Welcome, this is a weekly interview series with other querying writers for querying writers. For first time querying authors, querying is the process of trying to find an agent for your manuscript. The right agent will be able to help you prepare your manuscript for submission to publishing houses, broker book deals, and hopefully establish and grow your author career. If you’re someone who is thinking of querying your novel, have been querying, or are generally curious about the process this is the interview series for you!
This week I had the pleasure of interviewing Makayla who also goes by @MakaylaBryant88 on X (formerly known as Twitter) and as @TheMakaylaBryant on TikTok.
Makayla, can you tell us a little about your writing journey? Did you start out writing for fun or always knew you wanted to be traditionally published?
I started writing when I was about 12, so I would say it definitely started out as more of a passion before I realized I could turn it into a career. I wrote my first trilogy in high school and I actually ended up self-publishing that because I knew very little about the industry. All of my self-published works are now taken down because I want to pursue traditional publishing, which I’ve been pursuing for a little over a year now.
Think fast, name 5 things that you do while querying that are not repeatedly checking QueryTracker or your inbox.
- I’m constantly posting on Twitter and TikTok – staying active and interacting with other writers has been my lifeline.
- Working on new projects – I have a romantasy work in progress (WIP) and a WIP comped as Tomb Raider x Uncharted that are currently in the works.
- Working on how I can make my query package stronger if I feel I can strengthen it somewhere.
- Revisions – working on revisions for my YA dystopian that should hopefully be ready to query soon.
- Making moodboards for my books, which I love love love to do.
I see that you’re active on Twitter/X, TikTok and have a blog. Which platform is your favorite and do you choose to post for “author branding” or for fun?
My favorite is probably Twitter. I feel like I’m the most active there and it’s how I interact with other writers, which is one of my favorite things about that app. As for author branding and for fun, I do feel like it’s a mix of both.
Most of my content on TikTok is to help cultivate a following to promote my books and myself, but I enjoy making TikTok’s so much that I think I’ve become addicted to it.
Twitter is a little different in that sense. I am super active in the Writing Community there, so most of my posts are for fun, but the content does relate to and is about my books.
Every writer has their inspiration, where do you find your’s?
That’s a good question because I have a lot of different answers to it. First, for me, there are book-by-book inspirations, and then I think there’s a personal overarching inspiration.
For instance, my YA dystopian was inspired by The Hunger Games, The 100, and Horizon (the PlayStation game – because I was playing that game while working on the book). Like I mentioned when talking about my WIP’s, one of the books I’m drafting was inspired by Tomb Raider and Uncharted (I like to play video games, if we haven’t come to that conclusion by now).
As for my overarching inspiration, it’s from the writers and authors who didn’t give up, and who fought until their stories were told. If they never gave up, neither will I, and that inspires a lot of the types of characters I write, as well.
How long have you been querying your current work? Is this the first manuscript you’ve queried?
I’ve been querying my current manuscript for a little over a year now, and it is the first manuscript I’ve ever queried, so I’m learning as I go. Like I said above, when I was younger, I knew very little about the publishing industry.
All I knew was that I loved to write. So, a part of me feels like I’m late to the game in terms of querying, but I know I want to be traditionally published. Everyone’s journey is different.
There are so many agents out there, some writers find it difficult to know where to start. What are you looking for in the agents you are querying?
Personally, when I first started, I looked up authors that I loved and who wrote in the same genre as me, and found out who represented them. It gave me a good feel of who reps what genre and a baseline of where to start. Now, I use QueryTracker a lot to help sort through agents.
What I’m looking for is firstly, if they rep what I’m querying- especially in terms of fantasy because there are many different kinds. Then I look at the agency itself, who they rep, their sales, etc., and then I look for communication styles and timeframes. I’m not too nitpicky, but I do want my book in good hands.
Rejection is tough, and there’s plenty of it when one goes through the querying process. What comes to mind when you receive a rejection and do you have any advice for other writers that may want to stop querying after getting a rejection?
Bottom line: rejections always sting. I think the longer you’re in the querying trenches the more you tend to get used to it, almost like you’re stuck in this pattern. Normally, what comes to mind when receiving a rejection is that the agent who rejected wasn’t meant for me.
It’s not a reflection of my worth as a writer, but about timing. I think being in the trenches is all about the right timing.
My advice for other writers when it comes to rejections is just that: it’s not a reflection of your worth as a writer. Your stories deserve to be told. And I know, as writers, we hear this all the time, but it really does just take one yes, one person who believes in you and your work. And personally, I’m just too stubborn to quit.
Finally, I’m intrigued by all the posts you’ve shared about your work. You’ve made captivating mood boards and posted intriguing quotes. Would you be able to give readers a short pitch on the work you’re currently querying?
Yes, of course! One of my favorite things to do is talk about my books. The book I’m currently querying is about heirs who have to compete in a death match for the throne.
When Zaina finds out her brother and rightful heir is still alive, she initiates an ancient elven tradition where heirs compete in a death match for the throne. But nothing is as it seems and everyone might just turn out to be the villain, even Zaina.
Oh, and here’s a mood board, because like I said above: I love love love mood boards.
Thank you again to Makayla for taking the time to answer all my questions and hopefully the questions of other querying authors, be sure to follow her on X here.
Love,
EJP