Mega Woots to Janet Reid, Trés Shark

In which he awakens from his long blog slumber for a very good reason.

Janet Reid and I sorta zipped past each other for the better part of a year before we finally agreed to work together. I first queried her in March of 2004, but it wasn't until the following winter that she offered representation and I eagerly accepted. But it wasn't one of those query-and-wait situations. She responded to my query within days with a request for a full, and within a few weeks she called to discuss the manuscript and her situation.

The good news was she loved Lost Dog. The bad news is her client list was full and she couldn't promise to give me the attention she felt I deserved. Not the answer I was hoping for, but I appreciated her directness and honesty. We talked that day for almost two hours, a conversation that ranged from talk about tweaks to Lost Dog, to what to look for as I continued to query, to the state of publishing and more. One of the things that first interested me in Janet was her connection to Oregon, so my adopted home came up as well.

The call ended with her encouraging me to keep at it but to stay in touch and let her know how things went. As the year progressed, I had some near misses with a couple of agents, quality folks indeed, but didn't quite make it. In the late fall, I dropped her a line letting her know where things stood. She called again, we talked again. In this call the mentioned that she might have a slot open up around the first of the year—another client and her might be soon parting ways. An important point she made was that just because you have an agent doesn't mean you're going to get a deal, and there was someone for whom she hadn't been able to find a deal. This was a huge point for me. She wasn't trying to pretend like she was a miracle worker. She wasn't overselling herself, and she was willing to admit it doesn't always work out. All good agents will do this, of course. As soon as they promise you the sun and the sky, grab your wallet and duck your head. But that she was so open about it earned a new level of respect for me. She told me to check in at the new year.

At this point I did something stupid. I stopped querying. Yes, I know. I know. But I was feeling strangely confident. I let my query fingers rest and focused on other things. In January, I gave her a call. More chatting and catch up, which ended with: "Give me till the end of the month. I'll make a decision one way or another by then." It didn't actually take that long. A few days later I heard from her and an representation offer was on its way.

And by early summer, she'd found a home for Lost Dog. Midnight Ink, a small imprint of Llewellyn offered to publish it and we were off.

It hasn't been all roses and cupcakes though. Midnight Ink chose not to act on their option for Chasing Smoke, and I went through a very dark period when it felt like my writing career was over before it had a chance to get started. Publishers lined up in droves to say no, thanks. I got crabby, but Janet stayed patient. Even when I muttered about, "What the hell, I'm just going to throw it up on Lulu and go get a job as a Wal-Mart greeter," she stayed patient. And kept at it.

And found me a new home with Ben LeRoy and Alison Jannsen at Bleak House Books. And the great pleasure there is I've gotten to stay with Ben and Alison as they moved on to form their new company, Tyrus Books.

In the meantime, Janet has continued to be not only my agent and representative, but my friend. She talked me off the figurative ledge during the grim collision last winter of my seasonal affective disorder and ruptured lumbar disc (yeah, I got really down then), but she's also been a good drinking buddy during those two rare occasions when we've been in the same city together. (Inside joke: "They are now.")

It's an honor and a pleasure to work with Janet, and to be her friend. I look forward, I hope, to years to come in the gentle, sharp-toothed care of the the Shark. Janet Reid, here's to you!

Janet is an agent with the esteemed Fine Print Literary Management.

Note: Thanks go out to Kody Keplinger for instigating Agent Appreciation Day.