The Path to Publication: Interview with Agent and Author Hope Bolinger

Today I am talking with Hope Bolinger. She’s an author of young adult novels as well as a literary agent with C.Y.L.E. I find her blog posts to be full of useful information and an inspiration as I travel along the writer’s path. Her novel Blaze came out last month.

DJS: As you were going through the publishing process of Blaze, what was the most interesting or surprising thing you learned?

HB: Such a good question! I would say, I learned just how many rounds a book has to go through to get to that contract. When I first started writing as a teen I thought it went: get an agent after you send one email, they send it to a publishers, publisher looks it over and says, “Eh, looks good.” I mean, that’s sort of how it goes, but there are many other intermediate stages involved.

DJS: I am persistent, and believe this tendency has kept me focused on my goals. What personal character trait or traits have been useful to you as a writer? What is one important trait necessary for a writer to make it in the publishing world today?

HB: Oh, persistence. Persistence, persistence, persistence. But also, hope. Yes, my name is Hope, so I do have a pun in there, but it really carries you a long way. When you get rejection letter after rejection letter, you want to quit. But if you have hope, you can keep going, no matter what.

DJS: How did going through the journey to publication yourself affect the way you approach your job as an agent?

HB: It really helps me to empathize with whatever my clients go through. I started as an author before I became an agent, so I know every step of the way to getting an agent, meeting with publishers, and getting them to like your book. It breaks my heart because I know how much they have to endure, but it also gives them a shoulder to cry on.

DJS: I love a character who makes me laugh and cry, like good-hearted Anne Shirley (of the original books, please!) or the quirky Mr. Monk. Who is one of your favorite fictional characters and what made you fall in love with them?

HB: This is so hard, but I have to go with Anne of Green Gables. She’s just so wonderful. She has an imagination and such energy. I feel like I’m often more of a subdued version of her.

A kindred spirit! Thank you for visiting with us, Hope, and congratulations on your new book.

Guys, you can read more about Hope and her book in an interview we did a few weeks ago for my personal blog here.

Hope Bolinger is a literary agent at C.Y.L.E. and a recent graduate of Taylor University’s professional writing program. More than 350 of her works have been featured in various publications ranging from Writer’s Digest to Keys for Kids. She has worked for various publishing companies, magazines, newspapers, and literary agencies and has edited the work of authors such as Jerry B. Jenkins and Michelle Medlock Adams. Her column “Hope’s Hacks,” tips and tricks to avoid writer’s block, reaches 6,000+ readers weekly and is featured monthly on Cyle Young’s blog. Her modern-day Daniel, “Blaze,” (Illuminate YA) just released, and they contracted the sequel for 2020. Find out more about her here.

Donna Jo Stone writes YA contemporary novels about tough issues but always ends the stories with a note of hope. She blogs at donnajostone.com.