Querying Successfully

Writer Lauren Parvizi and her book coach, Lidija Hilje, are celebrating the news that Lauren has landed a book deal for her novel.

How did you help Lauren in securing her book deal?

I was the developmental editor on the project.

How were you involved in Lauren’s writing process?

Lauren came to me for a developmental edit after she'd been querying her MS for awhile with no luck. After getting my feedback, and revising to incorporate the suggestions I had made, the writer started querying again, doubling the full MS request rate. She soon got multiple offers of representation, and signed with an agent from a very reputable agency. Within months, she got a publishing deal with an amazing traditional publisher.

What are you most proud of in this coaching relationship?

When I started working on the project, the opening scene was checking all the boxes that all those articles on “How To Write Your First Chapter” suggest, but not in a seamless way. It just felt a bit forced and disjointed. I was wary of telling the writer to go against the grain — so many articles distilling what needs to be in the first chapter; articles that I generally agree with — but I ended up advising her to put the focus on the emotion she wanted to provoke in her reader with that opening scene instead.

Later, she wrote to me: “I really think that improvement [of the request rate] had so much to do with my revision of the first chapters based on your notes, especially your insight that I didn't need to capture every little thing in the beginning but focus on emotion and voice instead.”

I'm proud that I trusted my instincts as a coach and that it paid off for my writer in such a fantastic way!

What’s next for the book?

Publishing with one of the most reputable traditional publishers!