Representation Offer! *Updated*

***UPDATE***

I've been offered representation by a newer agent at Serendipity Lit. Agency who is interested in shopping my manuscript to the big six. I'm very pro-self publishing so I'm still on the fence about whether or not to shop this manuscript but they were very receptive and open with ideas on how to proceed. Any arguments for/against trad. pubbing vs. self publishing?

Any help would be much appreciated!

***

Earlier this week I was contacted by an agent from Serendipity Lit. Agency who discovered my work on Wattpad.

I'd been doing back and forth critiques with one of her interns on WP (who I wasn't aware worked at an agency) and she recommended my work her boss, connected the two of us, and now we're in early talks about working together. She's looking over the full manuscript over the weekend & we're scheduled for a second phone call early next week.

I'm excited/nervous and certainly wasn't expecting to be having a conversation with an agent about my work. Not too sure what to expect next, but I'm hoping everything goes well

GinJones said:

There's a great collection of links for how to deal with a call from an agent at the Writer Beware blog here: http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2014/02/questions-to-ask-your-prospective.html

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Thank you so much for this! Great resources

SunshineonMe said:

Oh my gosh!! How exciting! Congratulations~

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Thank you so much! I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next .

Cathy C said:

They've got a good track record with PoC NF and fiction. Good luck!

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Thanks for the insight Cathy! I've read a bit about their lead agent Regina Brooks and she's got a solid & diverse background in those genres. I'm speaking with one of their newer agents, but she said she was very interested in working with me not only b/c they were excited about the manuscript but also because it's rarer to find African-American writers who write YA & NA. I'm looking forward to learning more about the agency & what they can do!

Siri Kirpal said:

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Rooting for you!

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

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Thank you for the well wishes Siri !

Antonin said:

Whoa, congrats on that!

I've heard about agents searching for books on Wattpad but I thought it was just a rumor. For awhile I've considered putting a book up on there, not to find an agent but just to see if people like it.

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Thank you! Yeah it's a pretty amazing place, especially if you're looking to test your book on a market/audience and see how they respond (there's a massive readership on Wattpad).

I wrote the book for fun initially and it garnered a pretty significant following over the 2.5 years I've had it posted. Wattpad offered to add me to their Featured Authors program when I completed the book last month (which is a really great opportunity for exposure). A few weeks after it began it's run on their featured list an agent reached out to me.

I'd encourage you to join if you're interested in getting your work in front of an active & responsive audience (particularly if you write YA or NA fiction). I have a few writer friends on Wattpad who found agents and secured big six pub deals after their books became massively popular (1million + hits). Granted, what they ended up publishing was night and day different from their initial drafts on Wattpad but it certainly can happen!

Lady MacBeth said:

Good luck!

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Thank you!

Gravity said:

Big congrats, JR! Fingers crossed!

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Thanks so much John!

Update in post #1