NaNoWriMo :: NaNoWriMo Blog

"Even cooler? It was from the agent who represented the book I'd passed so many times on that young adult shelf."

"After unsuccessful attempts at NaNoWriMo 2004 and 2005, I didn't think I was going to participate in 2006. But in the time between, I started working at a bookstore. Everyday I would pass a certain book in our young adult section and the cover never failed to catch my eye. One day, I broke down and bought it. I read it in one sitting. When I finished I decided that was the kind of book I wanted to write.

When NaNoWriMo 2006 rolled around, I parked my butt in front of the computer and started to write. I'd love to tell you I was a winner that year... but I wasn't. However, I didn't stop writing when November ended. Or December. Or January. Or, well, you get the picture. I didn't finish that first draft until the end of July 2007, but I finished it.

I spent the next two months revising and polishing and by the end of September, I had a manuscript I felt comfortable sending to literary agents. My first queries went out the first week of October and just after Thanksgiving, I received an offer of representation. Even cooler? It was from the agent who represented the book I'd passed so many times on that young adult shelf.

My agent was in the process of leaving her agency to hang her own shingle, so I spent the holidays doing revisions for her. On February 1st she opened for business and mine was one of the first manuscripts she sent out on submission to publishers. Three weeks later, Delacorte Press bought my book.

I'm in revisions with my editor right now, but we're shooting for a release date of Fall 2009 or Spring 2010. Either way, look for My Way Or The Highway...coming soon to a bookstore near you!

(P.S. Querying, revising and selling my first novel didn't leave me much time to participate in NaNoWriMo 2007, but I'm in for 2008. Who knows? Maybe I'll start AND finish book number two!)

(P.P.S. If you're curious about that book I read? It's 13 Little Blue Envelopes by the super-talented Maureen Johnson. Go read. I'll wait here.)"

—Trish Doller

Trish writes novels for young adults. She lives in South Florida.

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