Caroline Khoury: if book one doesn’t get you an agent, move on and write another book
Caroline is a debut author - her book It Must Be Love published in February, just in time for Valentine’s Day (also a key date in the story).
I got completely swept away in Abbie and Oz’s love story and really loved the alternating timelines, and snapshots of their lives in different cities.
I’m so thrilled to chat to Caroline. She’s exactly the kind of author that I love discovering. She’s open and honest, passionate and clearly driven. Her journey to publication will inspire you to keep going if you haven’t yet got an agent and here she shares some valuable advice…
1. Tell us all about your debut book and how you came up with the story
IT MUST BE LOVE is the story of Abbie and Oz who meet as students at a peace rally in London. There’s an instant connection between them and a lot of chemistry but after one day together, Oz returns home to Istanbul and life moves on.
Almost fifteen years later, Abbie is with the man she thinks she’s going to spend the rest of her life with, until a chance meeting with Oz. Only this isn’t a second chance encounter because this isn’t the first time they have seen each other since that first memorable day.
The book starts in the present day with flashback to the past, slowly revealing their intense love affair from London to Istanbul, Beirut to Paris. Abbie and Oz’s story covers miles and years and might call into question whether you believe in fate and destiny.
It was while I was on the Women’s March in NYC (where I lived for a few years) that I had a flash of inspiration for Abbie and Oz’s meet cute. Like Abbie, I suffer from outdoor claustrophobia and as I was marching with my friend, I began struggling for breath as the crowds grew and I imagined what it would be like to meet someone in that moment. My love of Turkish soap operas (and a certain gorgeous actor – Cagatay Ulusoy) was another source of inspiration as well as my Lebanese heritage.
2. What has the experience been like since your book published?
The response from early readers of the proof and the ebook have been overwhelming. It has warmed my heart to receive direct messages from people who have read and loved the book. Having a reader connect with your words is simply a dream come true for me.
3. Have you always wanted to write?
No, I haven’t. It was while I was living in Japan seven years ago that I had a flash of inspiration to start writing and as a hopeless romantic, a love story was an obvious genre for me to start writing in.
4. What was your publication journey like?
The first book I penned didn’t get me an agent, but I learned a lot from it. I was lucky to get lots of feedback from full requests and entered as many competitions as I could to help see where I could improve my craft. After writing a draft for It Must Be Love and editing it, I queried while I was still living in America, got a lot of full requests but again no offers of rep.
I then took the Curtis Brown ‘Edit and Pitch’ course and learned a lot from that. A few months later, I moved back to the UK and entered a love story competition with Trapeze and was shortlisted. That was a massive confidence boost. I also joined the New Writer’s Scheme with the RNA and buoyed with the feedback from that, I began querying again. Within a couple of months, I got an agent and after time revising with her, I got a two-book deal with Penguin’s imprint Century.
5. What has been the best part so far and what has been the toughest?
Aside from getting the two book deal, the best part has been receiving Direct Messages from readers saying how much they love the book. When it’s out of the blue like that, it really fills me with warmth. The toughest part was when I had a bit of a mental health crisis and thought I wouldn’t be able to write again, not long after I signed with my agent. Somehow, I managed to pick myself up and haven’t looked back.
6. What advice would you give a new writer or someone starting to look for an agent?
My biggest piece of advice is if book one doesn’t get you an agent, move on and write another book. It was the best thing I ever did.
Always query in batches, in the hope that you might get feedback. Enter as many online competitions as you can and capitalise on any opportunities for first chapter/query feedback you can find.
Make that query really stand out – find your book’s hook, state it clearly alongside why especially you are querying that particular agent – it’s the only way to stand out in the slush pile.
7. Can you share anything about your next book?
It’s a Friends to Lovers romance and there will be more international locations – this time Mumbai, Cyprus and LA.
And just for fun…
The books you're excited to read in 2022…
New books from Isabelle Broom and Emma Hughes
Rosie Walsh – The Love of My Life
Lorraine Brown – Sorry I Missed You
A quote you love…
Patience is a virtue (definitely needed for the waiting times involved in publishing a book)
The best TV show you’ve seen recently...
Generation 56k – an Italian romantic comedy series.
Crumpets or hot cross buns?
Hot Cross Buns – with melted butter and a dash of honey
Crime books or romance?
Haha! Romance obviously. I don’t really stray from the genre I write in, and I am a hopeless romantic.
Where we can buy your book and find out more about you...
Asda, Waterstones, Amazon or just ask at your local independent bookstore.
I am very active on my Instagram page - @carolinekauthor
Thanks so much for sharing your journey with us Caroline! I can’t wait to see It Must Be Love get into the hands of more readers.
Sara x