The Big News!

By Kait NolanPersonal

Some of you who read Kristen Lamb’s blog will already have heard this because she totally outted me this morning in her post on the importance of platform. 😛  For the rest of you, bear with me.

Back in 2009 when I started Forsaken By Shadow, it was with the intention of building some interest in my universe–another plank in my platform that I intended to use when I was ready to query New York for my full Mirus series.  Then NY showed their hineys in regards to how they managed ebooks, editors and agents were telling their authors not to quit their dayjobs, and I decided I was better off in my own hands, doing the indie thing.  This should all sound familiar, as I’ve talked about it before.

I did not ever feel like I was settling by choosing to go indie.  I just felt like it was a wiser business decision, and based on my five year plan, I fully expected to be able to quit my job at the end of it to write full time.  I’ve been very very, happy and content with this plan, and it’s been going quite well, as evidenced by the fact that I sold 1,000 ebooks last month and am on target to continue the trend for February.  All stuff you’ve heard me talk about before.  So from my happy little platform, I have given exactly zero thought to traditional publishing outside the bounds of their latest asshattery.  I’ve watched my compadres who still seek the traditional route go through the frustration and heartache of the query and rejection process, and I’ve patted backs and picked up the pieces and offered Dark Side Brownies to entice them over to the indie track.  I firmly believe in the indie movement.

So last week, Kristen Lamb made a post about how Self Publishing was the American Idol of the publishing world. I made a zillion comments because it was a really GREAT discussion and I wanted to take the time to correct some misconceptions and offer up my informed opinion and experience.  Seriously great post, go read it.

Fast forward to Monday when I came home from work at lunch in the middle of one of THE CRAZIEST DAYS EVAR, when I felt like utter dog poo (You know those days when you feel totally hung over, even though you haven’t had a drop of alcohol?  Yeah, one of those) to an email in my inbox FROM AN AGENT who was very impressed with my platform and the samples she’d read of my work (all on my blog–see the My Fiction tab) and wanted to know if I had representation, and if not, was I open to a discussion about that.  After picking myself up off the floor from the complete and utter SHOCK, I emailed her back that I was not represented and was open to a dialogue.

I spent the rest of the day feeling like I was gonna hurl.  Nerves on top of Super Bowl Excesses (the dip, OH MY GOD, the DIP, I just can’t even…) were not a good combination.  I had no idea how our conference call would go or what to expect.  I was actually expecting that she’d want me to totally give up this indie thing and jump fully on board the traditional publishing train, which I really wasn’t interested in doing without a metric crapton of money.  Crass, but true.  I can make good money on my work in the 2 years it will take New York to get their stuff together and put my book out, which was part of why I’d gone indie in the first place.

Well I couldn’t have been more wrong in that expectation.  She was positively thrilled with what I’ve built for myself, fully agreed that I could do very very well on my own exactly as I am.   She just thinks she can help me do it bigger.  She’s forward thinking, progressive, totally sees the future of ebooks–and fully supports my continuing indie stuff to grow my platform and my brand and my fanbase–because all of those are tools we can use for negotiation with the big boys.  She said the clincher for her (apart from liking my work) is that of the hundreds of queries she gets every day, NONE of those writers ALREADY HAVE A PLATFORM (and most aren’t really interested in building one).  I have that platform.  It’s small yet, but it’s getting bigger at a very steady rate.  I get social media, and I’m doin’ it right, so to speak.

The irony, is that I am essentially doing EXACTLY what I planned when I first wrote FBS.  Just on a much larger scale because I’ve got other stuff out and coming out.  So when I wasn’t at all looking for traditional any more, when I was thrilled to death with life as an indie, I find myself in the middle of the best of both worlds, with possibly the world’s most perfect agent for me, falling right into my lap without ever writing a single query letter.  If that’s not motivation to build your platform, folks, I don’t know what is.

So without further ado, I hereby announce that I am represented by the Magnificent Laurie McLean of Larsen Pomada Literary Agency!

May the happy dancing and squee ensue.

45 thoughts on “The Big News!”

  3. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!1!!!

    I am SO happy for you and SO proud of you, my dear darling Kait! You have worked incredibly hard, and now you can reap the rewards of that effort. Not only will Laurie’s representation help you expand your visibility and bring your work to a broader audience of readers, but y’all’s partnership could play an important role in bridging the still-considerable gap between indie and traditional publishing! The possibilities are really quite astonishing, and I’m SO happy that you’ve found an agent who GETS you so well.

    <333

    You. ROCK. 😀

    Reply

  4. That is absolutely fantastic news, and a real success story for so many others like you who did it on their own. The fact that SHE sought YOU out is mind-blowing. You must have been beside yourself!

    Congratulations! I look forward to the day where I’m at work and your book comes on the shelf.

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  7. Congratulations. I have to say I’m loving the changes in the industry, and I love that agents are changing the way they seek clients. The query for an agent has been rather broken for quite some time–a time sink for everyone. I like the idea of a few hundred agents seeking clients amongst the masses rather than the masses scrambling up the mountain to reach the few agents.

    Well done.

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  14. Awesome news, congratulations. I would happy dance with you, but I have a bum knee and my wife would have issues

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  16. Hi Kait,

    That is awesome news! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!! I always thought that traditional publishing was the only way to go but since happening on your website and reading FBS pretty much all in one sitting (I think I might have mentioned that before) and seeing the success you were having with ebooks, I realised that there is another way which doesn’t mean a huge outlay for self-publishing or the heartbreak of constant rejection by agents and trad. publishers.

    I am absolutely thrilled for you and hope this means that FBS and all the others will be on paper even sooner. You are a great writer and I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more!

    Once more, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!

    Reply

  18. I so SUCK. I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to out your big news :S. I get over excited and my brain disengages. Seriously. It’s documented.

    Still doing tha *happy dance* for you anyway 😛

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  20. Oh,how wonderful! I’m very happy for you. You know we have always thought you are amazing & and I love your writing.

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  21. Kait, this is such great news! I know you have the talent it takes to make it big, and mark my words, your name is going to be phenomenal #wait #italreadyis 🙂 Wishing you all the best. I love seeing indie authors get the recognition they deserve. Makes me even more proud to be indie. Best wishes to you and congratulations!

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  23. That is such great news! I think more agents will get on board with this approach because they can help indies build bigger with things like foreign rights and whatnot. So happy for you. 🙂

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  24. OMG, Kait!! That’s fantastic!!! Congrats!!

    See, I’ve been telling all the naysayers (in RL & on Twitter/Facebook) that being SEEN is half the battle. You put out samples, you sell your work yourself, people like it, talk about it–the movers & shakers in the trad publishing industry aren’t just sitting on their thumbs when they aren’t reading; they’re scanning the ‘net and seeing what people are saying about writers like you.

    I’m so happy for you!!! I WANT FBS TO BE A MOVIE!!! As long as Hollywood doesn’t ruin it, that is 😉

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  25. I knew it I knew it I knew it I knew it I KNEW IT. You have so much talent and skill and I’m so proud of you. NOT shocked. You’ve earned it.

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  36. Heard about the great news at Kristen’s blog and wanted to shout out and say congratulations! Very exciting news indeed, can’t wait to hear more about this new journey for you. Wishing you lots of success!

    Reply

  41. Very, very awesome! Congrats! I must say that, as a writer who’s just really started out building my platform, I’m learning a lot from your posts. And my ears perked up the first time I heard you say “indie publishing.” I might be swayed to the dark side yet. 🙂

    Reply

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