Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews Kimberly R. Vargas

Success Story Interview - Kimberly R. Vargas

An Interview with Kimberly R. Vargas (KVargas0629 on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Jemiscoe Chambers-Black of Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

10/24/2023

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?: Kimberly R. Vargas:
THE DANCE is about a single mom who joins a cardio hip-hop class in a desperate attempt to lose weight and win back her estranged husband. But when the hot trainer of the hip-hop class recognizes her dancing abilities, the two become partners, both on and off the dance floor. It's a contemporary romance and women’s fiction with laughs, tears, and plenty of dancing.

I was inspired to write this story after watching a man and woman dancing together on social media. The woman was plus-size like me and killing it! And the mixture of comments she received—with plenty of shock—reminded me of my days in dance school and college when people would somehow be floored that I could keep up with the group and maintain some level of skill as a plus-size girl. Later, despite experiencing a significant weight loss as an adult and receiving compliments from everyone I knew, I found I still lacked self-confidence. No amount of external validation was going to change that. So, if I was going to be happy, I knew I’d have to change my mindset. THE DANCE is for anyone who struggles to believe they’re worthy of love just as much as anyone else.
QT: How long have you been writing?: Kimberly R. Vargas:
I’ve been writing in some element for a couple of decades now, but becoming a novelist has always been my dream—lots of short stories about me and my friends in junior high, a romantic play that I had the opportunity to direct in college. However, I’ve been committed to novel writing for 4 years now. I didn’t decide I was ready to query before this year.
QT: How long have you been working on this book?: Kimberly R. Vargas:
I completed my first draft of THE DANCE in early 2020. The story was there, but I knew it needed a lot more work. I let it rest while I worked on another manuscript. Returned to it about a year later, made some tweaks and let it rest again. Then I picked it back up in 2023 while querying another project. Suddenly, everything I needed fell into place. I made the most significant revisions to the character arcs and plot at this time. I’d say the final version before querying took about 5 months with breaks for feedback and a couple more revisions.
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: Kimberly R. Vargas:
I loved writing THE DANCE so much that I can’t think of a time that I wanted to give up on it while writing. The characters spoke to me even while working on other projects, so I couldn’t wait to return to them.

When it came to querying, there were plenty of times that I felt like giving up, which is saying a lot since I only queried this project about 5 weeks before receiving my first offer. Querying can be a roller coaster ride of emotions, especially with form rejections from agents. It can be difficult to know if the issue is your query, your book idea, or your writing style. Even with several positive reviews from voracious beta readers and receiving a full request from a well-known agent as my first response, my confidence was shaken with every pass. But the thought of walking away from my dream of becoming a traditionally published author felt even worse than pushing through the rejections, so I kept going. Just like with my body image issues, I had to shift my perspective: if an agent passed, they simply weren’t the one. I created a new file on my computer for each passing agent labeled NOT THE ONE. And when I found THE ONE, she got her own winning folder. :)
QT: Is this your first book?: Kimberly R. Vargas:
I completed 9 manuscripts (each between 80-100k words) before deciding to query THE DANCE. This is the 5th book in that group and the 2nd I chose to query.
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?: Kimberly R. Vargas:
I have a bachelor’s in English and creative writing, but a lot of what I’ve learned over the past 4 years has been self-taught. I’ve spent many hours devouring craft books, attending webinars, watching every YouTube video I could find. I also worked with professional freelance editors and authors who could pinpoint exactly where I was missing the mark in my craft, story structure, and character arcs. Even my betas pointed out things I never would’ve noticed. Good, quality feedback is so essential to the learning process.
QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?: Kimberly R. Vargas:
I’m a homeschooling mom, so most of my best writing gets done in the morning hours, before the sun is up! I’m a BIG plotter and I like to have my entire story outlined before I ever sit down to pound out the first draft. And my first draft is generally a fast one (6-8 weeks to complete), while my revisions can take a bit more time. I like to do any polishing in the late afternoon when I can comfortably read out loud in my bedroom while the kids are out playing.
QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?: Kimberly R. Vargas:
I’d say I had 1 significant re-write and 5 edits overall, with the final being a basic polish. Though I’m sure I’m only getting started!
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?: Kimberly R. Vargas:
I had about 10 good beta readers, all experienced to some degree. Lots of voracious readers (reading 100+ books a year) and a good number of professional editors and authors provided feedback on my opening pages. I also have a freelance editor who reads all my writing and gives incredible insight when it comes to developmental editing. She also was wonderful help when it came to nailing down my query and synopsis. Best investment I could’ve ever made.
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: Kimberly R. Vargas:
I cannot love plotting more. I plot the A story, B Story, C, D, and so on. I even plot the themes of my main character, love interest, and antagonist if necessary. I’ve told myself the story at least 3 times before I write a word of my first draft.
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?: Kimberly R. Vargas:
The first book I queried was out for maybe 5 months before I decided to shelve it and focus on preparing to query this one. THE DANCE was only out for 5 weeks before I received my first offer. I’m very blessed.
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: Kimberly R. Vargas:
I sent out about 40 queries for THE DANCE, and the last 10 felt like pushing it. I knew the exact types of agents I wanted to work with, and that meant being very targeted in my search. This is how I knew that the agent I ended up with was my dream agent. She was actually the first I queried on Labor Day! I’d been planning to wait until the day after Labor Day to begin querying, but I saw she was open and said, “Why not?”
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: Kimberly R. Vargas:
I focused on agents who appeared to work at a reputable agency, seemed to be doing well in sales (according to Publishers Marketplace), and had a manuscript wish list that seemed to match with the types of books I write. From the moment I read Jem’s MSWL I said, “She’d be perfect.”
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: Kimberly R. Vargas:
I did the best I could to tailor queries to agents’ manuscript wish lists on their agency website, manuscriptwishlist.com, or any other sources I could find. Some agents put very little out there, so sometimes I’d have to focus on their reputation and how I thought my writing might be a good fit for their list, saying something like, “I am delighted to introduce my manuscript, THE DANCE, for your consideration, given your impressive history of championing emotionally powerful narratives and engaging storytelling.”
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: Kimberly R. Vargas:
Stay positive, believe in yourself, and surround yourself with people who believe in you. Querying can mess with your head, and you have to trust that you are enough. This wasn’t always easy for me, but with plenty of love and support from others, I managed to keep going.

It was invaluable when I decided to note agents as NOT THE ONE rather than as a PASS or REJECTION. Even if I had to change a status to “REJECTED” on QT, I viewed it as THAT agent was unfortunately rejected, and not me. The one that was for me was for me, and that meant that everyone else had to step aside.

After shelving my first queried manuscript, I had a lot of doubts about my abilities as a writer, and that carried into my query journey for THE DANCE. I’d waited 3 years to put myself out there and fell flat on my face. Even once I’d received my first request for a call, I had a bit of impostor syndrome. But thankfully, I had great writing friends, an awesome mentor, and my #1 cheerleader (my husband) rooting for me, telling me I’d put in the work, and I’d earned this moment.
QT: Would you be willing to share your query with us?: Kimberly R. Vargas:
Absolutely. Another tip I’d give is that a little bit of personality can go a long way. A big difference between the query for THE DANCE and the first book were the efforts I made to make my voice stand out. I even sprinkled some humor in the synopsis, which is known for being dry. My book is funny, so shouldn’t the query be funny too?

Success Story Interview - Kimberly R. Vargas

Query Letter: