After six months of querying, HERE LIES OLIVE wasn't getting as much traction as I had hoped. I was discouraged. I really thought this would be the one--the one to finally land me an agent and help me break into traditional publishing. So the waves of rejection were disheartening.
Then I saw a tweet from an editor at a small press asking for spooky YA. It was paired with this dancing skeletons gif, which I always shared when people asked for a gif to describe your WIP. I took it as a sign and sent a query.
A week later, I got an email asking for the full. I didn't know much about the press, but I sent it off and started doing research. And I loved everything I read about the press! That made the waiting harder because I realized how much I would really love to work with them.
I heard back from the editor who had requested my full pretty quickly--and it wasn't bad news! She loved OLIVE but felt like it needed a little work before she could make an offer, so she asked me to revise and resubmit. I had had R&Rs before and they usually were pretty vague: "The pacing is off, try working on that" or "I need the MC to be more proactive".
But this R&R was so detailed. The editor sent me several long paragraphs with actionable suggestions. I loved all of her ideas, and as soon as I sat down to write, everything just seemed to click. I worked on the revision for six weeks and sent it back to her on Halloween (fitting, for a story like OLIVE).
A few weeks went by and then.... the editor added me on Twitter! It's silly to say but I think I was more excited about that than anything else that has happened during this process. It seemed like a really good sign, because why would she add me on Twitter if she was preparing a rejection?
And then the next day: an email.
She loved my changes.
She loved OLIVE.
She wanted to take it to acquisitions.
I was way calmer than I thought I would be lol.
She told me that there were three steps to acquisition, so I knew there was a good chance this would still end in rejection. But every week there was another email with more good news: OLIVE was moving on to the next step in the process.
The last email came the week before Christmas. I opened it without thinking too hard and then my heart dropped. It started like every rejection I had ever received.
"Dear Kate, Firstly, I want to say thank you for sending HERE LIES OLIVE to me and for giving me a chance to read this story...."
But then I kept reading. The next paragraph listed all the things she loved, all the reasons she thought OLIVE would resonate with readers. She said she was thrilled that the rest of the acquisitions committee agreed with her. She said that if I was still interested, Flux wanted to publish HERE LIES OLIVE as part of their fall 2023 list!
I was stunned. I could hardly believe it. I had to read the email again, and again, and again. Finally I responded: yes I was still interested! I received the official offer from the senior editor later that day, which I accepted right away.
Going back and reading those emails again gives me chills. I'm so grateful for Ashtyn's vision and Meg's enthusiasm! I'll write more about my publisher sometime soon, but for now I just have to say how much I love everything about Flux so far. I love being a part of the Flux family!
Because the offer came in during the holidays, I didn't see the official contract for a few more weeks. But that worked out fine because it gave me time to do one last thing: query agents again, this time with an offer in hand.