Mary Moreno - Author, Writer, Composer, Songwriter

I am a patient woman. I didn't get my rock band together and start performing my songs until I was in my mid-thirties. I didn't publish my first nonfiction book until after I'd been making a living as a writer-for-hire for several (ouch!) decades. I didn't get married until I'd been living with my fiance for over 20 years.

So, yes, patience is one of my talents. And a necessary attribute to carry along on this road to getting my first novel published. I have the right agent this time, I'm certain of that. She "gets" me, she "gets" my story and she "gets" what I'm trying to do with this mystery series that takes place in the world of opera.

Proof that she "gets" me? The edits she's asked me to make on what I thought was my fully polished, perfect manuscript. Everything she's asked me to change or add contributes to the story, makes it more entertaining and enhances the action. This is probably the first time in my writing career that I've actually welcomed someone's notes.

So I'm perfectly willing to put in the work. But what's really getting to me is my inability to sign off. Every time I go through the manuscript I find a sentence that begins with "but" or "and," a word repeated several times in one paragraph, or incorrect punctuation. Will I ever feel that this story is perfect?

And meanwhile, my friend Mozart is waiting to get this baby published so that he can return to earth and solve this crime.

Patience, my dear Mozart!

I'm celebrating. I just signed with Christine Witthohn of Book Cents Literary! She's going to represent my mystery novel series. Not ready to reveal too much about it, but it does involve my friend, Wolfgang. BTW, he likes to be referred to as Amade, not "Wolfie," as he was in the movie.

He, too, is blogging about this journey and you can find him at

mozartandmoreno.blogspot.com - or click on his photo at left.

Personally, I think he's a very entertaining writer.

But back to my journey. It began last May at the Writer's Digest Agent Pitch Slam during Book Expo America. It was kind of like speed dating - each writer was allotted 3 minutes to pitch an agent! I pitched three and they all asked me to send them more info - a synopsis and the first three chapters, etc.

They all responded positively, but I was really terrified to commit. I had a bad experience with my first novel about six years ago. I signed with the first agent who offered a contract and he was Mr. Wrong. So this time I slowed down, did my homework (I highly recommend Publisher's Marketplace for researching who's doing what deals), and re-wrote my manuscript several times over the summer. I put it through three edit sessions with my writing group.

Christine had offered to let me interview several of her clients to find out what she's like to work with and I procrastinated about that until early December. (You think I have a commitment problem? Check out my essay on the Works page!)

Anyway, all of the authors I contacted just raved about Christine - said all the things you want to hear about an agent: She returns calls and emails promptly, keeps them in the loop during the marketing process and is a fierce negotiator. All of the things my first agent was lacking in.

So after a couple of lengthy phone conversations and a few more weeks of contracts emailed back and forth, I'm fully agented and ready to fly!

Let the journey begin.