Visit Jenny Murray at www.jennymurray.net

I'm especially happy to bring you this week's ENCOURAGEMENT FOR WRITERS section because today's guest is one of my critique group buddies. Jenny Murray is a dedicated and talented writer that hasn't let our economy discourage her from writing a great book. Jenny recently signed with Danielle Chiotti at Upstart Crowe Agency. Her dedication to the craft of writing inspires me. Now you can read on and get inspired too!

What type of writing do you do and how long have you been writing?

I write novels for middle grade readers. I have been writing all of my life, though it’s only been since 2003 that I’ve been seriously working toward a goal of publication.

How long had you worked on the manuscript that landed your agent?

I started this project almost four years ago, and I worked on it exclusively for about a year and a half. Then I thought it was ready to go out into the world, and I started the submission process while beginning another project. It wasn’t ready, though. After receiving mixed feedback, I pulled it back out for another full revision. This latest revision took about six months.

How many revisions?

Nineteen and counting!

When did you seek an agent for the first time, and how/why did you know it was time to look for one?

I have to admit that I submitted this book too early. It wasn’t ready. I think I thought it was done because I wasn’t sure what else to do with it or where to get more feedback. Then I received a few personal rejections. They were gifts because they helped me see the hard work that still needed to be done. They gave me direction.

How did you find your agent and then come to the conclusion that she was the one?

My final path to representation did not follow the normal querying process. The first time I queried agents, I received several comments about the characters and setting of the novel. They both needed to be strengthened. I listened and took the comments to heart, working for a solid six months to bring the novel to its current form. I felt good about my work, but didn’t want to make the mistake of querying agents too soon again.

Luckily, the Carolinas SCBWI conference was just around the corner. I signed up for a critique, hoping to get some positive feedback, but also hoping to know if my changes were working. I was assigned an editor from a major publishing house for my individual critique session. She was wonderful, saying that she loved the pages and that I could say she was interested in the project in my queries to agents.

I talked with a few authors at the conference. They were tremendously helpful, and whe