How I Got My Agent: Laura Spinella

"How I Got My Agent" is a recurring feature on the GLA blog. Some tales are of long roads and many setbacks, while others are of good luck and quick signings. 

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A JOB VS. A CALLING

Hi, my name is Laura, and I’m a writer. Even with a debut novel at hand, uttering those words aloud smacks of an AA meeting. Interestingly enough, I have a degree in journalism. I’ve written for newspapers and magazines for years. But those were jobs. Novelist is a calling. And while I was working my way to here, I’d be more apt to describe myself as somebody’s mother, writer following like the caboose on a train. It’s cute, it’s red, it’s irrelevant to the train’s function.

We were in Las Vegas about six years ago. I’d just completed my second novel, and before leaving received a request from a big time publisher, asking to read the full manuscript. Bursting on the inside, I still couldn’t manage an audible outward conversation. When the woman with whom we were dining—a business associate of my husband who I did not know—asked what I did for a living, I shoved a bite of salad into my mouth and mumbled, “I’m a writer.” In turn, she crinkled her brow, smiled, and asked, “What kind of horses do you ride?” I don’t know the difference between an Arabian and a pack mule, but I managed to carry on the rest of conversation as if I were Annie Oakley.

INVIGORATED BY A POSITIVE REJECTION

Not too many weeks later, I received what’s known as a positive rejection letter from the big time publisher. Really, it was exactly what I needed. I wasn’t ready for publication. After a small but moving pity party, I went back to work, back to practicing on paper, as well as into the mirror, the profession I claimed. I wrote two more books, and read a bunch more. I got better; I learned.

I went to writers’ conferences. I met people who know more than I ever will about the written word. I gathered a shoebox full of rejections, some form letters, some bearing the proverbial dangling carrot: “We really enjoyed this, but are going to pass…” I lived off them. And I’ll be honest, many encouraged me, but some ticked me off so much I used them as fuel for my fire.

AN AGENT'S REVISIONS LEAD TO AN OFFER

I got an e-mail from Susan Ginsburg, an agent at Writers House. She was intrigued by the draft, but
ultimately rejected it. Because I asked, Susan very graciously
suggested possible revisions. I resubmitted about a year later, and off
we went with almost an immediate offer from Berkley.

Concerning Writers House, I have to say it's an awe-inspiring place that will push you to strive for the next level. I am a writer—wait, strike that. I am a published author. There, that almost sounded fluid. I understand that the guarantee of success is nil, and what I’ve been awarded is an at bat in the literary big leagues. But I will say this about my book: Beautiful Disaster is a tale about what happens when love is greater than honor or friendship or the passing of time. I hope you enjoy it.

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