brace yourselves - it's real, and i've got a lot of catching up to do

Holy crap, Olivia, where the heck have you been?

I know, I know, I haven't done a blog post for... *checks timeline* Jeez, May 19th.

I am so sorry.

I have got some stuff going on, and if you follow my Instagram (@the.real.olivia.ann) you know bits and pieces of it.

Long story short, I've got blog posts coming out. Next week there will be one looking back on my experiences of the Minneapolis Young Writer's Workshop, I've got a flash fiction I've been meaning to post, and I've got a few writerly things I want to post.

For now, I've got a few things to share with you.

First off, yes, my blog changes a lot. I'm trying to get it to fit my aesthetic and I am never content with it, but I'm actually okay with the design now.

Anyways, onto the whole thing that I just realized I didn't share with you when it happened.

I am now a represented author.

And here is the story of how it came to be.

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2013, I had a story in my head I wanted––no, needed to write. My main character was Nikki, with Jace Scott as the love interest. It wasn't working, I couldn't figure out what was wrong... until I was given a dream in February of 2015 that woke me at 3 am with the immediate thought of "This. This is Harper's story."

Harper York was a character from another book I had started, but she wasn't fitting there, much like Nikki wasn't fitting in this one.

So I scrapped it, took Harper York from that book, changed her name to Harper Johanssen, and it was like a puzzle box––every little latch fell into place, and the story opened up.

Things changed. Jace and Harper didn't fall in love right away and become a couple in chapter 5 like before––in fact, their relationship was much more familial, with little to no hint of romance through the entire book. And I liked it. Jess wasn't just a side character, she was Harper's friend and confidant. Subplots bubbled up, fleshing it out, and as I began to plot and write I thought "this is perfect."

The only thing was I wanted it to be a series, I wanted to show these characters and explore their lives.

And then I had another dream that was perfect for Book 2.

And another.

And another.

I had dreams that would work for the basis of four books. But as I began to plot them out, I realized I needed one more.

So I went to bed late that night, woke up the next morning, and spent the whole day tearing apart books 2-4 and reworking them to flow with book 1. Through this, I found a natural, perfect ending point in book 5.

And then I wrote.

I wrote.

And wrote.

And wrote.

Until finally my first draft was finished.

I called it: Classified

Reading bits of it now fricking KILLS me, but fifteen year old me LOVED it. I shared the first few chapters of my first draft with friends and classmates who loved reading. And they loved it too. I still have the Google Doc I shared with them, their comments marking up the margins with quick little passing remarks that often turned into conversations between people who barely know each other.

  

  

And it excited me. People liked it. Siblings of those who I shared it with were coming up to me, the ninth grader who sits in the back of the room and seems to scare everyone, telling me how much they liked it, telling me that they read a few lines and that I've got talent. My teachers telling me they've read my short stories and can't wait to see the book for real.

And I flew. I edited draft after draft after draft, the title changed from Classified to Secrets Can Kill to In The Shadows and back to Secrets Can Kill and people still loved it. But the more and more I edited, the more and more I saw flaws. And I loved editing because I got to fix what was wrong. 

Soon, my dad said "hey, you've been working on this for a year. Why don't you start looking for agents?"

And so I did.

I compiled a list of 20+ agents I wanted to query, and every week I sent out 5 emails.

Some responded.

Some did not.

Those who did respond were generally encouraging, saying that it has great promise and a great storyline and that I'm a good writer, but it isn't a good fit or it isn't what they're looking for right now.

And I kept going.

One thing that constantly irritated me (and probably turned away agents) was the title. I hated the title, and eventually I didn't have one. I just had {Title} on the front page of my document. One day, while my mom was raking the leaves, it hit me. I practically threw my laptop to the side and grabbed a jacket, racing outside to tell my mom. I remember it so vividly. The light rain hitting my face, my bun starting to fall, my legs cold in the dance shorts and shoes I was wearing, screaming as I ran out the door "I figured it out! Mom, I figured it out!"

She looked up at me, pausing and leaning on the rake's handle. "What?"

"The title, I figured out the title!" I hold my hands out as though I'm stopping her. "Mended and Torn."

Slowly she nodded, and smiled. "That's good. I like that."

And since October of 2016, it's been Mended and Torn.

And then my parents and friends said "Why bother if they keep rejecting you, can't you self-publish?" So I looked into that and went "Yeah, let's give that a shot."

So I did. I went to my self-acclaimed Yoda (Caroline George) and she suggested CreateSpace. I made an account, started formatting, and soon I had a formated interior and a cover based off a design I did... while it wasn't the best cover, it was my only option, so I decided why not just keep it, it's not that bad, it's actually pretty cool. It's just not what I wanted to be perfect. But I was so close. I had one more round of minor edits, and then I could go to CreateSpace and click PUBLISH. And then late one night, it hit me. "No. I'm not going to do this. I gave up too soon on agents, I need to go back to that."

And I did.

And THE DAY I decided it, I posted about it on Instagram and got a comment from Tessa Emily Hall, a writer I discovered at 13 (thanks to a friend of mine showing me Tessa's Monday Minute Challenges) saying "You may wanna check out my newest blog post."

And I did.

- quote from Mended and Torn and I really just
added it because I like it and needed to even
out the number of pictures here -

And it was all about how she was a now Junior Agent with Hartline Literary Agency, and she was taking queries.

I knew this is why I had that thought late that night. I knew that was why I wasn't able to sleep, and I knew that God wanted me to query her.

Instantly, I dug out my old query letter, fixed it up, included what she wanted (Proposal, Chapters, etc) and sent it that night.

Over the weekend, I waited. I knew she probably wouldn't answer on Saturday and Sunday, and she didn't.

But then, exactly a week later (I know, I checked the emails) I received an email during my photography class. She said she wanted my full manuscript. I instantly started hyperventilating, ran to my friend who was working on her Graphic Design project, and said in a voice that didn't belong and came from somewhere on the other side of the room, "She wants it." We both almost cried, and I just spent the whole hour watching YouTube in celebration––my teacher didn't care, she was just so happy that the book was closer to publication because she REALLY wants to read it (she's been asking me whenever I see her if she can read it yet).

I sent it, and she emailed back saying she'd love to schedule a call.

We scheduled it, I did research on what to prepare, and then it happened. But it wasn't quite what I was expecting. She gave me a run-down of what she'd like to do if I agreed to be represented by her and Cyle, explained that they both would be my agents, and basically said "Talk about it with parents, friends, think it over, pray about it, and get back to me."

I got off the phone, filled in my parents, and we all agreed, right there, that very second, this was it. This is why I was getting stuck, this is why I didn't self-publish yet, this is it, God had stalled my drive so I could wait until this opportunity came.

I called her back not even 5 minutes later and said "Yes, I want to work with you."

I edited more, cutting down my monstrous word count like she suggested (*cough* it was at 110,735 words *cough*) and she sent me the contract.

And I signed it.

So that is my big news that I forgot to share with you all.

I am now a represented author, represented by Tessa Emily Hall and Cyle Young.

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Looking back, I've found my story is a lot like Alea Harper's (check out her story here), who also signed on with Tessa and Cyle. Best of wishes to you, hon!

So yes! That's one big thing that's happened.

I'll try my best to actually, you know, share what's happening and post on here more often.

Like I said, I've got plans.

But this is it for now, so yeah.

I post almost daily on Instagram if you'd like to follow me there (@the.real.olivia.ann).

~Olivia Ann

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P.S. I'd like to write things that you all are interested in. What are some topics you'd like me to cover or you'd like to hear my thoughts on (how to write, writing tips, writing life, normal day things, idk whatever). And feel free to leave comments! I'd like to do a Q&A post or video, so yeah.