How long did it take you to sell?
I had been writing for a little under 4 years before I sold. At the time I’d completed four manuscripts. I ended up selling the first two. The last year before I sold was a whirlwind. I finaled in the 2005 Golden Heart Contest (with my third manuscript) in March, got an agent in early April 2005 (my first agent actually ended up leaving the business a few months later, but two agents in the same agency took me over), and had “the call” in November 2005.