Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews Linda Hamilton

Success Story Interview - Linda Hamilton

An Interview with Linda Hamilton (lindahamiltonwriter on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Rachel Crawford of Wolf Literary Services.

06/05/2023

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?: Linda Hamilton:
My book is a historical Gothic horror called The Fourth Wife. It's Mexican Gothic meets a dark Sister Wives. Imagine a creepy, classic Gothic with a scary house, things that go bump in the night, and lots of secrets––but with Mormon polygamists! This story is inspired by my own ancestors and religious heritage, and I wanted to shed light on an often buried past of silenced women. In this story, the obvious horrors are nightmares and ghosts, but the true horror causing all of the madness is the oppressive patriarchy.

My twitter pitch: When Hazel becomes a fourth wife, she discovers a sinister force lurking the halls of her husband’s decrepit mansion. She must discover the deadly secret the house wants her to know before death comes for her or her sister wives.
QT: How long have you been writing?: Linda Hamilton:
I've been writing since I was a kid, but I didn't truly sit down and decide to do the darn thing until 2020. I've written 3.5 books since then.
QT: How long have you been working on this book?: Linda Hamilton:
THe Fourth Wife is my 3rd completed book. I started it initially to distract myself while querying book 2, which I was thoroughly convinced would be "the one." Overall, it took me about six months to completely draft and edit, but I made significant revisions after entering the querying trenches with it.
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: Linda Hamilton:
All the time! I think it was that inner kid in me that always dreamed of being a writer that pushed me to keep going. I also made the goal of querying five books fully before I stopped and truly considered giving up. I'm a goal-oriented person and having that set number in mind really helped me stay focused.
QT: Is this your first book?: Linda Hamilton:
This is the third book I've completed and queried.
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?: Linda Hamilton:
Nothing formal, but I did hire an editor with book 1 and that helped me immensely! I thought I knew what I was doing––but I definitely did not. She taught me SO much about writing and book 2 and 3 were so much better because of it.
QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?: Linda Hamilton:
Nothing too formal, but I do love deadlines/goals. I'm very motivated by goals and timelines! It helps me stay on track and stay accountable. When I am actively drafting, I write one scene/chapter every day M-F. I also set a soft deadline for myself to finish that draft by, usually 4-6 weeks out. I never reread as I draft and I'm willing to write a very messy first draft haha. I'd rather be done than perfect the first round. Once it's written down, it's way easier (and way more fun!) for me to play around in the world and fix things. For edits, I generally follow the same rough schedule and set goals for when I want to be done with certain parts. This takes much longer than the initial draft and I revise multiple times. I feel like setting the goal of one chapter/scene a day really helps me focus and feel accomplished.
QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?: Linda Hamilton:
So many times I've definitely lost count! I wrote a messy but quick first draft (zero draft). Then, I went through and thoroughly edited. I gave it to early readers to get feedback on the initial story, then did another full round of deep edits. Then it went back to beta readers. More revisions and editing! At this point, I was a little overly excited and I started querying. Initially, I received several requests right away but all came back rejected. Thankfully, a couple of agents took the time to give me detailed feedback and I was able to use that advice to rework parts of the book, mainly the beginning. So I did another full edit, gave it to more readers, and did more revisions.

I sent out more queries and did more pitch contests and it moved into a very quiet lull. I became convinced that this book was dying already and felt very discouraged, so I started working on another very different book to keep myself from spiraling in anxiety. After finishing a draft of that new idea, I decided to return to Fourth Wife and do some more revisions to tighten it up. Back out to more agents. At last, I received a response for a full! That turned into an R&R, which turned into more revisions, which turned into an offer. And then another offer!

So basically, don't be afraid to rewrite and edit.
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?: Linda Hamilton:
Absolutely, several rounds. I felt like I got the best feedback from betas who were writers themselves.
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: Linda Hamilton:
I had a rough outline of about 25 scenes that I felt were crucial to the plot. I'm not great at pantsing for the original draft.
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?: Linda Hamilton:
I queried my first book in 2021. However, after sending to only about 25 agents, I had the strong gut feeling that this book wasn't right for the current market but the next book I was working on was, so I stopped actively querying book 1. Book 2 went out in early 2022 and it's been actively queried right up until I received the offer on book 3. I sent book 2 out to over 100 agents and received 12 requests, which I'm super proud of. None turned into offers but I'm extremely proud of book 2 and all I learned about querying and writing through it. Book 3 went out into the trenches in August 2022. Yes, I did query two books very actively at once, but I didn't feel it was too hard. I just had to use querytracker very carefully to make sure I was keeping track of where each one was and which agencies were already considering a full before I sent the other. So in all, book 3 was in the trenches for about 10 months.
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: Linda Hamilton:
I sent out 89 queries for The Fourth Wife and it wasn't until I reached the very tail end that I received the offer.
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: Linda Hamilton:
I spent a lot of time searching MSWL and Querytracker for agents, as well as Twitter. The main things I looked for were: genre, previous sales, reputable agency, and if they asked specifically for something in my book on their MSWL. I knew I had to try more new agents with this current query market, so I wasn't afraid to send to agents without sales as long as they came from a reputable agency that would offer good mentorship. Overall, for this book I received the most interest from agents specifically looking for Gothic horror, but there were a few surprises in there too.
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: Linda Hamilton:
I only tailored the query if there was something very specific on their MSWL that I wanted to highlight that wouldn't be obvious from the first few pages, or if it was a pitch contest request or referral. Otherwise, the majority of the queries were not tailored at all. I feel like agents know their own genres and what they want, so there's no need to repeat back to them that you're querying because they rep fantasy. In general, I think if there's a true specific reason you want to send them, mention it. Otherwise, just send as is (with their personal name of course!).
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: Linda Hamilton:
If I had a time machine and I could go back and give my earlier self advice, this is what I'd say:

1. Read current books in your genre before and during writing. My first book wasn't written well for the current market and that's because I hadn't read a current book in years when I wrote it. Book 2 I was active on BookTok/Bookstagram and reading constantly, and it made book 2 not only better suited for the market, but overall just better! Reading helps your writing SO much even if you don't realize it.

2. Get help early. Book 1 was a mess and I honestly didn't know it for a long time because I just didn't know what I didn't know. Hiring an editor who coached me saved my writing. Get beta readers, critique partners, editors, coaches, whoever works for you to review your writing.

3. Find mean beta readers. Friends and family are awesome readers but generally won't be as critical in the ways you need to improve. Once I stopped using just friends to read my books and found true critique partners in the writing community who were willing to tell me the truth, my manuscripts improved a lot.

4. Don't be afraid to continue to edit/revise as you're querying. I was afraid to touch book 2 once it went into the trenches and in retrospect, I can see that it suffered early on because of it. Keep editing and revising where needed. Don't be afraid to let it sit for a bit, then go back and do a full read through to see what you may notice. Beta readers help and taking agent advice if you receive any. Your book can grow with you as you learn and improve.

5. Opening pages are critical. Get tough feedback on them and don't be afraid to change them if it's not working.

6. Query in batches and don't send to all your top agents in the first batch. You're going to revise as you query, so if you send to all the top agents first, they'll never get the chance to see it when it's improved.

7. As a debut author, do everything you can to get your MS under 100k. I know this may be controversial! But in this competitive market, agents aren't jumping at high word count books for debuts. Book 2 requests went up significantly when I revised and brought down the word count.

Success Story Interview - Linda Hamilton

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