Anita
asked
Ruta Sepetys:
I love your books & have recommended them to several friends. They move me to tears as they are so beautifully written. I write too, have had short stories and poetry published, & would love to know how you managed to get your first book published. Did you have to submit to many publishers? Did you get initial rejections? I am aware how difficult it is to get published & hope to have my first novel published soon.
Ruta Sepetys
Hi Anita!
Thank you for reading and recommending my books to your friends!
In terms of getting published, I spent a lot of time researching the young adult publishing business. I attended SCBWI conferences (www.scbwi.org) and other writing conferences and listened to agents speak about their process and their agencies. I chose one agent to query and researched that agent very heavily so I could create an appropriate, targeted query letter. The agent was interested in my novel and asked me to revise. I did several extensive revisions before the agent would agree to represent me and submit the book to publishers. We then chose a dozen publishers to submit to. They all passed. We submitted to another dozen publishers. After nearly a year, and 15 rejections, I finally received an offer.
For me the process required a lot of patience. But please don't let that discourage you! You can do it!!
Sending best wishes from writer to another, Anita!
Thank you for reading and recommending my books to your friends!
In terms of getting published, I spent a lot of time researching the young adult publishing business. I attended SCBWI conferences (www.scbwi.org) and other writing conferences and listened to agents speak about their process and their agencies. I chose one agent to query and researched that agent very heavily so I could create an appropriate, targeted query letter. The agent was interested in my novel and asked me to revise. I did several extensive revisions before the agent would agree to represent me and submit the book to publishers. We then chose a dozen publishers to submit to. They all passed. We submitted to another dozen publishers. After nearly a year, and 15 rejections, I finally received an offer.
For me the process required a lot of patience. But please don't let that discourage you! You can do it!!
Sending best wishes from writer to another, Anita!
More Answered Questions
Nicole Alycia
asked
Ruta Sepetys:
Hi! First I want to say you have become one of my favorite authors over the last year, all three of your books have been fantastic! Question: Are you currently working on a new book and if so, can you hit at what it might be about? Maybe just a time period reference? I'm hoping you'll write another book like Out of the Easy! It was such an interesting read with such a fantastic main character!
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