The Hippo Hands Over to - Christina Hoag

Today I'm delighted to be handing over to Christina Hoag, author of Skin of Tattoos and Girl on the Brink (Fire and Ice 2016). Christina's journey into publishing was a tough one but I'll let her tell you in her own words. Firstly here's a little bit about the lady herself.

Photo courtesy of Christina Hoag

Christina Hoag is a former journalist for the Miami Herald and Associated Press who’s been threatened by a murderer, had her laptop searched by Colombian guerrillas and phone tapped in Venezuela, hidden under a car to evade Guatemalan soldiers, posed as a nun to get inside a Caracas jail, interviewed gang members, bank robbers, thieves and thugs in prisons, shantytowns and slums, not to forget billionaires and presidents, some of whom fall into the previous categories. Kirkus Reviews praised Christina as a “talented writer” with a “well crafted debut” in Skin of Tattoos (Martin Brown Publishing, 2016), a gangland thriller. Her YA thriller Girl on the Brink (Fire and Ice, 2016) was named to Suspense Magazine’s Best of 2016 YA list. She also writes nonfiction, co-authoring Peace in the Hood: Working with Gang Members to End the Violence (Turner Publishing, 2014), a groundbreaking book on violence intervention used in several universities. Christina makes her home in California and lives on the web at www.christinahoag.com.

                     My Long, Winding and Rocky Path to Publication 

I was incredibly excited when I landed my first offer of representation from a literary agent for what was then my novel “Skin of Tattoos,” a YA coming-of-age thriller set in the gang underworld of Los Angeles I’d sent out about 90 queries, had received a few requests for pages but no bites and I was starting to despair.

Then I got the call. During our conversation, the agent said, “I don’t really like agenting. I’m just, sort of, doing this.” It struck me as odd, but I couldn’t turn her down. What if I didn’t get another offer?

 I signed and we met. During the conversation, she told me that a publisher had agreed to take one of her books but had never followed through with the contract. Again, it didn’t paint her in the best light, but I figured that could happen to any agent.

          Several months later, my book had been rejected by about 10 houses, and she stopped submitting. Then I got an email – she had submitted to one more publisher. Relief. Then I waited. Was she submitting it to more? Was this really it? Wasn’t she supposed to keep submitting? Or maybe this agent didn’t have a very deep “bench” of editors? I recalled her previous comments. She didn’t like being an agent and she couldn’t close a deal. It was dawning on me that I hadn’t made a good choice.

Nevertheless, I tried to make the best of it and soldiered on. I told her about my second novel, “Girl on the Brink,” a YA about a teen romance that turned abusive that was inspired by true events. She seemed excited, and I pounded out a draft in several months and submitted it, hoping for a meaningful critique that would help me develop it further, a la Maxwell Perkins. That’s what agents do, right?

          Nope. She was scornful about my manuscript, but couldn’t articulate what was wrong, instead telling me to read “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden,” which I’d heard of but never read. I looked it up. It was published in 1964.

She made it clear she didn’t want to read revisions--“It’s not good for us to read the manuscript multiple times.” Huh? Instead, she recommended a “book doctor” so I called the person. By now, my eyes were far less starry and I asked discerning questions. The “doc” had no publishing background. She’d been a screenwriters’ agent and her YA credential consisted of having a 15-year-old daughter. For $500, she’d read my manuscript and give me a critique over the phone. She repeatedly stressed the phone part. Talking, of course, is much easier than spending time writing a detailed critique, and it’s far more convenient than meeting in person.

Luckily, I wasn’t convinced. I got off the phone and immediately felt the crushing disappointment of realization that I had simply signed with a lousy agent. I had fallen in the trap warned about on so many book blogs, advice sites for new writers, etc. My depression lasted a week, then I realized something else.

What I did have were two detailed critiques from top editors at major New York publishing houses. I studied what they said, pulled “Skin of Tattoos” apart and rewrote extensively. I made it an adult book by upping the age of the protagonist, which turned it into a full-fledged thriller, and chopped it into two books. It worked far better.

By the time my contract expired six months later, during which time I never heard again from the agent (She never even responded when I sent her a polite email thanking her but stating I wouldn’t be renewing the contract.), I had a new manuscript.

I started seeking an agent once again. This time I honed my search carefully and eventually landed an agent whose name I had plucked out of the acknowledgements section of two crime books published by major houses. This agent really was a professional. She loved the book and promised to keep sending it out until we got a deal.

 While this novel was on submission, I rewrote and rewrote and rewrote the “Girl on the Brink,” working on the voice and inserting more suspense elements, turning it into a romantic thriller with a social message. My agent didn’t want it (in fact, she was cross that I had written a YA: “You’re all over the place. That’s not how you build your brand.”) so I submitted it to publishers on my own and eventually got a deal.

To my great disillusion, however, “Skin of Tattoos,” didn’t sell after about 40 submissions despite garnering some real praise from top houses. I realized a hidden truth about publishing – the quality of the writing didn’t necessarily matter, nor even the story, as much as whether it was deemed commercial and fit neatly into a genre.

Eventually, I started researching publishers on my own and sent lists to the agent, who sent it out to those she deemed worthwhile. She took longer and longer to respond. After two years, the agent told me she could do no more.

I went back to the manuscript yet again, cutting about 12,000 words, deleting stuff that both agents had told me to include but really didn’t fit the story, again paying attention to the few worthwhile things rejecting editors had said, and mostly to my own gut.

Five months later I had a contract with a small publisher and I wondered if I had done the right thing. Should I have just shelved the manuscript? Waited until I landed a major publisher and developed an audience and then dusted it off?

I’m so glad I didn’t. Both “Skin of Tattoos” and “Girl on the Brink” were published in August and have received excellent reviews from Kirkus Reviews, as well as from readers. “Girl on the Brink,” in fact, was named to Suspense Magazine’s Best of 2016 YA list. It had been an unbelievably long journey but I am thrilled I never gave up. There are far more routes to being published than the traditional one. The key is to believe in yourself and your story.

If you'd like to find out more about Christina or connect with her you can use the links below:

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Her books are available in eBook and paperback from leading retailers including

Skin of Tattoos: Amazon UK    Amazon US

Girl on the Brink: Amazon UK    Amazon US

I'd like to thank Christina for her guest post and for taking the time to stop by today.

I'm planning on adding both of these to my ever growing TBR and if you've read either of Christina's books then I'd love to hear your thoughts.