I’m inspired by and aligned with Jessica’s vision to uplift the voices of marginalized authors. I feel like Jessica walks the talk and leads from the heart, and I’m so impressed with the authors who’ve worked with the BookEnds team to date.
Where can readers find you on the web and social media?
Describe your experience with “The Call.” What do you write? When did the agent catch you? What was it like to get the call of your agent offering on your book/work? How long had you been querying/submitting, etc? Share as much as you’d like!
“If you don’t receive a response in 12 weeks, assume it’s a pass.” I read this on a prospective agent’s website as I was reviewing submission guidelines the night before I planned to begin querying and said to my husband, “Is this a joke? This proposal that I’ve been working on for two years, that has lived in my soul, been a source of inspiration, obsession, frustration, and life, might not even receive a response after waiting for three solid…months?”
I took a deep breath, remembered my motto EFWO (Everything F*cking Works Out), and chose to believe that it would all unfold exactly as it was supposed to. I’d identified 41 potential agents and planned to query them in batches of ten per week to pace myself. As I reviewed the top ten before going to bed, there was one agent who I was drawn to: Jessica Faust. I showed her profile to my husband and told him to send her some good energy. He kindly humored me with a smile and nod, and I went to bed.
I began querying on a Monday morning. On Monday afternoon, I had two requests for my full proposal. Gah! Was this really happening?! By the end of the day though, one of the two had already passed because my social media platform wasn’t large enough. I went to bed feeling all the feels, but took solace in the fact that at least my proposal hadn’t been rejected on the grounds of quality.
On Tuesday, I had two more requests for a full proposal, including Jessica Friggin Faust! But then, nothing for the rest of the week. Every day I vacillated multiple times between being confident that everyone would pass and being confident that someone would bite. Sure enough, late on Friday afternoon one of the agents emailed me requesting a call.
On Monday morning, she offered to represent me. This particular agent has an unbelievable track record of selling books. A part of me wanted to immediately say “yes!” as I was just so thrilled to have an offer, let alone from such an accomplished agent. I took a breath though, told her I would get back to her by the end of the week, and then wrote to all of the other agents who I’d queried letting them know I’d received an offer. I think I said, “I can’t believe this is happening!” at least ten times that evening. The next day, to my profound delight, I had additional requests for calls from other agents, including Jessica.
From the first minute of my conversation with Jessica, I felt like I was talking to an old friend. She was thoughtful, experienced, and kind, but she also held a bold vision for her agency and her work. She truly understood my proposal at a deeper level, and referenced specific parts of my writing that spoke to her. I hung up after receiving her formal offer of representation and pretty much thought I was going to throw up. I mean, it was a wonderful problem to have, but I felt entirely overwhelmed by having multiple offers in the first 8 days. As a recovering people-pleaser, the idea of saying “no” to anyone who believed in my work felt awful.
I decided not to query the remaining 31 agents and took the rest of the week to think things over. I agonized over the decision. What if I made the wrong choice?!? Everyone was lovely and seemed confident that they could sell the book. I was still drawn to Jessica though — she was vocal about uplifting the voices of marginalized authors and publicly walked the talk. She did things like start the BookEnds blog that helped aspiring authors, stood up for writers publicly on Twitter, and clearly spoke about her values and mission.
While getting counsel from my most trusted friends and husband, my beloved friend Hannah asked me, “What advice would the book give you?” The answer was clear: the book would tell me to follow my intuition and heart. In this case, that meant working with Jessica. I called her on Thursday and simply said, “Let’s do it!” She responded with heartfelt enthusiasm, and I knew in my soul that I’d made the right choice for me and for this book. To feel supported by someone like Jessica in bringing my vision to life still doesn’t feel entirely real, and I’m filled to the brim with gratitude and excitement for what’s next. Onward!
Name:
Meghan French Dunbar
What you Write:
Nonfiction business with a focus on women
Agent:
Jessica Faust
Why BookEnds?
I’m inspired by and aligned with Jessica’s vision to uplift the voices of marginalized authors. I feel like Jessica walks the talk and leads from the heart, and I’m so impressed with the authors who’ve worked with the BookEnds team to date.
Where can readers find you on the web and social media?
www.meghanfrenchdunbar.com | linkedin.com/in/meghanfrenchdunbar
Describe your experience with “The Call.” What do you write? When did the agent catch you? What was it like to get the call of your agent offering on your book/work? How long had you been querying/submitting, etc? Share as much as you’d like!
“If you don’t receive a response in 12 weeks, assume it’s a pass.” I read this on a prospective agent’s website as I was reviewing submission guidelines the night before I planned to begin querying and said to my husband, “Is this a joke? This proposal that I’ve been working on for two years, that has lived in my soul, been a source of inspiration, obsession, frustration, and life, might not even receive a response after waiting for three solid…months?”
I took a deep breath, remembered my motto EFWO (Everything F*cking Works Out), and chose to believe that it would all unfold exactly as it was supposed to. I’d identified 41 potential agents and planned to query them in batches of ten per week to pace myself. As I reviewed the top ten before going to bed, there was one agent who I was drawn to: Jessica Faust. I showed her profile to my husband and told him to send her some good energy. He kindly humored me with a smile and nod, and I went to bed.
I began querying on a Monday morning. On Monday afternoon, I had two requests for my full proposal. Gah! Was this really happening?! By the end of the day though, one of the two had already passed because my social media platform wasn’t large enough. I went to bed feeling all the feels, but took solace in the fact that at least my proposal hadn’t been rejected on the grounds of quality.
On Tuesday, I had two more requests for a full proposal, including Jessica Friggin Faust! But then, nothing for the rest of the week. Every day I vacillated multiple times between being confident that everyone would pass and being confident that someone would bite. Sure enough, late on Friday afternoon one of the agents emailed me requesting a call.
On Monday morning, she offered to represent me. This particular agent has an unbelievable track record of selling books. A part of me wanted to immediately say “yes!” as I was just so thrilled to have an offer, let alone from such an accomplished agent. I took a breath though, told her I would get back to her by the end of the week, and then wrote to all of the other agents who I’d queried letting them know I’d received an offer. I think I said, “I can’t believe this is happening!” at least ten times that evening. The next day, to my profound delight, I had additional requests for calls from other agents, including Jessica.
From the first minute of my conversation with Jessica, I felt like I was talking to an old friend. She was thoughtful, experienced, and kind, but she also held a bold vision for her agency and her work. She truly understood my proposal at a deeper level, and referenced specific parts of my writing that spoke to her. I hung up after receiving her formal offer of representation and pretty much thought I was going to throw up. I mean, it was a wonderful problem to have, but I felt entirely overwhelmed by having multiple offers in the first 8 days. As a recovering people-pleaser, the idea of saying “no” to anyone who believed in my work felt awful.
I decided not to query the remaining 31 agents and took the rest of the week to think things over. I agonized over the decision. What if I made the wrong choice?!? Everyone was lovely and seemed confident that they could sell the book. I was still drawn to Jessica though — she was vocal about uplifting the voices of marginalized authors and publicly walked the talk. She did things like start the BookEnds blog that helped aspiring authors, stood up for writers publicly on Twitter, and clearly spoke about her values and mission.
While getting counsel from my most trusted friends and husband, my beloved friend Hannah asked me, “What advice would the book give you?” The answer was clear: the book would tell me to follow my intuition and heart. In this case, that meant working with Jessica. I called her on Thursday and simply said, “Let’s do it!” She responded with heartfelt enthusiasm, and I knew in my soul that I’d made the right choice for me and for this book. To feel supported by someone like Jessica in bringing my vision to life still doesn’t feel entirely real, and I’m filled to the brim with gratitude and excitement for what’s next. Onward!
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