Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews JR Creaden

Success Story Interview - JR Creaden

An Interview with JR Creaden (Utopiandreams on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Sheldon Fogelman of Sheldon Fogelman Agency.

12/11/2023

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?: JR Creaden:
It’s an upper middle grade contemporary fantasy about neurodivergent orphans who team up with a house of witches that run a rescue center for magical creatures to save their missing siblings and maybe the world.

I had toyed with several other middle grade projects but none had enough heart to keep my interest. Then I realized I was fighting writing about what I really wanted to—young autistic artists getting their needs met—when this world and set of characters just clicked into place.

Initially I tried to sway a critique partner into cowriting, but when I found out that I was already committed to the synopsis I’d created on my own (and wasn’t able to emotionally let go of it), I revamped the idea to be a solo project. (And my CP is delighted with the result!)
QT: How long have you been writing?: JR Creaden:
I’ve been writing all my life—poetry, songs, essays, and stories. This is my fifth completed novel. My third completed book launches next spring! I had an agent for that one, but we parted ways and I sold it myself.
QT: How long have you been working on this book?: JR Creaden:
I wrote a first chapter and synopsis for this in 2020, then forgot about it while revising my adult debut. On a whim, I entered the first chapter into a contest in 2021, and it won first place! I decided then that I had to see it through. I spent nine months drafting and revising, took a break before running betareads, and spent six months querying.
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: JR Creaden:
I queried almost 200 agents, so there were a LOT of times I felt like giving up! I’d never seen numbers as poor as mine on anything that succeeded, but my readers were adamant that this story was something very special, and new things are hard sells even when they’re wonderful. Also my rejections on fulls were so subjective; it was clearly the match that wasn’t working, not “the work” itself, so I made it a habit to keep sending the next query without worrying about my tower of “no”s. If my Yes didn’t happen, then I’d shelve the book and query the next project in line.

The day before the offer email arrived, I had actually just thrown in the towel and announced I was through sending more queries. My family and CPs rallied around me, reminding me how special this project was— saying “if agents don’t see it yet, they’re wrong,” they said—and that my queries/requests weren’t going to just disappear from inboxes because I was having a rough day. The next day: SURPRISE!
QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?: JR Creaden:
I write and edit full-time, but I’m very loose (and auDHD) about my schedule, operating in multiple “jogs” (never sprints—I don’t need that stress) a day, in which words may or may not happen. Sometimes I write a scene or two a day, with as many as twenty thousand words, but more often I write a chapter a week. Plot point chapters usually happen over the course of several weeks, while I stew and daydream and stare at the page. Luckily, I edit much faster than I draft, though my drafts tend to be very clean anyway.

I believe that words take the time they take, and the longer my brain needs to come up with an answer to a story problem, the more interesting that answer tends to be. I don’t consider these breaks to be blocks; my brain is simply working on a solution while I do other things.
QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?: JR Creaden:
My first draft, though I loved it, wasn’t working for me, and betareaders had very mixed reactions. I realized that my stakes were too high too fast for the age category, so even what was working wasn’t fitting the vision I had for a “fun, immersive fantasy.”

I broke that draft in half, so that my revision had an entirely new A and B plot line, making my former midpoint the new climax. This allowed the draft to breathe and gave me so much more room to play with the characters, world, and setting! One more betaround, revision, and edit, then it was off to agents!
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: JR Creaden:
I outline and draft in a weird rhythm of stops and starts. I find that if I outline more than one major plot point ahead that I end up redoing it anyway, so I only have a vague sense of far plot points with a clear character in mind, then I do step outlines for a third of the story before writing, then outline again. This keeps my interest and motivation high.
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: JR Creaden:
Total of queries sent for this project: 195. I had 40 CNRs, 115 passes, and 10 requests before offer nudges. People who see these numbers gasp and assure me there are NOT that many agents for this age/genre, but there are. I still had 70 agents left on my list that I’d have been happy to query who accept my age/category—they were either closed or another agent in their agency had my materials still.
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: JR Creaden:
I wasn’t overly selective, especially since middle grade fantasy is having a lull right now in the market. If an agent took middle grade (whether or not they listed fantasy), and they weren’t on my do-not-query list, I gave them a shot.
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: JR Creaden:
Absolutely, every one of those 195 queries was tailored for each submission. It wasn’t always feasible to have a personalization line, but I paid attention to each agent’s submission guidelines and made sure my materials fit what they were asking for. If they wanted only three paragraphs and a short bio—they got it. If their form had specific questions they wanted answered, I answered them.

I kept a detailed document to streamline my process, so that I could quickly sort through various lengths of queries, materials, query manager form information—anything that I might need was all in that document for me to easily cut and paste without stressing over new answers.
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: JR Creaden:
Get organized and treat the process like searching for a job. Don’t get attached, even to full requests or referrals—you’re just as likely to receive silence or form passes on those as any cold query.

AND KEEP BUSY!!! If you can get involved in another project—great! If you can’t, then do something else to keep your mind off the waiting. It’s totally OK to take a break completely and let your creative juices recharge!

Success Story Interview - JR Creaden

Query Letter: