How I Got My Book Deal!

Hello, friends!

I’M GOING TO BE PUBLISHED!!!

Words can’t even express how thrilled I am to be announcing that my debut novel and book of my heart—THE LOUDEST SILENCE—will be published in Summer 2024 by Holiday House Books!

Here is the official book deal announcement to give you some insight into what the novel is about: (For more information about TLS, check out this page. 👀)

Today, I wanted to share how I ended up with my incredible editor and publishing team, because it’s been quite the adventure. Let’s dive in!

First Agent + First Submission:

I signed with my first agent in July 2021, and we dove straight into edits on the book, but unfortunately, I—as an author that had never edited a book with an agent before—unquestioningly made almost every change the agent wanted and TLS suffered for it. It became more of an “issue book” rather than the poignant contemporary I had intended, and the overarching themes were a lot darker. I was unhappy with the end result.

But the agent was confident that the manuscript was ready for submission—or sub, as it’s commonly referred to. In September 2021, THE LOUDEST SILENCE hit thirteen editor inboxes for the very first time. It was an exciting yet very nerve-wracking time!

The editor feedback we got over the next few months was fairly consistent; most editors concurred that the manuscript was too introspective, quiet, and heavy for the current market. Honestly, this feedback stung and was quite disheartening, but it also reaffirmed my desire to edit the manuscript again and add more of the original fun, lighthearted, comedic elements in before any further submission rounds.

However, due to a variety of reasons, I left that agent in February 2022. TLS was, unfortunately, still technically on submission with a smattering of editors, so I wasn’t able to query new agents with it. Thankfully, it reverted back to me in March 2022, after those remaining editors passed on it.

The dichotomy of emotions I felt at that time was stark and confusing. On one hand, I was dejected that I didn’t have a book deal, but I was also sort of relieved that the editors had passed on the book, since I wasn’t happy with what it was like at that point. I honestly wouldn’t have wanted to debut with that version of TLS, since the heart of the story was lost during edits.

Second Agent + Book Deal: 

After revising the manuscript, I was much happier with the end product, and in May 2022 I signed with my current agent (who is my literary soulmate and I’ll never stop screaming about how much I love her, but I digress…). Emily had already read TLS previously, when I queried for the first time, and had unique insight into what the story was originally vs. what it became with my first agent vs. how I recently edited it. Using this incredible insight, we fleshed out the story and the character arcs, and after a month of editing: TLS was ready to go back on submission! This time, it was a book I was extremely proud of and truly wanted to debut with.

So, in early July 2022, TLS was yeeted into sixteen editors’ inboxes for the second time. I started outlining a new project to keep me busy while we waited for responses, but I barely had time to think about the new book before Emily texted me, on July 25th, saying Alex Aceves from Holiday House Books loved TLS and wanted to get on a Zoom call to discuss her editorial vision.

The next day we got on the Zoom call with Alex—who is the loveliest, nicest person—and chatted about her vision for TLS. I was incredibly impressed by her vision and how she remembered all the little details about the story and the characters, no matter how insignificant they might’ve seemed. I was shaking the entire call because an editor at a publishing house was telling me how much she loved my book (if anyone can stay calm during that situation, I applaud you. You’re a superhero.) but the conversation went well, and I really liked both Alex and what the Holiday House team had in mind for TLS.

Following the call, Alex sent a recap of her thoughts re: future edits so I could absorb them, since our conversation was verbal and automatic captions aren’t the most reliable. (I can’t overstate how important accommodations are as a Deaf-Hard of Hearing person. Her thoughtfulness of sending this written recap made things so much easier for me!) The next day, July 27th, one day shy of a month on sub, Emily received an email with the book deal memo—meaning I had an official Book Deal Offer!!

And I was totally calm. Very calm. I didn’t cry or scream or do a happy little leprechaun jig or anything. Not at all!!!

Emily dove into nudging the other fifteen editors, setting deadlines, etc. Look, I don’t pretend to know the magic agents perform behind the scenes. All I knew was that I had a Book Deal Offer from a publisher who published some of the coolest books by the coolest authors—looking at you, Fat Chance, Charlie Vega and My Mechanical Romance 👀😌—and that was the most exciting thing in the world!

Alex was also kind enough to have a few follow-up conversations while other editors were considering TLS. These conversations also went incredibly well, and they solidified my confidence in Alex being the perfect editor for this book—a book that’s deeply personal to me, and in a lot of ways, is my story. She really understood the book at its core.

After all the behind-the-scenes negotiations were done (again, I don’t quite know what magic happens, but both Emily and Alex are rockstars and I enjoy working with them so very much), I accepted Holiday House’s offer in late August! And it was official: I had sold my debut novel!!!

The journey to getting TLS published has been a rollercoaster. From multiple agents, multiple revisions, multiple rounds of submission, there was never really a moment of peace with this book—but its found its perfect home with Holiday House and the ever-wonderful Alex Aceves!

THE LOUDEST SILENCE is the book of my heart. A book about Casey—a bisexual singer, a girl whose entire world revolved around sound—coping with the sudden and inexplicable loss of not only her hearing, but her music. A book about Hayden—an aro-ace soccer captain with extreme anxiety—learning to embrace his secret passion for the performing arts. A story about joy, grief, and not fitting into neat little boxes. A love letter to Queer and/or Disabled kids struggling to find themselves represented in YA books.

I can’t wait for everyone to meet these characters and read their story in Summer 2024! Soon, they’ll belong to you, and for that, I am truly honoured. 🤟🏻

See you soon,

- Sydney