A few weeks ago, Lauren Keegan invited me to be part of her monthly blog series, How I Got An Agent. You might remember Lauren from this amazingly honest and moving post she wrote for Writers in the Attic last year. She wrote about rejection, something all writers experience, and a topic with which Lauren is only too familiar:

‘There are days I feel like giving up, there are days I feel angry at the book industry in Australia (agents who want published writers and publishers who want agented authors) and then there are days where stories are so alive in my mind that I couldn’t possibly tear myself away from the writing process. I can’t—and won’t—give up on my dream.’

Lauren’s written seven manuscripts—yes, seven—and her aim this year is to find an agent, hence the blog series. In this post, I answer questions about the steps I took to refine my manuscript before I sent it out to agents, what I did right and what I didn’t! I also talk about how I built a social media platform, and the post ends with some tips for those seeking an agent.  I’ve included the beginning of that post below, and if you want read more, click the image below or this link to go to Lauren’s website. While you’re on Lauren’s blog, read some of her other posts. She’s been blogging for six years and she’s the embodiment of dedication and perseverance. I can’t wait for the day when her hard work and determination pay off, as I’m sure it will. 

~

   

Q. What steps did you take to refine the manuscript once you completed your first draft?   A. This is a very long story indeed! There were more than three years and many steps between the first draft of The Sisters’ Song and the version that secured me an agent.   My first draft took me a year to write, but because I didn’t know what I was doing, it was full of holes and was a very rickety read. Some scenes were just bare bones, while others were fat with inane and superfluous detail. That draft probably didn’t even qualify to be labelled a story; it was more a conglomeration of events that sort of died out and so came to an end.   My second draft fleshed out the bones, and I wrote a proper ending (which has miraculously survived, albeit with a different character and in a different setting). It still contained redundant scenes and characters, and a few dead-end tangents.   When I applied for a Varuna residential fellowship, they wanted the first 50 pages …  

  To continue reading, please visit Lauren’s blog.  

~

 

Back to Blogging

  Now that the publicity for The Sisters’ Song is settling down, I’m trying to get my blogging butt back into gear and am hoping to post more regularly again. I have an essay ready to go for Writers in the Attic—it’s beautiful and poignant, and coincides with the release of this author’s début novel. So stay tuned! I’m also currently writing a post about building a social media platform, so if you have any burning questions you’d like me to answer, please let me know in the comments or email me via the Contact page. I have a few ideas for more posts to write—mainly to do with writing and the publishing process. If there’s anything you’d like me to write about, just comment below or email me. It would really help me to know what would be helpful for you!  

~

 

COMING EVENTS

 

 

Three Authors in One Place at One Time

 

Monique Mulligan (author and editor at Serenity Press) will be interviewing Lily Malone (author of Water Under the Bridge) and me. 

WHEN: Thursday, 22nd March, at 6:30pm WHERE: Dymocks Busselton. COST: $10, which includes entry, champagne, nibbles and a door prize. TICKETS: 97544410 

 

 

A Literary Friendship

 

Michelle Johnston (author of Dustfall, UWAP) and I will be chatting with Tabetha Rogers Beggs about our pathways from medicine to writing, the benefits of being in a writing group, and publishing our debut novels.

WHEN: Friday, 23 March, at 6:30pm WHERE: KSP Writers Centre TICKETS: KSP website.

Our novels will also be available for purchase.

 

~

 

‘Affecting, heartwarming and devastating … a brilliant insight into family relationships, history repeating itself through the generations and the unparalleled bond of siblings.’ The Herald-Sun

Read more about The Sisters’ Song. 

Available from all good bookstores and online.