I sent another query out to an agent today, but in addition to the pitch, synopsis and sample pages most want, I found myself having to talk about myself as well. They wanted information about me as a writer, and what I wanted out of my writing career. The topic seemed simple enough, but it wasn't. I'd never really stopped to think about the "why" of any of it.
Since I was too little to even read by myself, it had just been a given. Books charmed me, and it had never crossed my mind that I couldn't, or shouldn't, make my own. Sure, I took some time off to live a different life, but I had come back because I knew that without it, I wasn't who I wanted to be.
But why had I written this particular book, for this particular age group? That's what they wanted to know. The truth was, I'd never even considered YA fiction before. So there must have been some reason that this was the story that finally came out. The question was: why? I had no idea.
When I sat down to write about it for the agent, what I put was that I'd written the book to give young adults the same experiences I'd had growing up--of staying up too late on a school night, reading a fun book I just couldn't put down, with a character I could relate to. The answer surprised me, because it was an honest one. Who knew?
As far as reasons went, it wasn't all that bad. Maybe, given my answer, I was on the right track after all.
What's playing: "Mr. Brightside," by The Killers.
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