Diana, it is indeed a fantasy set on a made-up world. I picked up the term from Sarah Monette’s LiveJournal, I think.

Congrats on your deal that’s awesome!

Harry Connolly: That is the very model of how to do it. And thanks for mentioning how long it took. I think many people starting out are unaware that publishing is the opposite of greased lightning.

Congrats, on your deal!

Diana: As far as I know it’s a synonym for epic or high fantasy. Takes place in a world with a history unrelated to our own.

I did it through the query route. I started with Agentquery.com, double checked at the Background and Bewares board at AbsoluteWrite, checked Writer Beward and Preditors and Editors.

Then I googled each agent’s name along with the word “scam” to see if anyone accused them of something unseemly. I also googled each of them with the word “interview” to see if they rep what I want to write. For instance, one agent had “fantasy” listed among the genres she accepts, but said she’s not really interested in second-world fantasy, which I plan to write someday. I went to my agent list and changed the font color of her name to red so I’d know not to query her (I learned that taking names off the list was a bad idea, since I would start researching them all over again).

In the end, I had three agents who offered to represent me. The one I signed with, Caitlin Blasdell, didn’t have a big web presence–no interviews, no blog, nothing–but I liked her line up of authors and I liked the answers she gave to my questions.

Anyway, it took from June, when I started workshopping my query and researching agents, to December when I finally signed. Everything to do with writing takes forever!

I have a long time burning question for you: When I read MAGIC OR MADNESS when it first came out, I read your publishing story on your website and was curious about HOW you came to pitch the series to Eloise Flood at Razorbill. You mention it again today – and I’m still very curious! How did you know her to be able to pitch your project in person in such detail? Even those 10 minute *pitch* sessions at conferences wouldn’t have led to that – but maybe it did.

Thank you!

Kimberley,
who just sold a 3 book deal to Scholastic in November!

I’m very relieved to hear that your novel is a work of pure genius and thus guaranteed to get a huge advance and outsell the bible. It’s always good to be ahead of the game.

I haven’t been down the querying road. I haven’t finished my first novel yet, but I’m getting within sight of the end and thinking I should start planning ahead to the next step.

As for the value of contacts: I’ve been friends for 20 years with one of the most influential editors in the genre. I’ve written four short stories and novelettes, and submitted every one of them to him. He’s rejected every one of them. We’re still friends. And he still hasn’t bought anything I’ve written.

I know the odds on selling first novels but *my* novel is wonderful. And I’ve been a professional journalist for 25 years; I hope that writing experience will give me a head start on getting the novel published right out of the gate. And that it’ll make $10 million. And that Steve Jobs will like it so much that he’ll come to my house and personally deliver one of the new 17″ MacBook Pros, along with a vanilla soy latte.