Success Story Interview - Jackie Lee Morrison

An Interview with Jackie Lee Morrison (jaxieslm on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Naomi Eisenbeiss of InkWell Management.

08/16/2024

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?

Jackie Lee Morrison:
My debut novel is set in the seventies and eighties in Hong Kong and follows the eldest daughter of the wealthy Yu Family, Evie, whose life is disrupted when her father is suddenly arrested on corruption charges. With the house under the control of her haughty and profligate mother, Evie is forced to confront her family's secrets and find the strength to break free from their cycle of shame or risk remaining trapped in the role of dutiful daughter forever.

The story is completely fictional but much of the colour is real, as these are based on real-life recollections from my family who grew up and lived in Hong Kong during the time period the manuscript is set. I was inspired to write it after a lifetime of hearing these stories! However, the themes and structure were strengthened when my father passed very suddenly in 2022, as the story then became a tribute both to him and the Hong Kong he'd grown up in. I wrote the last few chapters of the first draft in hotel quarantine in Hong Kong, waiting to go to his funeral.

QT: How long have you been writing?

Jackie Lee Morrison:
I've been writing since I was very young and won a few writing competitions when I was a teenager, but, as so often happens, life took me in a different direction and I ended up taking a decade-long break, during which I retrained and worked as a professional pastry chef in high-end and Michelin-starred restaurants, as well as owned a micro-bakery and specialist dessert café. I only came back to writing in 2021 when I did a creative writing course with one of my favourite authors (and mentors), Elizabeth Knox, at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. I realised that this was what had been missing from my life for all those years, applied for and was accepted into their Master's programme, and now, two years later, here we are!

QT: How long have you been working on this book?

Jackie Lee Morrison:
I had the idea for this novel in 2021, then wrote the first draft during my Master's in 2022. I completed a second and third draft in 2023, which is what I ended up querying, and will now be working on revisions until likely the end of the year, when I'll hopefully go on submission to publishers!

QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?

Jackie Lee Morrison:
Goodness, yes. I told my husband at least five times that everything I'd written was awful and I was going to burn it all down! Luckily, I have an excellent support network of friends, family, and other authors, who all told me to just keep going. It was particularly helpful when my author friends told me that this was part of the process and meant that I was on the right track!

QT: Is this your first book?

Jackie Lee Morrison:
Yes, though I have a number of short stories, essays, and articles that have been published.

QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

Jackie Lee Morrison:
Yes, I hold a Master's in Creative Writing from the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?

Jackie Lee Morrison:
I confess, I am not much of an early bird! But I am at my most productive when I have a good solid few hours to sit down and write, whether that's in the morning, the afternoon, or late at night. I always say my writing routine is a bit more like a séance, as I always light a candle and play the same playlist (Lofi Girl on YouTube!) to get me in the mood! I think after four years of this, it's just become a habit which prepares my brain for writing time (and really, consistent writing is all about forming habits). I'm also a big fan of Zoom writing sprints, and have two good friends I often write with, without whom I probably would never have finished my novel!

QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?

Jackie Lee Morrison:
I did three full drafts of the novel before I started querying, but there was a lot of editing in between!

QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

Jackie Lee Morrison:
Yes, I had five official beta readers for the "final" version of my manuscript before I started querying, but before that point I also had feedback from my Master's class (nine other people) in the early stages of the first draft, my mentor who worked with me for two years through the first and second draft, three reports from my mentor, the university-affiliated publisher, and an external examiner at the end of my Master's, and a paid manuscript assessment.

All this to say that when writing a novel it's very important to get feedback!

QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?

Jackie Lee Morrison:
While I'm generally a pantser when it comes to short stories, with longer work I'm definitely more of a plotter. Because this manuscript has quite a lot going on, I did a general outline, and then for each chapter I did a mini outline for what I needed to happen at that moment.

However, the biggest lesson for me when writing was to pause and allow myself to consider the possibilities. During my first draft, it was created in a micro-environment with a lot of time pressure, and so I just dove in and wrote furiously, but that meant I was pretty gung-ho about sticking to my outline. With my second and third draft, I really stepped back and considered all of the what ifs, and that made it a much stronger manuscript.

QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?

Jackie Lee Morrison:
This is the first book I've ever queried and I was extremely lucky and found my agent in two months!

QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?

Jackie Lee Morrison:
I sent 52 queries in total. For a further breakdown: I had 27 no responses, 23 rejections, 5 full requests, 2 partial requests, 2 offers of representation, and 1 awesome agent!

QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?

Jackie Lee Morrison:
I was looking for agents who were interested in BIPOC stories and authors primarily, represented my genre (of course!), and were looking for upmarket fiction. I used Manuscript Wishlist to make a shortlist of agents who were interested in themes in my manuscript (which are also general themes in my writing), and then cross-checked with their agency websites.

QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?

Jackie Lee Morrison:
Yes, to a certain extent. I did a lot of research on the individual agents I queried and had a personalised paragraph of my query letter which told them what I was looking for in an agent and why I felt my manuscript would be a good fit for their list.

QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?

Jackie Lee Morrison:
1. Query your best draft, not your first draft.
2. Take the time to get your query letter right. Get other eyes on it and keep it snappy!
3. Be patient and keep the faith! You just need one yes.