Thread by @truesarahsmith

@virtwriting Hello @virtwriting and all the #VWG crew. My path to agented bliss😃took some hard work & masses of help from a lot of talented, generous people. As well as a touch of serendipity, that I’ll get to later…#HowIGotMyAgent 1/17

@virtwriting I’m going to start my story long before I began querying with my current novel, Hear No Evil. Why? Because, if I don’t, my path to representation looks too easy & you’ll all hate me.😠Don't worry I don't go as far back as my Brownie Writer Badge😬#HowIGotMyAgent 2/17

@virtwriting I turned 50🧓& realised I needed help to galvanise myself & the writing. I took a year off work & did an MLitt @UofGWriting. I was determined to get my money’s worth so, in contrast to my undergraduate career 30 years before, I gave it my all. #HowIGotMyAgent 3/17

@virtwriting @UofGWriting I’d published poems & short stories & The Partick Dinosaurs was long listed for the Times/Chicken House Prize. I’d queried in a lacklustre way & felt hurt by the rejections. I see now that the manuscript needed feedback, editing & more self-belief on my part. #HowIGotMyAgent 4/17

@virtwriting @UofGWriting The MLitt was a joy, a challenge, a revelation & full of practical advice. We were tasked with writing a draft query letter & synopsis to an agent of our choice. Someone who might like our work, so I did some research…🤓 #HowIGotMyAgent 5/17

@virtwriting @UofGWriting I’d loved Sarah Perry’s The Essex Serpent & chose to write to her agent. I was writing literary fiction & my subject matter was historical crime inspired by a real event. I thought it might be a good fit and it was just pretend, anyway!🤷‍‍#HowIGotMyAgent 6/17

@virtwriting @UofGWriting When I handed in my final MLitt submission🥂, I’d got to grips with the concept & written 20k words. I fannied about for a couple of months, half-heartedly back at work & haphazardly writing but feeling like I’d been cut adrift from my pals. @UofGWriting🙁 #HowIGotMyAgent 7/17

@virtwriting @UofGWriting Pulled myself together & signed up to a weekend course on getting published @CovePark run by an agent & publisher. Advice and networking🍻& a 121 where I got honest & thorough feedback on my synopsis & first pages of my novel. #HowIGotMyAgent 8/17

@virtwriting @UofGWriting @CovePark In Dec 2018, I got a phone-call from @scottishbktrust to say I'd a New Writers Award for 2019. A bursary & a whole year of support. I’d applied back in June in a 3rd time lucky, last ditch attempt. I was over the moon!💃💃💃#HowIGotMyAgent 9/17

@virtwriting @UofGWriting @CovePark @scottishbktrust With the help of the Scottish Book Trust, especially the wonderful @LynseyRogers😍, I spent most of 2019 writing the book. At key points throughout the year, some agents got in touch to say they liked the sound of my novel. That kept me going! #HowIGotMyAgent 10/17

@virtwriting @UofGWriting @CovePark @scottishbktrust @LynseyRogers By the time I read at the New Writers Award Showcase in Jan 2020, I’d completed a few drafts of the novel & was busy working with my amazing mentor @zoestrachan🤩🤩🤩 to make it as good as I could before sending it out. #HowIGotMyAgent 11/17

@virtwriting @UofGWriting @CovePark @scottishbktrust @LynseyRogers @zoestrachan By now I had 8 agents that had read extracts & requested the full. One had been in touch a couple of times to ask how I was getting on. That kept me going! I finished the latest draft & sent it out to all of them at the beginning of July.📥🤞 #HowIGotMyAgent 12/17

@virtwriting @UofGWriting @CovePark @scottishbktrust @LynseyRogers @zoestrachan I thought it would take weeks, months even, until I got any responses. But 10 days later, Jenny Hewson from @LandRAgency, who had sent me a couple of encouraging emails back in 2019, got in touch. She thought it was ‘terrific’😲 & wanted to have a meeting! #HowIGotMyAgent 13/17

@virtwriting @UofGWriting @CovePark @scottishbktrust @LynseyRogers @zoestrachan @LandRAgency Jenny had lots to say about my book & it felt fantastic to have that interest & expertise. I really liked her & when she made an offer of representation, I wanted to bite her hand off. But she was very professional & said take a few days & think it over.😁 #HowIGotMyAgent 14/17

@virtwriting @UofGWriting @CovePark @scottishbktrust @LynseyRogers @zoestrachan @LandRAgency I agonised over what to do. Should I wait to see if any of the other agents got in touch? My gut instinct was to accept Jenny’s offer - it seemed perfect. It was all completely uncharted territory, but I decided to take a leap of faith & go for it. 🤝🍾#HowIGotMyAgent 15/17

@virtwriting @UofGWriting @CovePark @scottishbktrust @LynseyRogers @zoestrachan @LandRAgency By mid-August this year, I’d begun work on a new draft to get Hear No Evil ready for Jenny to submit to publishers. That process is a whole other story, but it led to Hear No Evil finding its publishing home though it's under strict embargo for now! #HowIGotMyAgent 16/17

@virtwriting @UofGWriting @CovePark @scottishbktrust @LynseyRogers @zoestrachan @LandRAgency And remember that theoretical task I did on the MLitt way back in 2017? Had you forgotten about that? I had! But guess who Sarah Perry’s agent is! 🔮🤣#HowIGotMyAgent 17/17