Credo

Posted on September 26, 2013 by

27 Comments

Long ago, I took a creative writing class at Great Lakes Christian College. The professor, the great George Brown, told us the importance of having literary representation.

“I gotta get me a agent,” I wrote in my notebook. (I thought poor grammar was hilarious. Sometimes I still do.)

After I finished the first 5 drafts of Paint Chips, I researched agents that represent Christian authors. My first pick was Credo Communications. Why were they first pick? Because they’re located in my city. And because of a few clients they represented that impressed me.

I emailed. They responded. They only represented non-fiction.

Bummer.

So, I sent letters begging agents to represent me. 11 letters (in the biz, we call them queries). 10 no thank you letters. 2 were encouraging. 1 said, “Yeah, I’m going to have to pass”. 1 never responded.

It was all good. One of the encouraging letters told me that the novel needed more work. So. That’s what I did. 6 more drafts of Paint Chips.

Well, we know what happened to my little novel. It was published. And now my second novel is in line to be released in January.

Still, I knew that I needed an agent. Someone to help me navigate the crazy world of publishing. Someone to hug me, kick my tuchas, keep me on schedule. An agent that would knock on doors on my behalf. Who could give my career a little boost.

And…

And…

I just signed a literary agreement with…

Credo Communications. My dream agency. I’ll be agented by Ann Byle (she is fabulous and wonderful and believes in me).

Sometimes when God puts a little dream in our heads, He just wants us to be patient. I think this was one of those instances. And it happened at just the right time.

Category: Uncategorized

27 Comments on “Credo”

  2. LOVE this little story:) Because that last line is so true. He puts those dreams there, He’s always working behind the scenes, and sometimes we just need patience. What a great encouragement today!

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  6. I’m doing a little happy dance, Susie! Ann always makes me want to hug her. She’s like a writer-mom. (Though far too young to be our mom.) You almost picture her welcoming you home after a long day of writing with fresh-baked chocolate chip ideas.

    Is there such a thing as Credo Sisterhood? If not, I think it should be initiated by us. 🙂

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      • Shannon: I was about to be offended until you said I was far too young to be your mom! Ha ha. As for the chocolate chip cookies, I do have a fine, fat-filled recipe for such things, though we often eat all the dough before actually making the cookies.

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  8. How wonderful is that? Congratulations. Love it when all the puzzle pieces fall into place. By the way. I really like the looks of this blog site. Clean and easy to read.

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    • First. I thought this was from my Dad…and wondered how he knew about the fruit cup…

      Second. Yup. Agented is one of those lingo terms used in the pub biz. Right along with slush pile. (shudder)

      Third. Thanks! Hooray for the fruit cup!

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