Still waiting...

So it's been sixteen months since I signed with a literary agent and I feel as far from getting a book published now as I did then.

Book publishing is slow. And COVID hasn't helped. Because of the uncertainty of the effect the pandemic would have on book buying, editors put off making offers and already scheduled releases were pushed back several months or more. Things are opening up now, but I'm not sure the publishing work is quite back to normal.

I currently have three books out on submission--one has been out since April 2020--and I've only gotten a few rejections (which is good) and no nibbles. The proverbial molasses in January is faster.

The first book to go out was a chapter book adaptation of The Enchanted Bookshop. It isn't the play that many of you are familiar with. Instead, it's a new story featuring many of the same characters and their adventure inside the novel Treasure Island. My agent, the illustrious Stephen Fraser, submitted it to seven publishers--all big houses where I wouldn't have a chance of getting read without a rep.

As far as I know, it has received one official rejection but I believe that Steve heard from several other publishers that they're not really interested because he's stopped pushing it. And that's disappointing. I thought the concept was a natural for an easy reading chapter book series but that one rejection said that the premise seemed familiar and that the execution seemed old-fashioned, especially with characters like Pollyanna and novels like the Robert Louis Stevenson swashbuckler.

I can't argue with her. It is old-fashioned. On purpose. I can't use contemporary characters and novels with obtaining the rights and I can't be sure those will even be available to me. Besides, the popularity of the play has proven that teachers want to teach their students about these classic books. I still think the book series would find a ready tie-in with library summer reading programs and grade school curricula.

The second book was a middle-grade novel about a kid inventor titled Edison Young and the Ravenous Robosaur. I first wrote it way back in 1999, way back when the world was still innocent and carefree (yeah, right). The novel badly needed updating, but I was able to take care of that in a couple months and sent it off to Steve in August. He absolutely loved it and promptly submitted it to six publishers and even handed it off to the agency's film agent.

So far, Edison Young has received four rejections. One publisher loved the humor but said the set-up and execution felt overly familiar. Another said she found the concept intriguing and the imagery well-done but she didn't fall in love with the writing enough to take the plunge. A third thought the book was too short and the story undeveloped. And the last one brushed it off with a perfunctory "not my cup of tea."

Steve hasn't given up on this one yet, but new markets are few and far between.

And that brings us to my third submission, a chapter book version of Wicked Is As Wicked Does. This one is a direct adaptation, featuring all the characters and plot points of the play. But that title is way too long for a possible series so I shortened it to just The Wickeds.

I was worried about this one. The first two got immediate and extremely enthusiastic responses from Steve. In fact, he read them both in just a few days. And he sent them out to publishers a day or two after that.

This one was different. Six weeks after I sent it to him, he still hadn't read it.

Wait. Let me change that. He started it, but hadn't finished it. Which may be worse than not starting it at all. At least that can be blamed on being busy. Stopping halfway through can only mean one thing. It didn't grab him.

I thought the book was done for. Kaput. Dead on arrival.

Then, a few days later, I got the email. He finished it. And he loved it, calling it "completely hilarious."  As it turns out, he really had been too busy to finish it. He had a boatload of deals to negotiate.

He ended up sending The Wickeds to--not six, not seven--but eleven publishers. That was a month ago and I still haven't heard anything.

Do I wish things moved faster? Yeah. Is it driving me crazy? Kinda. But I just keep reminding myself that I'm in a much better position that I was two years ago, when I didn't have anyone representing me.

The books are out there, somewhere. And any day, I could get The Call (or, more likely, The Email) telling me I'm going to be a published novelist.

In the meantime, I've got the play commission to keep me busy. And a couple more play ideas I'm burning to write.

This is, after all, is the writer's life. Never stop writing. And never, ever stop hoping.

I get an agent

Followers of this blog know that since my Hollywood manager dumped me in November, I've been looking for a literary agent. I even made it one of my New Year's goals, vowing to submit my chapter book adaptation of The Enchanted Bookshop to 100 literary agents.

Well, it didn't take that many. After querying 37 agents, and getting only one read request, I received an offer for representation from Stephen Fraser of the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency.

I couldn't be happier. Steve is one of the most experienced and respected agents in the biz, and he has big plans for The Enchanted Bookshop (more on that in a future post). And unlike my previous agreement with Gravity Squared Entertainment, this one has no expiration date. Steve is in it for the long haul.

I also like that the agency has an office in Los Angeles. Turns out they do a fair amount of business selling the TV and film rights for their literary properties. So in a roundabout way, I may get my stuff out to Hollywood after all.

But first we've got sell the book.

Will the COVID-19 crisis make it tougher? Maybe. But people have to read something while they're shut in, and although individual bookstores are suffering, online book sales are going strong. And publishers are still buying.

Some of you may be wondering how I managed to get Steve's attention. It was, after all, a completely cold submission. Stephen didn't know me from... Douglas Adams. Well, here's the query letter I used:

Stephen, 

I've written a 9000-word manuscript for the first in a series of chapter books titled The Enchanted Bookshop.

Synopsis: After magically coming to life, Dorothy Gale, Tom Sawyer, and Pollyanna "splorge" into other classic novels in order to help a struggling bookshop owner, but in doing so they accidentally alter the very stories they enter, forcing them to make things right before they return. 

I'm an award-winning children's playwright with 16 published plays and over 1600 productions in 17 countries. The Enchanted Bookshop is based on my play of the same name. Teachers love the play because it celebrates the joy of reading in a fun, fresh way.  They love it so much, in fact, they've made it one of the best-selling plays in the country, booking over 400 productions in its first three years. A musical adaptation was released last year and it looks like that's going to be a big hit too.

The first 20 pages of the manuscript are pasted below. Thank you very much. 

Best regards,  

Todd Wallinger

That's about twice as long as it needs to be. And that's because most agents don't give a flying fig about your publishing history. But I thought it was important to show that The Enchanted Bookshop is already a proven concept, especially since the premise of a bookshop where the book characters come to life isn't exactly original.

Did it help? I don't know. But I like to think it didn't hurt.

What was more important was the logline. I must have spent two full days crafting that one sentence. But I think it paid off. The logline sets up an expectation in your reader, and a good one not only defines the main conflict in your story, but does so in a way that helps the reader imagine where the story might lead.

Of course, the best query letter in the world won't snag you an agent if the story itself isn't good. That's why I worked for months to make sure the manuscript was as polished (and typo free!) as it could be.

As it turned out, the follow-up to my query was as important as the original submission. After Steve read the manuscript, he asked if I had ideas for the next book or two in the series. Fortunately, I was able to send him seven, and that's because I'd already put together a pitch bible for my studio submissions.

Now, this isn't as important with middle-grade or YA novels, as those tend to be stand-alone. But chapter books are usually sold as a series, and if you want to pitch one, make sure you have at least a logline for the next couple entries.

Steve has already submitted the manuscript to several big publishers so all I can do now is wait. I'm knee-deep into my next project, so I've got plenty to keep me busy.

But am I on pins and needles, hoping to hear something soon from one of the publishers?

You'd better believe it.