Lori T. Strongin recently signed with agent Meredith Bernstein at Meredith Bernstein Literary Agency Thank you Lori for agreeing to this interview, and good luck with your book.

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

Lori T. Strongin: The first manuscript I'd sent to Meredith Bernstein was Bite Me, a humorous YA urban fantasy starring an Up-With-People werewolf, a Buddhist vegetarian vampire, a shapeshifter with ferret envy, and a wizard whose only successful spell is making people's clothes disappear. Needless to say, it's a bit tongue in cheek. It all started with a couple of short stories I wrote and published starring these characters, and several people urged me to write a longer piece with them. And so Bite Me was born!



QT: How long have you been writing?

LS: Is it corny if I say since elementary school? Cliché, but true. My first ever published piece was a free-verse poem in the school newsletter when I was in fifth grade, and I've never looked back! I have tons of journals filled with stories (that will never see the light day if I have anything to say about it!) which tided me over until college. I graduated in 2001 with a double degree--Communications and English-Creative Writing--from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

But I have to admit, I've learned more about the art and business of writing from the writing/critique groups I've been lucky enough to be a part of, as well as the conferences I've been able to attend. Writing and critique groups are invaluable for helping you improve as a writer. Where else will you find people willing to help you act out a murder scene on the floor of a coffee shop?!



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

LS: Bite Me's first draft took about six months to work through, then another six to edit into something resembling a coherent story.



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

LS: To be honest, not really. One of the first pieces I ever submitted to my online critique group was for a YA high fantasy novel. I had SEVENTEEN people tell me they all hated my main character. So I indulged in a sulk fest for about a day, then went back and looked at what those crits were saying and why the MC wasn't working. Several deep breaths and many pieces of dark chocolate later, I'd completely reworked the character and the plot, and Meredith has also taken on this book, plus its sequel, along with Bite Me.

Moral of the story--I don't give up and don't think I ever will because I want it too much. That, and the fact that my characters would take me hostage until I surrendered and kept writing their stories.



QT: Is this your first book?

LS: Nope! The Morretain Prince--that YA high fantasy I'd mentioned earlier--was my first completed novel (that I'll admit to, at least), followed by Dragonseeker, Bite Me, and a YA SciFi time travel novel that I'll be finishing up around the end of this month.



QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

LS: I studied Creative Writing in college, but I've learned so much more about craft, technique, the industry, and the business side of being a professional writer from just going out there and doing it. I've learned tons from my critique group--seeing what other authors are doing that works, as well as recognizing areas for improvement in my own writing.



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

LS: Some of the best advice I've ever gotten is from an author friend of mine--Marie Dees. She said that if you want to be a real writer, you have to think of it like a job and treat it just as seriously and importantly as the 9-5 gig. Sometimes I can only find time to write in the mornings, and other times it's at midnight or beyond, but as long as I write or edit something every day, then I can keep myself on track and motivated.



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

LS: I'll probably still be doing it when it comes out on bookshelves!!! When I write a new chapter, I'll read it over three or four times before posting it to my crit group, and the following week, I'll sort through all those critiques and pull out the suggestions that make the most sense to me. Once all the chapters have been critiqued, I'll go back and do one or two full read-throughs and check on plot and character development, look for things that might have been changed in later chapters (like ages or hair color), tighten up the writing as much as I can, and also see if I still enjoy the story. If I don't, then something is wrong and I need to revisit it again to figure out why that is.



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

LS: Only last year, after meeting a Tor editor at a conference, did I start writing treatments for my books. Chapter by chapter, I lay out the plot elements and major events--before I write a single word of the story. What's great about this is that I can show my treatments to my critiquers and they've helped me find and destroy plot holes before I've dug myself so deep into the novel that I'd have to scrap and rewrite most of it!



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

LS: I'd been querying Bite Me for about seven months before finding Meredith, but I've been playing the query game for about four years now.



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

LS: My first check was to ensure they represented what I write--no point querying someone who reps cookbooks with a manuscript about hyperactive werewolves! Then I looked at their websites and did a google search, just to make sure they were legitimate agents and not scammers. Last check was their client list to see if the agent seemed to enjoy similar books/styles to mine. You can tell a lot about an agent (and save yourself the agony of more rejection letters) by researching the types of books they enjoy reading and repping, I think.



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

LS: I did my best to do so. Sometimes, it's just a mention of liking books by their clients and hoping they might like mine, too. Or if I'd met the agent at a conference, I'd mention that to jog their memories. Or if I'd read about them in an interview, such as how I discovered Meredith.



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

LS: It is a LONG, LONG, LONG road from finishing a draft to having a manuscript that's ready to be queried. Don't shoot yourself in the foot by closing doors because your manuscript isn't really ready yet.

Have other people (not close friends or family members) read your manuscript with a critical eye? Ask them about your characters, your pacing, your plot. And if they tell you something isn't working, pay attention--don't just automatically dismiss the advice of others just because it means more work for you. Writing is WORK. If you want to be a writer, you've got to be willing to put the work in.

But it's totally worth it when you finally get that YES.



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

LS: Sure! Here's the query I sent to Meredith:

Dear Ms. Bernstein,

“Talbot blamed his mother for the fact he’d spent most of the summer impersonating a nun.” So begins Bite Me, a completed humorous urban fantasy novel (approx. 93,000 words) set at Hedgehill University for Paranormal Creatures.

In this Animal House meets Christopher Moore-esque story, freshman Talbot Osbourne is under pressure to find a summer job, an affordable apartment, and to not flunk out; otherwise he’ll face the wrath of his werewolf clan back home. Buddhist, vegetarian vampire Julian St. George has problems, too, but his are more of the being-stalked-by-a-psychotic-slayer type.

Throw in a shapeshifter with ferret envy, a nymphomaniac wizard who makes people’s clothes disappear, and a banshee with laryngitis issues, and these boys are in for the summer of their lives. Or deaths.

Former conference director of the Florida Writers Association, I am an English/Creative Writing honors graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder and currently work at Walt Disney World in Florida. My stories have been published in several literary journals, trade magazines and anthologies, including The Florida Writer, Literary Liftoff, Forbidden Speculation, Tales of the Talisman, Renard’s Menagerie, Dark Shadows of the Emerald City, Encounters, Emerald Tales, Whispering Dragons Magazine, and most recently in Aoife’s Kiss.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to consider Bite Me for representation. With this query, please find the first chapter of the completed manuscript as you’d mentioned in your interview at the Guide to Literary Agents blog. I look forward to speaking with you in the future.