Erin Anderson has recently signed with agent Joanna Volpe of Nancy Coffey Literary & Media Representation. Erin, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Congratulations and good luck.



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

Erin Anderson: My novel is set several years after humanity is almost wiped out by a zombie apocalypse. In a Mad Max like future, human wranglers capture the undead and turn them into gladiators. The survivors gamble for anything from food and water to ammunition and gasoline on the gladiator matches. My protagonist is a wrangler who has given up on the world until a little girl shows her hope and love still exist.

The idea for this novel actually came from an anthology submission call for zombie stories taking place after society collapsed, as opposed to during an outbreak like you see in most zombie movies. The short story was rejected, but I couldn't get the world or characters out of my head.



QT: How long have you been writing?

EA: I've always been a storyteller, all the way back to directing my younger brother and sister in plays in the living room for our parents when we were kids. The first time I sat down and got a complete idea on paper was some short fiction in high school. I completed my first novel in 2004.



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

EA: A little under two years from concept to final draft. I wrote my first draft for NaNoWriMo in 2008 and sent my first query Aug 31, 2010.



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

EA: I wouldn't say I ever felt like giving up, but I did get discouraged a few times. Most of that came from revising without a direction. I spent weeks tweaking words and sentences when what I needed to do was take a break from the manuscript and come back with fresh eyes so I could see the bigger issues. Attending a really awesome workshop and hooking up with some great beta readers helped me find direction, and once I was done and on query those same friends encouraged me when rejection letters came in.



QT: Is this your first book?

EA: Nope! This is my second completed work. When I was done with my first novel, I realized two things: that I could start a novel AND finish a novel, and that I had a lot to learn about the publishing business before I'd be ready to query.



QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

EA: I have a BA in Creative Writing and some MFA coursework under my belt. I've taken a number of workshops and other classes over the years, including the Breakout Novel Intensive with Donald Maass. I write full time at a corporate magazine for my day job.



QT: Do you follow a writing "routine" or schedule?

EA: It depends. I do well with deadlines – comes from working on a magazine I think! – so when I have a goal I tend to write more consistently. I try to work on my stories at least some every day, which can be anything from a word count goal to edits/revisions to brainstorming new ideas or critiquing for my writing group.



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

EA: Let's see…it took me two months to finish my first draft, and I did a draft of heavy revisions right after I finished, followed by a line edit. At that time, I was really worried about typos and ended up hiring an editor for a line edit – which in hindsight was a little silly, but that was my biggest confidence issue with my writing at the time. At that point, I thought I was close, but then I went to the Fire in Fiction workshop in fall 2010. It really opened my eyes to potential I hadn't seen in my manuscript before and I dove into edits…and it wasn't working. I needed a break, so I shelved it until April 2010 when I went to the Breakout Novel Intensive. Talk about mind blowing. I revised from April to August nonstop and went through three more drafts – a super heavy content revision, a draft specifically to cut back my word count, and a final clean up.

About seven? Oh, and I worked with Lorin Oberweger (program director of Free Expressions, which organizes Donald Maass' workshops) on tweaking my partial when I was on submission. So I guess that makes seven and a half!



QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

EA: Of course! I can't imagine the writing process without them. I had early readers after NaNoWriMo mostly for fun, and had various types of readers at different times over the next year and half. During that time I found a few people who gave me solid and thoughtful feedback – not all beta readers are created equal!



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

EA: I do a mix. I have a general outline of the basic plot – big events. But scene for scene, I like to let go and see where the characters take me – which often leads to really cool subplots and ideas I never expected!



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

EA: This is the first project I've queried. I sent my first query August 31, 2010. By the end of September, I was in full query swing with my first batch of about 20 queries out. From there, every time I got a rejection, my next query went out.



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

EA: 55 according to querytracker! I revamped my query letter about half way through the process.



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

EA: What genre's agents rep (which I search for with querytracker then doubled checked on agent sites) and I found other agents I didn't expect through researching websites and reading interviews. I also entered a contest on Authoress' blog (misssnarksfirstvictim.blogspot.com) which resulted in some manuscript requests, and I sent a few direct submissions requested from a conference in 2010.



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

EA: At the very least I made sure to include the agent's name. If I found something directly relevant – i.e. contests or conference related submission, or something they mentioned in an interview that made me think they'd be interested in my work – I mentioned it. I didn't try to tailor every single one, though. And unless I was specifically told not to by the agent's submission guidelines I always included my first scene, which is about five pages.



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

EA: Educated yourself. There's too much information out there not to and you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't take advantage of it. Querytracker is an amazing tool – I can't imagine staying organized while querying without it! – and has tons of links for each agent, but don't stop there.

Before you query, find beta readers you can trust and don't be discouraged if it takes a few misses to find some other writers you click with. And be prepared to give as much as you take, or you'll never form good beta relationships. Get involved in blogs and things like Twitter if you enjoy them, but don't be consumed by them. Get yourself and your writing out there in beta exchanges, contests, workshops and conferences. If you don't get feedback, you'll never get better – and if you're afraid to hear there's room for improvement, you're chasing the wrong dream!



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

EA: Sure! This is the second version of my query. I ended up getting requests from both versions, but this one got Joanna's attention!

Dear Joanna,

In a world after the fall, wrangler Kumari the Hound makes a living off of zombies. She catches undead and turns them into gladiators. The trade she earns from these pit fights ensures her survival and keeps her biggest fear – becoming an undead – at bay. Better to hunt than be hunted after all.

When Kumari wins the child slave Heaven in a risky gamble, life becomes a little more complicated than mere survival. This child, unscathed by a life of abuse, represents everything Kumari has lost: family, friendship, and most importantly, hope. But holding on to hope and keeping the girl safe isn't going to be easy.

Chased by Heaven's former master and tormented by her father and brother's death, Kumari must find a way to protect the girl from a world filled with monsters – even if it means becoming one of the monsters herself.

HOUND IN BLOOD AND BLACK, adult dystopian fiction, is complete at 120,000 words.

My short story Savage appeared in Monstrous: 20 Tales of Giant Creature Terror by Permuted Press in January 2009 and was republished in the April 2009 issue of the Apex online magazine. By day, I write for [MAGAZINE], the employee magazine for [COMPANY], and often write stories about my adventures as a Mike Rowe wannabe.

Thank you for your consideration,

Erin Anderson