Success Story Interview - Sarah Flocken

An Interview with Sarah Flocken (sarahflocken on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Nick Mullendore of Vertical Ink Agency.

10/09/2024

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

Sarah Flocken:
I came up with the seeds of the idea for this book during a writing exercise I did in a class I took called "How to Start a Novel" through UCSD Extension. After I had outlined my first draft and sketched out characters, I wanted to see how far I could take it. Eight drafts later, here I am!

QT: How long have you been writing?

Sarah Flocken:
More than 20+ years? I was one of those bookish kids who wanted to be a writer from the minute they could hold a pencil. I’ve written a lot, both professionally and personally. But life, work, and imposter syndrome got the way of me writing anything book-length until October 2019.

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

Sarah Flocken:
Four years and nine months, so far. I went through eight drafts and I had eight beta readers read various versions of it.

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

Sarah Flocken:
I don't think I ever felt like I wanted to give up on the book entirely, at least while I was writing it. I think it was the opposite: I wanted to prove to myself and others that I could finish what I started. When I was querying, I'll admit that I did a lot of mental preparation for a scenario in which I didn't get any interest from agents. However, I did promise myself that I would query at least 100 agents before I took a different route or re-evaluated.

QT: Is this your first book?

Sarah Flocken:
Yes!

QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

Sarah Flocken:
I have a masters degree in English literature, and have a lot of experience with creative writing, but no, I don't have an MFA or anything like that. I have, however, done a lot of writing craft education outside of a formal university setting.

QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?

Sarah Flocken:
Ha! That's a fun question. The answer is "sometimes." In theory, I like to say that, per Stephen King's advice in "On Writing," you should write every single day. I usually try to work like that, but unfortunately, life gets in the way sometimes. We all have work, family, responsibilities, and other unexpected things life throws at us. Writing every single day is a worthy goal, though, and doing it for just 15 minutes a day is easily attainable for the most part. Even if it's only 15 minutes after work or between Zoom meetings, it still counts for something.

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

Sarah Flocken:
I went through eight drafts over the course of four years and nine-ish months.

QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

Sarah Flocken:
Yes! They're wonderful people.

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

Sarah Flocken:
I'm a "plantser," or a combination of plotter and pantser. I had a loose outline with a lot of blank space and placeholders when I started this book, but then I just sort of wrote to see what would happen. Obviously a lot in the plot changed throughout eight drafts, and much of that had to be pantsed, or written from the hip. However, toward the end, re-outlining and drafting accordingly was what really helped keep me on track. Basically, as with all things in life, it's worked for me to find a happy medium between the two.

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

Sarah Flocken:
I spent about three months querying this book.

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

Sarah Flocken:
55.

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

Sarah Flocken:
I didn’t do everything exactly by the book when it came to querying my first novel. I went to writers conferences before I had a draft I was fully satisfied with, mostly to network and pitch agents in-person. I attended/pitched agents at the Women's Fiction Writers Association (WFWA) 10th Anniversary Conference in Chicago in September 2023, the 2024 San Diego Writing Workshop in April of this year, and the 2024 Writing Conference of Los Angeles in May.

In addition to sending formal queries to the agents I met at conferences who had requested pages once I started formally querying in July 2024, I searched for agents to query online, using a combination of Manuscript Wish List, QueryTracker, and Publishers Marketplace. I also participated in the WFWA Pitch Program, which helped me hone the 75-word pitch for my book and subsequently get in front of agents who were looking for what I was writing.

As far as the criteria I used, I mostly looked for agents who would not only represent my genre, but also seemed to have a sense of humor. I did a lot of searches for things like "millennial," "unhinged," "wellness culture," and other terms that applied to my book.

Spoiler: I found the information for Nick, the agent I signed with, by using the Publishers Marketplace Agent Matcher search. It’s a really cool way to see which agents might be interested in your work based on the description of your manuscript.

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

Sarah Flocken:
Yes! It's so important to do that. I looked at each agent's profile and made notes on what they were looking for. I made sure to call that out, plus how my book aligned with those things, in the opening sentences of my query letter.

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

Sarah Flocken:
- Be kind to yourself, and don't take anything personally.

- Be kind to others. Don't snark online. This whole process is frustrating sometimes, but it's really important to not burn bridges.

- Talk about your book to anyone who will listen! One fun side effect of this is that people will start telling you about the books they've been dreaming of writing, or secretly working on, and you'll deepen friendships with people you otherwise wouldn't have pegged as writers. Another fun side effect: you'll build community with other writers who can give you helpful advice. You also never know who people know.

- Don't feel like you need to query on a set schedule, or in a certain way. For example, I didn't follow the "batch" method, but instead sent queries in a steady drip, one or two a day, whatever I had time for.

- Even if you're someone who doesn't like public speaking or talking to strangers, it's so valuable to go to conferences and meet agents in person, if you can. If anything, this reminds you that they are humans with their own priorities, needs, pressures, and cluttered inboxes, just like the rest of us.

QT: Would you be willing to share your query with us?

Sarah Flocken:
Yes! Below is the letter I sent to Nick, shared with his permission and mine.

Query Letter:

Dear Nick,

I understand you’re selective about the fiction you take on, and that you’re only seeking projects that maintain the fine balance between “literary” and “literate,” with some commercial sensibility. Hopefully I’m the right author with the right story to land in your inbox today. My name is Sarah Flocken, and I’m a nationally competitive punner, comedian, and public relations professional. I’m seeking representation for BE WELL, my debut 83,500-word adult upmarket fiction novel set during the Great Recession. BE WELL is a relatable, humorous take on the coming-of-age story that explores how easy it is to believe in something unquestioningly–and lie to ourselves and others–when the future feels uncertain. BE WELL features the wellness and self-improvement culture satire of Self Care by Leigh Stein and The Glow by Jessie Gaynor, with a dash of “L.A. student loan noir” a’la the 2022 film Emily the Criminal.

It’s the summer of 2009. Despite sending nearly three hundred applications, recent college graduate Ann Ward can’t find a job with a salary high enough to pay off her loans and stay in Los Angeles–let alone move to an expensive new dream apartment with her best friend Lindsay, or at least give Lindsay the money she owes her. Ann is desperate to avoid going back to her desert hometown of Blanco Valley, where she’d live in the shadow of her fame-hungry televangelist father with her burnout brother and divorced, world-weary mother, who is at risk of losing her house. After a failed job interview at the city’s Natural History Museum, Ann meets Tori, the magnetic founder of Sagebrush, an upscale but shambolically run holistic wellness center. Ann is quickly drawn into the privileged, crunchy world of Sagebrush, which offers her an aspirational sense of community, plus a sense of confidence that boosts both her job search and a burgeoning flirtation with a museum security guard, so she invents a new persona to fit in. When her father reveals that a loan from him requires a live broadcast baptism and other terms Ann can’t abide by, she throws her faith into the Sagebrush lifestyle and crystal healing sessions, doing increasingly questionable (and criminal) things to maintain her Sagebrush membership. But when her funds run out, a job interview isn’t what she thought, and her lies blow up, Ann must choose between facing reality or doing whatever she thinks it takes to achieve the future she wants.

During my graduate studies in literature at the University of Edinburgh, I performed in a sketch comedy show at the Festival Fringe while writing my master’s thesis about women in comedy. I’m the owner of a PR business in San Diego, a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and the host of Pundemonium! San Diego’s Only Pun Competition. In May 2024, I won MVP at the national O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships in Austin, TX. I regularly perform with two improv groups in addition to doing plenty of yoga. My writing journey is chronicled in my Substack newsletter, What the Flock?

Thank you for your time and consideration. Below is a more detailed synopsis of BE WELL. May I send the full manuscript?

Sincerely,

Sarah Flocken