Girl" writer be? 

From: GoslingLitAgent

Sent: 10:31pm

Re: Your Manuscript Made Me Cry

Hey Girl,

I was sampling pasta when your email came. I had my shirt off; because it gets pretty hot in my kitchen. There was steam. I was thinking of you and decided to make a nice primavera, in case you came around and wanted some dinner later.

Just then my Gmail notification let me know you had sent me your manuscript.

A delightful kitten jumped on my shoulder then.

Me and Scribbles went over to my lap top. I had to close a few Word docs I had open, just some poetry I’ve been working on - no, you can’t read it. It’s not good enough yet. There were also a couple Chrome tabs on Habitat for Humanity. Summer’s nearly over and you know how I like to get my Habitat on in the warmer months.

I was so excited to read your book.

I decided to print it out, because I like to feel your words in my hands, you know? While the printer was going I did some push-ups with Scribbles nestled in my lower back. That kitten just loves chilling with me while I do push-ups, or yoga, or chop wood in my spacious back yard. Sometimes when I chop wood little songbirds will come over and squirrels and bunnies will just hang out. Those crazy guys.

So your manuscript was done printing and I poured myself a glass of Chardonnay and put on some Debussy. The pasta had a few minutes left so I started in on your first chapter. Tears slipping over the gentle yet firm contours of my man chest, I thought about how your dialog attributions have come such a long way. They are just the best. So few adverbs. I got so excited I did a bunch more push-ups.

Twelve rescue puppies rushed in then, and we just had the best time wrestling all over the floor.

Anyway, I plan to spend the rest of my night just sort of thoughtfully pacing my house with no shirt on while I read your manuscript, and sometimes crying a little. Occasionally the cat will jump on my shoulders, or I’ll cradle one of those adorable puppies in a way that lets you know I’d be a great dad. Later on I might go check on my sustainable vegetable garden.

But for now, I just wanted to send you this note and let you know:

Your writing completes me.

Let’s talk about submissions tomorrow. You can pop over after yoga, if you don’t mind sharing some Cold Stone Ice Cream on the couch. I like me some post-yoga Cold Stone.

Your Agent,

-Ryan Gosling

Whoa! What an email! 

Thank you Ryan Gosling for writing this amazingness and for letting me share it with everyone. Thank you! Thank you! 

(FYI: This is all just in good fun. Please do not take it too seriously.) :-)

Oh Yeah! Another Successful Cupid Connection!!!

Do you guys have any idea how thrilled I am to be posting ANOTHER successful connection interview this week? It's pretty downright awes to the sauce! And this one is from "The Writer's Voice"!!!!! And it won't be the last! Cuzzzz guess what? You guys are AMAZING writers and you make all this connection stuff easy. EASY I tell ya! 

So let's welcome Dahlia Adler and Andrea Somberg!!! *cues everyone to throw their heart-shaped confetti* (Cause, you know, we love them!)

Once again, they were both sweet enough to take the time for an interview, so YES, we get to hear from both author and agent! I love this! Okay, here we go....

Let's start with Dahlia! Then stalk her on Twitter, her blog, and of course, go read her awesome entry for BEHIND THE SCENES from "The Writers Voice"! 

C: First things first, what is your sweet of choice?

D: What isn't my sweet of choice? I probably crave Gushers more than any other one specific candy, but I'm a chocolate girl, a chips girl, an ice cream girl... if it has sugar, you can't really go wrong. 

C: How long have you been writing?

D: I think I started when I was about eight, so that makes... oh God, twenty years. 

C: How long did it take you to write BEHIND THE SCENES?

D: BEHIND THE SCENES was a NaNoWriMo book so the first 50k took me the month of November, and I'd say the whole first draft was done in about 6-7 weeks. I revised on and off for months after that, right up until The Writer's Voice  contest. 

C: How many did you query with this novel?

D: BEHIND THE SCENES was actually brand-spanking-new for the contest, so I hadn't done any querying prior to entering. As a result of the contest, I got to send two partials, and on top of that I think I sent out maybe five queries.

C: What made you decide to enter the contest?

D: I'd done a lot of revisions to BTS after some extensive comments from a beta and after that, I really stepped away from it for a while. Then I saw mention of the contest on Twitter and thought "That! That is going to be the kick in my butt to finish this thing once and for all!" So it was a combination of incentive to finish and, of course, wanting some expert advice. Query writing is not a skill I pride myself on.

C: What is your favorite part of the writing process?

D: I love that time when a book is first coming together in your head, and you just have this obsessive need to write down idea after idea as they come into your head, whether it's the perfect name for a character or a way you're going to tie two scenes together. I love anything that indulges my obsessive nature. My desk at home is covered in post-its and notebooks with ideas scrawled all over them. I think I was in bed at 3 AM when the query for BTS came to me. I crawled out of bed, typed it out on an iPad, e-mailed it to myself, and went to sleep.

C: What is your least favorite part of the writing process?

D: I'm not great at writing those scenes that need to be there but aren't fun, per se. I don't let myself write out of order anymore because I can't trust myself to fill in the gaps. When you're writing forward, you kind of know that if you really don't want to write the next scene, there's probably something wrong with that scene, but when you're skipping around, it's more like, "Well, I already got to write the kiss, so why would I want to deal with the stupid tension that was keeping them apart??" I have to practice responsible writing with myself, and it kills me when there's a scene in the future I'm absolutely dying to write.

C: If you could only pick up three things from the grocery store, what would they be?

D: Cap'n Crunch, milk, and Ben & Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch

C: What advice do you have for other writers?

D: The most important advice I hammer into my own head now is "Always write forward." It was a great lesson from NaNoWriMo. If you stop to revise every time something's not perfect, you're never going to get anywhere. Just write forward, let yourself write a flawed first draft, maybe scribble down some notes on what you want to make sure to fix, and don't make those corrections until your first draft is done.

C: What did you do to celebrate your offer? 

D: I suffer from "Wait, did that really happen?" syndrome, so I refused to tell absolutely anyone but my husband for a week, until I'd spoken with all the other agents, excitedly confirmed to Andrea that I couldn't wait to work with her, and actually signed a contract. The day I signed the contract was my ten-year high school reunion; getting to tell people there that I had an agent was celebration enough! But yeah, I should probably buy myself something pretty...

C: Tell us a little about your success story: 

D: Andrea was literally the first agent I'd sent material to, thanks to the contest, and I couldn't believe it when she came back to me for a full after less than a day. When I saw another e-mail from her maybe ten days later, my face just fell - I was sure that meant it was going to be a "thanks, but no thanks" e-mail. Obviously - and thankfully! - it was not, and the next day we talked on the phone, and she was just so much fun. I loved talking to her, I loved how much she loved my manuscript and the characters in it, but as the conversation was obviously nearing its end, I couldn't help but notice that she had not actually said the words "offer of representation." I ended up stumbling like a fourteen-year-old boy at his first dance trying to ask if this was an offer, and when I finally got the words out, she just laughed and said, "I thought that was obvious!" It probably should've been, but who ever believes it when dreams actually come true, anyway? 

Okay, so Dahlia and I must be the same person because I LOVED all her answers. LOL

Now let's hear from Andrea! Of course, she's one of those agents everyone thinks is amazing so hop on over and check out her Twitter and website! 

C: First things first, what is your sweet of choice?

A: Brownies.  After many taste tests I've determined that Betty Crocker chewy fudge are the best 

C: At what point during a MS can you usually tell you are going to offer?

A: I usually have a strong sense within the first fifty pages, but I don't know for sure until about 3/4s of the way through. Writing a novel is so difficult - oftentimes an author starts off strong but loses control of the story half  way through. Sometimes this is fixable with revisions - sometimes it isn't. 

C: How can you tell?

A: At the beginning it's mostly about voice and character development - as the story progresses, though, the author needs to be able to pull everything together into a compelling cohesive whole.

C: What is the first thing you will do after finishing a MS you are going to offer on?

A: While reading the manuscript I am automatically thinking about how I would position it, and what editors would be the best fit. I then give the author a call to offer representation, and to see if they have any questions about me, the agency, the industry, and my vision for the project and their career.

C: Do you ever offer on a MS that you had to take time to decide on first? Or is it typically a fast and easy love?

A: Usually it's a fast and easy love but there is the occasional project that I think has potential but needs more work.  These I'll tend to deliberate more on.

C: Do YOU like to do anything to celebrate before/after MAKING "The Call"?

A: Ha! No, but maybe I'll start. 

C: Do you have any advice for a writer who just received "The Call"?

A: Don't rush into anything. Make sure the agent is a good fit for you, your project, and your career. 

C: What kind of things can you forgive in a MS when considering offering? What things must already be in good shape?

A: Story structure can sometimes be fixed - the quality of prose and narrative voice are much harder. 

C: If you could only grab three things from the grocery store, what would they be?

A: Olives, water crackers, and creamcheese.  I love creamcheese - I'll sometimes eat it with a spoon. 

C: What made you request the full on BEHIND THE SCENES?

A: I loved the narrative voice, and the protagonist.  I was intrigued, and wanted to read more 

C: What made you offer on BEHIND THE SCENES?

A: There was so much I loved about the manuscript. The characters are great and the dialogue is smart, witty, and highly entertaining. I also loved the premise and how the story developed.  It's satisfying, without being predictable. 

C: What is the most common reason you will NOT upgrade a partial to a full?

A: The narrative voice didn't draw me in

C: What is your biggest advice for writers seeking agents?

A: Don't take rejection personally - this is a highly subjective business, and it is a business.  When I pass on a project it's because I don't know how to sell it to a publisher - not because I think you're a horrible writer.

C: What is your favorite part of being a literary agent?

A: I love books and I love working with other  people who love books 

C: Anything specific you are seeking right now?

A: Anything with great characters and a strong narrative voice - but nothing specific! 

C: Now please tell us something super weird about yourself. :)

A: Besides eating cream cheese with a spoon? Hmmm... Okay, when I was younger I had this odd habit - whenever someone would say something to me I would 'type' out the words by moving my jaw (it's hard to explain without a visual).   But, needless to say,  it wasn't pretty.  It probably cost me a few dates.  On the bright side, I'm now a fantastic typist. 

***

Haha! I loved that last one! Although, all this food talk is making me hungry! Brownies and Ben and Jerry's? Yes, please!!! 

THANK YOU Dahlia and Andrea for letting me interview you and being awesome! I'm so happy to see BEHIND THE SCENES moving forward! 

Thanks for reading everyone! Now go have a great Friday the 13th! 

Another Cupid's Connection Interview!!!

I'm really excited to announce this very special CLC connection because it's from Blind Speed Dating, which we did in February! And the agent and writer are super awesome, and I'm thrilled to have interviewed both of them. So let's get started with Deana Barnhart who recently signed with Sarah LaPolla of Curtis Brown, Ltd.!! And please go check out her great BSD entry, RIPPLE! And as always, follow her blog and Twitter too! 

C: First things first, what is your sweet of choice?

DB: Hands down it is Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and I swear it's not because Sarah likes them:) Honestly, in high school I thought they were my favorite because my maiden name is Reese, but then I realized it's because there is nothing in the world like the union of chocolate and peanut butter!

C: How long have you been writing?

DB: I've been writing bits and pieces since high school, but it wasn't until five years ago that the voice in my head telling me to take writing seriously got so annoying I had to obey.

C: How long did it take you to write RIPPLE?

DB: It took three months to write it, but since I was semi-pantsting, the editing took 6 months. I have learned since then that I need some kind of outline in order to stay sane.

C: How many did you query with this novel?

DB: I'm not sure on the exact count, but I'm thinking 25 give or take a couple.

C: What made you decide to enter the contest?

DB: Well, I had heard that contests were a good way to get an in with agents and I loved your first contest (but didn't make the cut) so I thought I'd try again. I am so glad I did!

C: What is your favorite part of the writing process?

DB: The start of a novel! I get this burning feeling in my chest when an idea formulates in my head and it's so stinkin' strong that I  lose focus over everything else until I begin to write.  It's like a high that I can't get enough of and my fingers just fly over the keyboards trying to get it out. I love that!

C: What is your least favorite part of the writing process?

DB: Trying to get an idea to work. Writing sci-fi is fun because you can create things, but you still have to make said things seem plausible. I've mulled over ideas that I've loved so much and then had to throw them out because I can't get it to make any sense.

C: If you could only pick up three things from the grocery store, what would they be?

Diet Pepsi, Lucky Charms and milk. Yep, I'm a real health nut:)

C: What advice do you have for other writers?

DB: Read Save the Cat! I am not usually a fan on books of craft, but this one changed my life. I know that sounds a bit dramatic, but for real. Changed my life!

C: What did you do to celebrate your offer? 

DB: Besides screaming and jumping around my house with no one present but the dog? It was pretty low key. My sister and her husband took me and my husband out where they proceeded to tell everyone I had an agent and that they would want my autograph some day. Nothing like some good old fashioned humiliation to top off the perfect day :)

C: Tell us a little about your success story: 

            

DB: Sure! Before I do I thought a would share a side note about myself since it relates to the story. I try to be an optimistic person, but I also choose to think the worst will happen so that if it does I can be positive about the crappy things too. Weird, I know.

            

On to the story. Back in Jan I began querying Ripple as a YA dystopian. I also entered it into some contests; Cupid's being one of them. I was denied on the first round, but not taking no for an answer, I entered the Feb contest the next month. I didn't think much would come of it given my whole philosophy about thinking the worst. You can imagine my surprise, then, when I got past the bouncers AND was struck with Ryan Gosling's arrow in round two. I had been hearing over and over how dystopian was played out, but this cupid thought there was something special about mine!! I couldn't believe it and was even more thrilled when I learned the Ryan Gosling cupid was Sarah LaPolla. I'd done my agent homework and knew how great she was. She's totally lived up to that expectation by the way.

            

I sent in my 100 page partial and she replied right away, telling me it would take about four weeks to let me know what she thought. While I waited, I sent out another round of queries which continued to get similar rejections about how dystopia has saturated the market already. I began to think that maybe I needed to shelve Ripple, when I got an email from Sarah telling me how much she enjoyed the first 100 pages and get this, it sounded more sci-fi than dystopian to her. Huyah! She requested the full. I sent Ripple out to her and also another round of queries, this time as a YA sci-fi.

            

Wouldn't you know, my request rate increased. Still, nothing really stuck and once again I thought maybe I should forget about Ripple and begin this Magical Realism piece I had in my head. Before I did, I felt like I needed to do one more round of queries and enter a couple more contests. From this last batch I got an offer! I was so not expecting this.

            

Of course I had not forgotten about Sarah, so I emailed her and she asked that I give her the weekend finish reading it. I was totally willing to do this because deep down Sarah was on the top of my list.

            

Monday came at a snail's pace and when I went to check my email Sarah had responded.  My heart was beating out of my chest. I so badly wanted her to love it, but because I am a think-the-worst kind of gal I was convinced this was going to be a big fat rejection. I was so sure of this, in fact, that I didn't even check the email! I know, I'm shaking my head at myself too. It was like a two hour battle in my head about clicking on the email or not. I chose to check Twitter instead.

            

What I found was about the best thing ever. Sarah had friend requested me AND  tweeted about how she just offered someone representation and (totally paraphrasing here) that waiting on a reply was like waiting on an answer from a guy you really like and have asked to prom. She actually said it way better than that though.

            

I finally opened the email and was floored by Sarah's response. She compared my story to Mad Max and Dr. Who. She was officially offering me representation and wanted to talk!  

            

After screaming and jumping and screaming some more, I responded.  We had "the call" that same day and I knew before I got off the phone that she was who I wanted to go with. Truth be told, I think I kind of knew from the very first comment she made during the Speed Date contest. All because she was willing to give my story a chance, even being labeled as a dystopian. Her excitement over my project and future projects overwhelms me and I couldn't be happier!

Ah! Awesome! I love it! Seriously, that is a cool story! 

Now let's hear from her new agent, Sarah LaPolla. And I'm sure you're already stalking her, but just in case, find her blog here and Twitter here. 

C: First things first, what is your sweet of choice?

SL: Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups are my weakness, but if you put ice cream in front of me I won’t turn it away.

C: At what point during a MS can you usually tell you are going to offer?

SL: I won’t know for sure until I finish it. I’ve been disappointed in the past where I’ve loved a manuscript for about ¾ of the way, and then suddenly things take a weird turn and the ending falls apart. There are those moments while reading it though where I think “this is something special” and keep reading it with the intention of making an offer.

C: How can you tell?

SL: Usually I know I’ll end up offering representation if I’m already formulating a pitch letter in my head and thinking of specific editors I’d want to send it to. So much goes into making an offer – whether what the type of book it is, if the writing is strong enough, if I think the writer and I will work well together – so if I get to a point where I know where it can fit in the market and which publisher will be a good fit, that’s a huge factor in my decision.

C: What is the first thing you will do after finishing a MS you are going to offer on?

SL: Squee! Then I compose myself and arrange a phone call with the author. I like doing this instead of just calling them on the spot because they tend to get nervous. A pre-arranged call gives us both time to prepare.

C: Do you ever offer on a MS that you had to take time to decide on first? Or is it typically a fast and easy love?

SL: Hm… a little of both I guess. It’s always a fast and easy love, but more goes into making an offer than just loving the book, which is sad sometimes. I want to take on an author, not just the book they queried me with. So, I’ll ask them what else they’re working on, if they’re vision the book is in keeping with my revision notes, what type of relationship they want with their agent, etc. It’s a business partnership. If the manuscript I love is their only book in that genre, and everything else they write is in something I don’t represent or am not as skilled in, then I probably won’t be the best agent for them in the long run.

C: Do YOU like to do anything to celebrate before/after MAKING "The Call"?

SL: “The Call?” No. But after I receive an answer from the author and they pick me sometimes I buy shoes. Or eat something I probably shouldn’t.

C: Do you have any advice for a writer who just received "The Call"?

SL: Stay calm and have a list of questions ready. Writers shouldn’t be afraid to ask where an agent plans to send their book and when they’ll submit it. You have the power to turn us down, and we get nervous too.

C: What kind of things can you forgive in a MS when considering offering? What things must already be in good shape?

SL: I forgive the occasional typo and grammar mistake, but if too many appear in every chapter then I assume the writer was not ready to query. It looks unprofessional, and more than that it’s distracting. Similarly, if there are glaring plot holes or inconsistencies, then I think the writer rushed to send it. Few things are more obnoxious than requesting a manuscript and waiting over a month to receive it. Don’t query until the manuscript is polished and ready to send.

C: If you could only grab three things from the grocery store, what would they be?

SL: Strawberry ice cream. (You meant only three words, right?)

C: What made you request the full on RIPPLE?

SL: It’s strange because when I go back and see the original entry for the Cupid contest, it’s like a completely different book to me. For one, the beginning is different and the voice is much stronger in the version she sent me. Also, Deana pitched it as dystopian, and it’s not at all. The premise hooked me right away though and I knew there was more to it than a standard dystopian or sci-fi.

C: What made you offer on RIPPLE?

SL: It constantly surprised me. It’s about time travel, which is very hard to write so I was impressed right away with Deana’s ability to do that well. I also loved how the book plays with genre and nothing was ever as it seemed to be. It kept me guessing in a good way!

C: What is the most common reason you will NOT upgrade a partial to a full?

SL: If the writing just isn’t getting my attention, I won’t request more pages. More often than that, that’s the reason. The other common reason I pass on a partial is if I’m not connecting with the characters, especially the main character. If I went 25-50 pages without relating to the person I’m supposed to, it’s safe to say I won’t care what happens to them beyond those pages.

C: What is your biggest advice for writers seeking agents?

SL: Don’t query agents you don’t want to work with. Do your research, know who represents what you write, and query the ones you think will be the best fit for you. The “any agent is better than no agent” maxim is a myth. Also – and this one sounds obvious – know what an agent does before you query them. There has been an influx of queries in the past two years, possibly because of self-publishing, in which writers seem to be confusing agents with publicists.

C: What is your favorite part of being a literary agent?

SL: This answer changes all the time, so I’ll go with the most recent one that came to me over the weekend when I was reading a client’s manuscript. There’s a moment when you go back and read a client’s work and you remember why you fell in love with their writing in the first place – it just feels fantastic.

C: Anything specific you are seeking right now?

SL: What I always look for – characters I fall in love with and books I can’t put down. Not very specific, I know.

C: Now please tell us something super weird about yourself. :)

Not so much weird as it is embarrassing, but my favorite song of all time is Poison by Bel Biv Devoe. (I’m well aware there’s a difference between “favorite” and “best!”)

***

Oh man, I always love reading these interviews! Not only are they insightful and inspiring, they usually make me laugh too! And who doesn't love Reese's PB cups?

Thank you Deana and Sarah for sharing your awesomeness with us! 

Now, watch for more connection stories peeps, cause their rolling in!